Site Migration

Hi Philip!

The problem you described could be related to the PHP configuration in your .htaccess file. There should be some code in that file that sets the application handler for specific PHP versions and the code in that file could be set to the wrong version, especially if your previous web server was using a different PHP version than your current one. The code should look something like this:

AddHandler application/x-httpd-php71.php

Once that code is updated to match your current server’s PHP version you should be able to login as expected. If you need any help making that modification then your hosting provider is your best option, they have all of the access necessary to make these changes on your behalf.

Please let us know if you have any other questions for us!

Hi Philip-

From what you’ve described, it sounds like when you do your backup restoration, it’s also restoring the .htaccess file from your old host, which might have used a different PHP handler than your new host.

If you can’t find the Addhandler line to delete from your restored .htaccess, another thing you can do is to try using the WordPress Default .htaccess rules.

First, make sure to make a copy of the .htaccess you’re using now, you can name it something like .htaccess.bak, and then make a new .htaccess file using just the default code:

# BEGIN WordPress

RewriteEngine On
RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}]
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L]
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f
RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d
RewriteRule . /index.php [L]

# END WordPress

Here are DreamHost’s instructions for editing the .htaccess file. If you’re still stuck, I highly recommend contacting DreamHost Support so they can help you out directly.