Troubleshoot publishing and updating errors

Publishing and updating errors can prevent you from saving or publishing your content on WordPress.com. In this guide, you will learn how to identify and resolve common publishing errors.

Before trying to fix publishing errors, save a backup copy of your work to prevent losing any content. Follow these steps to create a backup:

1. While in the WordPress editor, click the ⋮ (three dots) menu in the top-right corner.
2. Select the “Copy all blocks” option, which copies all the blocks to your device’s clipboard.

3. Open a new tab in your browser, without closing the one you’re currently working on.
4. In the new tab, go to your site’s dashboard and create a new page or post.
5. Paste the content either by right-clicking and choosing Paste or by pressing Ctrl+V (PC) or Cmd+V (Mac) on your keyboard.
6. Give the page/post a memorable name like “[original title] – backup.”
7. Click the “Save Draft” link in the top right to save your backup copy as a private draft.

Now you can safely troubleshoot your original post without worrying about losing your work. In some cases, you may be able to resolve the issue by publishing the new draft and reverting the original to a draft or deleting it.

If you lost any content, you can restore a revision of the original page or post to try to recover the content.

Common failed publish errors include “Publishing failed. Please try again” and “Updating failed. The response is not a valid JSON response.” If you see either of those or a generic publishing error, try these troubleshooting steps:

1. Check your internet connection by visiting other websites.
   • If using a VPN, temporarily disconnect and try publishing again.
   • Try connecting to a different ISP (for example, switch from wifi to mobile.)
2. Clear your browser cache and WordPress.com cookies.
3. Disable browser extensions temporarily to test if they’re causing conflicts.
4. Test with a different browser to isolate browser-specific issues.
5. Try publishing in an incognito or private browsing window.
6. Save your content as a draft first, then try publishing again.

Plugin-enabled sites should also check for updated/new plugins or themes that could be causing a conflict.

The error “Publishing failed. Sorry, you are not allowed to assign the provided terms” usually happens when there are conflicts with tags and categories that you’ve assigned to the post. Follow these steps to resolve this:

1. Verify that you are not using the same term as both a tag and a category:
   • Remove any duplicate terms from your tag/category selection.
   • Try to publish again.
2. Remove and re-add terms gradually:
   • Remove all tags and categories from your post.
   • Save as draft.
   • Add tags and categories back one at a time.
   • Save between each addition to identify any problematic terms.