WordPress users are often faced with a problem because of which they’re unable to login to their WordPress admin (or Dashboard). This problem is a very nagging one because since you cannot login to WordPress, the possibilities of troubleshooting the problem become limited. This type of error means that even though you’re entering the correct combination of username and password, you’re not allowed to login to WordPress admin. In this tutorial, let’s learn how to solve WordPress login page refreshing issue which prevents you from gaining access to the backend.
Disable plugins
Some WordPress Plugins may interfere with the login process. Since you’re not able to login to WordPress admin, you’ll need to rename the plugins folder to something else temporarily. For example, you’ll rename the folder at /wp-content/plugins to /wp-content/pluginsYXY so that your plugins will not be recognized by WordPress. Sometimes WordPress security plugins also create problems, and if you’re using any such plugin, then you should disable such plugins first.
Does that solve the problem? If yes, then remove the exact plugin that’s creating the problem and then rename the folder back to “plugins” once the issue has been resolved.
Deactivate your current theme
Rename the active theme folder (in wp-content/themes) by using FTP client or cPanel’s File Manager. Once renamed, WordPress will revert to using the default Twenty Thirteen theme. If you’re able to login now then that means that your previously active theme was creating problems. Identify and solve the problem in your theme and then activate it again.
Upload a new login file
Sometimes it may happen that the wp-login.php file may have been corrupted or uploaded incorrectly. That’s why, delete the wp-login.php file from your server and then upload a new copy from a fresh WordPress download. You can also simply overwrite the old file with the new one, but just ensure that your file transfer is successful.
Password problem
Are you entering the correct password? Remember that username and password fields in WordPress is case sensitive and that’s why, you’ll not be able to login if you’re not exactly typing things in their proper case. If you think that you don’t remember the exact password, then trying changing the WordPress password from phpMyAdmin.
Clear browser cache and cookies
As we know, every browser out there stores cache and cookies. Because of this, sometimes a temporary cache is created and even after repeatedly trying to login many times, a user is not able to login.
To clear cookies and cache, if you’re on Google Chrome, click on the menu button and go to Tools > Clear browsing data. Shortcut for the same is Ctrl+Shift+Del.
If you’re on Firefox, then click on the Firefox button > Options > Options. Select the Advanced panel and click on the Network tab. In the Cached Web Content section, click on “Clear Now” button. The process to clear cache and cookies is slightly different in other browsers but you’ll be able to find it easily.
Try to login from a different web browser
Sometimes clearing the cache trick doesn’t work, and that’s why, if you’re still unable to login to WordPress then try to login from a different browser. Try to login from different browsers like Chrome, Firefox and Opera.
Fix problems in wp-config.php file
Have you recently edited the wp-config.php file? When I was faced with a similar problem, my mistake was that I unintentionally added an extra space in there.
Download the latest version of WordPress and compare that wp-config.php file with the one on your server. Look closely and try to find any extra space that you may have left there. Some plugins or themes can also tinker around with your wp-config and add extra whitespace such as space, tabs and new lines. Remove any extra space before first <?php or after the last ?> in the file.
Tweaking .htaccess file
The .htaccess file can get corrupted which can result in login page refreshing error. Use a FTP client and download your current .htaccess file to your computer and then delete it from your site’s root directory. Also delete the .htaccess file from wp-admin directory. If you’re now able to login then the problem was with your .htaccess file. Login and go to Settings > Permalinks and click on Save to generate a new .htaccess file
Hope this article would help you to fix WordPress login page refreshing and redirecting problem. If any of these solutions helped you to fix the issue then let us know. If you found out a new method that’s not mentioned in this article to fix this problem then also let us know in the comments. We’re always here to improve the article with new and updated solutions.