"No Input File Specified" - A Wordpress Problem? Problem Solved!

This post is going to be helpful to a very small group of people. I actually don't know if it will be useful to anyone here on ActiveRain, but I know thousands of people on "the net" need this information.

I've been working on a website for a client. It's in Wordpress, of course, because that's all I work in. (Sorry Joomla. Sorry Drupal. Wordpress is best.)

And I've been getting these very strange errors. Every once in a while, while I am browsing the site-- whether I am doing it as a client or from the dashboard-- I get a "No Input File Specified" error. The whole site just goes blank and that's the only thing I see. It lasts anywhere from 1 minute to 5 minutes. I have to keep clicking refresh until it comes back.

It's not a 404 error (page not found) and it's not any kind of error that you've ever seen. 

Not only that, but there seems to be zero information on the internet about this error. Even if you browse the Wordpress Support forums, you will not have any luck.

So to the anonymous web surfer that just found my page, here is your answer:

It's GoDaddy.

Now I've had lots of problems with GoDaddy in the past. I think I even once wrote a post called "GoDaddy Sucks," but I'm too lazy to go looking for it right now... The only reason I've been using GoDaddy for this particular site is because the client was already using it.

But over the past several weeks, while trying to figure out an answer that nobody seems to be able to answer, I did notice that everyone who had the problem seems to be using GoDaddy as a hosting company. 

That's an easy fix. Just ditch GoDaddy! However, if you want to try and keep GoDaddy, here's a guy that discovered the problem and attempts to help you fix it. Warning, this is for advanced users. I was only able to find that after I started including the keyword "GoDaddy" with my error message when I searched.

When I called GoDaddy, they gave me the normal canned response:

"We are aware of the problem and are currently working to resolve it. We do not have an ETA at this time."

Go ahead. Call GoDaddy right now. Tell them that your site keeps going down. And they will tell you exactly what I wrote above. Even if you're lying. Even if there is nothing wrong with your site, they will still tell you that.

They must be perpetually screwed up.

So if you are getting the "No Input File Specified" error, the easiest thing to do is leave GoDaddy and go someplace else.

Today, I moved my client's site and not only is it moving faster, all errors have disappeared. I moved it to WiredTree.com.

I recommend:

HostGator for basic users.

DreamHost is really cheap, but they have no telephone support. Definitely for intermediate users.

WiredTree is the creme de la creme, but this is the most advanced.

If this post helped you, please "like" and "plus" in the top of this window. Also, your comments are welcome!