If the homepage loads but every other page says 'not found', your pages still exist. WordPress has lost its page address settings. It's common and fixable.
What it means
Your pages are fine - WordPress just can't figure out which page each address belongs to. The permalink structure (the rules that map URLs to content) got reset or corrupted, usually after a migration, a plugin change, or an .htaccess edit.
Why it happens
Common triggers are switching hosts, changing permalink settings, a security plugin rewriting URLs, or .htaccess being overwritten during an update.
What to do
- Go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes - this regenerates the rewrite rules.
- If that doesn't work, delete .htaccess via file manager and let WordPress recreate it.
- Check if a security or redirect plugin is interfering - temporarily disable it.
- Flush any server-level cache (host cache, CDN) that might be serving old rewrite rules.
Still stuck? This is almost always a 2-minute fix - but if permalinks won't save or the problem persists, we can trace what's overriding the rewrite rules.
Get emergency help