# Solved: “Publishing failed. The response is not a valid JSON response” error on WordPress

> Have you recently installed WordPress and tried to create a new page only to be greeted by “Publishing failed. The response is not a valid JSON response”? Here’s how to fix it!

Author: Farhan Munim  
Published: 7 March 2024  
Updated: 22 October 2026  
Tags: Troubleshooting  
Source: https://farhan.app/blog/solved-publishing-failed-the-response-is-not-a-valid-json-response-error-on-wordpress/

![WordPress block editor showing the error “Publishing failed. The response is not a valid JSON response.”](https://cms.farhan.app/api/media/file/wordpress-publishing-failed-invalid-json-error.png)

1.  Either go to your web files via FTP or the file manager of your hosting’s Site Tools/cPanel
2.  Go to the root of your WordPress installation, somewhere like `server/public_html/`
3.  Now locate the `.htaccess` file (this may be hidden if you are looking at it from your browser, you need to toggle your visibility settings) and simply delete the file (I promise it’s okay!)
4.  Now go to `WordPress site/wp-admin > Settings > Permalinks > *select your desired setting if required* > Save Changes` – do this twice
5.  A new `.htaccess` will automatically be created – you can go back to your WordPress files and check

You should now be able to create pages with no issues!