This tutorial is created by Premium Addons team to help you solve a common issue affecting Elementor users. Over 5 million people have installed the Wordfence Security Plugin, making it one of the most popular security apps for WordPress. It comes with basic security features, like stopping SQL Injection, that help keep websites safe from threats.
But this security step can sometimes make Elementor Page Builder does not work right, especially when using widgets like the HTML Editor Widget that let you add your own code.
When people try to save a page in Elementor, they often get the 403 Forbidden server error.
The Elementor 403 Forbidden Error: Why Does It Happen?
The Web Application Firewall (WAF) from Wordfence is made to stop possible security risks, such as SQL injections. It’s too bad that this can sometimes mess up Elementor and stop users from making necessary changes to their pages.
If you get this trouble message in Elementor:
Server Error (403 Not Allowed)
It’s possible that Wordfence is blocking Elementor requests because it thinks they might be security threats.
How to Stop Elementor from Giving You the 403 Forbidden Error
If you have the Wordfence Security Plugin loaded, do these steps to fix the problem:
Step 1: Go to the settings for Wordfence firewall
- Click on Wordfence and then click on Firewall in your WordPress dashboard.
- As you look through the firewall options, click on Manage WAF (Web Application Firewall).
Step 2: Change to reading mode
- Find Web Application Firewall Status under Basic Firewall Options.
- From the drop-down box, choose “Learning Mode.”
- Save the changes.
Step 3: Check Elementor Once More
- Try changing your Elementor page again after you’ve turned on Learning Mode.
- If the problem is fixed, leave Learning Mode on for a while so Wordfence has time to change its rules.
- To keep your security, switch back to Enabled and Protecting Mode later.
Extra Steps for Fixing Problems
If going to Learning Mode doesn’t fix the problem:
- Talk to the company that hosts your site: It’s possible that Elementor is being blocked by sites that have strict security settings.
- Turn off Wordfence temporarily: If the problem still happens, turn off Wordfence and test Elementor again.
- Change the Firewall Rules in Wordfence: Change the firewall rules by hand in Wordfence → Firewall to let Elementor work.
Conclusion
Wordfence security settings often stop people from doing certain things, which leads to the 403 Forbidden error in Elementor. When you switch to Learning Mode, Wordfence can learn how you work without putting your security at risk. If the problem keeps happening, you might want to talk to your web host or change some of your protection settings.
We hope this guide helps you fix the problem! Tell us in the comments if this helped you.
