Title: Syntax Error in wpconfig.php Last modified: December 10, 2016 --- # Syntax Error in wpconfig.php * [felicia](https://wordpress.org/support/users/feliciaarthousecreativecom/) * (@feliciaarthousecreativecom) * [9 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/) * Hello, * I’m in the process of moving a site from my server to another server and I’m getting an error in the wpconfig.php: * Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ”);’ (T_CONSTANT_ENCAPSED_STRING) in /home/ ksypolt619/public_html/wp-config.php on line 69 * This is what the code looks like on that line: /** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */ * define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8’); * I appreciate any help or suggestions. Thank you! Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) * Moderator [t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/) * (@t-p) * [9 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8538951) * – A syntax error indicates that you may have made a mistake while creating your PHP structure. When this error appears it will tell you which file the error appears in (e.g., functions.php) and approximately which line (**it may not always be the exact line so be sure to check just before and just after) in the code.** * Try: – fix PHP structure in the file around the line indicated in the error message – or, upload a fresh copy (unedited) of this file – or, upload a fresh copy of your theme. If you immediately need to get in the dashboard, you can switch to the default theme by renaming your currently active theme’s folder inside /wp-content/themes/ and adding “-old” to the end of the folder name using FTP or SFTP or any whatever file management application your host provides. * Thread Starter [felicia](https://wordpress.org/support/users/feliciaarthousecreativecom/) * (@feliciaarthousecreativecom) * [9 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8538961) * Thank you for your reply! * Since I’m migrating the site, I created a new database on the new server which is functioning fine (I checked it) but I had to change the wpconfig.php to reflect the new database. As you can see from the error I posted above, it’s coming from the wpconfig.php file on line 69 which is this line: * /** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */ * define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8’); * Here’s the exact error: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ”);’ (T_CONSTANT_ENCAPSED_STRING) in /home/ksypolt619/public_html/wp-config.php on line 69 * Any idea why this is happening? I tried changing the PHP version and that didn’t help. Thank you! * Moderator [t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/) * (@t-p) * [9 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8538976) * As I mentioned in my previous reply: it may not always be the exact line so be sure to check just before and just after. * To fix, try: – fix PHP structure in the file around the line indicated in the error message – or, upload a fresh copy (unedited) of this file – or, upload a fresh copy of your theme. If you immediately need to get in the dashboard, you can switch to the default theme by renaming your currently active theme’s folder inside /wp-content/themes/ and adding “-old” to the end of the folder name using FTP or SFTP or any whatever file management application your host provides. * [Clayton James](https://wordpress.org/support/users/claytonjames/) * (@claytonjames) * [9 years, 6 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8539050) * > it’s coming from the wpconfig.php file on line 69 which is this line: > /** Database Charset to use in creating database tables. */ > define(‘DB_CHARSET’, ‘utf8’); * That should normally be around line 34-35, not line 69. * Here’s what the default file looks like for comparison. [https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/branches/4.7/wp-config-sample.php](https://core.trac.wordpress.org/browser/branches/4.7/wp-config-sample.php) * Thread Starter [felicia](https://wordpress.org/support/users/feliciaarthousecreativecom/) * (@feliciaarthousecreativecom) * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8540888) * [@claytonjames](https://wordpress.org/support/users/claytonjames/) I swapped out the default file you mentioned with what I had previously and updated the info for the database name, admin and password but now I get this error: * Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ’20’ (T_LNUMBER) in /home/ksypolt619/public_html/ wp-config.php on line 20 * Thread Starter [felicia](https://wordpress.org/support/users/feliciaarthousecreativecom/) * (@feliciaarthousecreativecom) * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8540892) * [@t-p](https://wordpress.org/support/users/t-p/) I’m unable to access my site’s admin. I get an Internal Server Error. Are these issues related? * [Clayton James](https://wordpress.org/support/users/claytonjames/) * (@claytonjames) * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8541079) * If there is something wrong with your wp-config.php file, then nothing else is going to work. That needs to be fixed first. * A syntax error means there has been a mistake while editing the file. Don’t edit the file with anything other than a plain text editor. Start with a fresh copy of the file, and follow these instructions for editing wp-config.php. [https://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php](https://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php) * Then upload the new file and try again. Viewing 7 replies - 1 through 7 (of 7 total) The topic ‘Syntax Error in wpconfig.php’ is closed to new replies. ## Tags * [parse-error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/parse-error/) * [syntax error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/syntax-error/) * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/) * 7 replies * 3 participants * Last reply from: [Clayton James](https://wordpress.org/support/users/claytonjames/) * Last activity: [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/syntax-error-in-wpconfig-php/#post-8541079) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics