Title: PHP error
Last modified: September 17, 2026

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# PHP error

 *  [Jacquie Robinson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ccchats/)
 * (@ccchats)
 * [3 days ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-710/)
 * Hello, I’m not a developer, but I need some technical support. I don’t see anything
   broken on my site, but the speed has significantly decreased. My Sydney theme(
   free version 2.71) is showing a fatal error on WordPress.com. Never had an issue
   in years. Please advise. Thanks.
 * File: /srv/htdocs/wp-content/themes/sydney/index.php
 * Line: 14
 * Message: PHP Fatal error: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function get_header()
   in /srv/htdocs/wp-content/themes/sydney/index.php:14 Stack trace: #0 {main} thrown
   in /srv/htdocs/wp-content/themes/sydney/index.php on line 14
 * The page I need help with: _[[log in](https://login.wordpress.org/?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fwordpress.org%2Fsupport%2Ftopic%2Fphp-error-710%2F%3Foutput_format%3Dmd&locale=en_US)
   to see the link]_

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  [Rajab Said](https://wordpress.org/support/users/snrjosh/)
 * (@snrjosh)
 * [2 days, 20 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-710/#post-19022838)
 * Hi [@ccchats](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ccchats/),
 * Thank you for contacting Sydney Support.
 * Your site is not broken, and this error does not indicate an issue with the Sydney
   theme itself. The error occurs when a bot or crawler attempts to access a theme
   file directly, such as:
 * `yourdomain.com/wp-content/themes/sydney/index.php`
 * Directly accessing a theme file bypasses WordPress core, meaning functions such
   as `get_header()` are not loaded. This can trigger the PHP error for that specific
   request. Regular visitors accessing your site normally should not encounter this
   error.
 * However, repeated direct requests from bots can increase server load and contribute
   to the slowdown you are experiencing.
 * Since your site is hosted with WordPress.com, please contact WordPress.com Support
   through your dashboard and share the error log you provided. You can ask them
   to:
    - Review the server access logs for bot traffic targeting direct theme PHP file
      paths.
    - Block or limit direct access to PHP files within `/wp-content/`.
    - Apply server-level firewall rules or rate limiting, if appropriate.
 * I hope this helps!
 *  Thread Starter [Jacquie Robinson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ccchats/)
 * (@ccchats)
 * [2 days, 20 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-710/#post-19022842)
 * Rajab,
 * I appreciate your response. Thanks for confirming my site isn’t broken; I will
   follow up with WordPress.com support as you recommended.
 * Thank you, again.

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

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to reply to this topic.

 * ![](https://i0.wp.com/themes.svn.wordpress.org/sydney/2.71/screenshot.png)
 * Sydney
 * [Support Threads](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/sydney/)
 * [Active Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/sydney/active/)
 * [Unresolved Topics](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/sydney/unresolved/)
 * [Reviews](https://wordpress.org/support/theme/sydney/reviews/)

## Tags

 * [php-error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/php-error/)

 * 2 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Jacquie Robinson](https://wordpress.org/support/users/ccchats/)
 * Last activity: [2 days, 20 hours ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/php-error-710/#post-19022842)
 * Status: not resolved