In this article, we will review one of the more common WordPress Errors: “Could not create directory”. The term itself does not point out the specific issue that needs to be debugged, however, we will go through the more well-known fixes that can help you resolve it.
Understanding the WordPress Error
Before we go through the fixes, we need to first understand the issue thoroughly in order to have logical troubleshooting. As with all WordPress Errors, they do not indicate the exact culprit, however, they can give you hints as to the process that triggered it. For example, in most cases, this error is connected to uploading images via Media Library, installing plugins/themes, or even updating them. You will need to pinpoint the exact thing you made that got you the error so you can have somewhere to start.
In simpler terms, the error indicates the inability to create a directory for the new plugin that you wish to install or maybe an image that you would like to upload to your site. In addition, this may be caused due to incorrect file permissions or not having enough disk space on your current hosting plan.
How to Fix “Installation Failed: Could not create directory” WordPress Error?
We can go through the rabbit hole of different fixes that are common and should provide a solution for this specific WordPress error. The first one should be connected to simply checking file permissions on the wp-content folder of your website. To go in detail of why that folder and not another one is simply connected to the fact that the content folder holds all of your website files that are uploaded through the Admin Dashboard. That includes all images and plugins/themes that you may want to install or update. As we mentioned earlier, it is important to understand that the error occurs mostly while doing work connected to the above from the admin area.
Now, to go through the actual fix, you would need to log in to your WPX Account. You can either find your hosting service through the navigation menu or within your dashboard. Once you log in to your WPX account select My Services (1) → WordPress Hosting (2):

Then you will see all of your hosting services with us. When you find the plan that you want to manage, you need to select the orange button Manage service:

Now that you’re in the Hosting Panel, select the File Manager menu:

It will automatically log you in the File Manager Client which is built-in as a feature for all of your websites. From there you will have a quick button that can allow you to set specific file permissions for the wp-content folder by right-clicking on it and choosing Tools(1) and Chmod Selected(2):

Once you have chosen that, you will get a pop-up menu with options to set specific file permissions for that given folder. The correct file permissions that you need to set to allow you to install plugins, upload images, and so forth need to be 755 or 644 which are the default WordPress settings. That can be typed in a field directly and choose Change:

Once that is done, you can try to troubleshoot the same process you went through to see if the issue is fixed. If the errors still pops up, then you can continue from the same place where we left off and check your disk space to make sure that is not another reason for not being able to make changes on the backend of your website.
To check your usage, you simply need to go into your File Manager again and see the top right corner of the client, where you will see the overall usage for your plan and the space that’s taken up:

If you do not have enough space on your account, then you will need to free up something to check again. You can contact our live support on chat or ticket to make a scan of your entire plan to find any large files that may need to be deleted like old backups or unused things that you no longer want. Everything will be done by our agents and of course, they will help you remove everything with your permission so you do not need to do anything time-consuming.
That’s it! This common issue is mostly caused by incorrect file permissions or not enough disk space to actually do the task you want. If you stumble over the process of troubleshooting or need additional help with other issues, please make sure to contact our support any time on chat or ticket, so that you can get professional help around the corner when needed.