Fix "There has been a critical error on this website"

  • troubleshooting
  • critical-error
  • plugins
  • recovery-mode

Updated

"There has been a critical error on this website" means WordPress hit a PHP error it couldn't recover from, almost always in a plugin or the theme, often just after an update. WordPress emails the site's admin address a link to a recovery mode where you can log in and turn off whatever broke. Use that link first.

1. Use the recovery mode email

  1. Check the inbox for the site's administration email address (set under Settings → General), including the spam folder. Look for a message titled "Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue".
  2. The email names the plugin or theme that caused the error. Click the recovery mode link in it and log in.
  3. Go to Plugins and deactivate the plugin it named. If it named the theme, switch to another theme under Appearance → Themes for now.
  4. Click Exit Recovery Mode in the admin bar, then load the site in a private window.

The site works again with that plugin off. Update the plugin, or check its support page for the error, before turning it back on.

2. No email? Deactivate the plugin from the server

The email can go missing, for example when the site can't send mail. You can deactivate a plugin without logging in:

  1. Open your host's File Manager, or connect with SFTP.
  2. Go to wp-content/plugins.
  3. Rename the folder of the plugin you suspect, for example from some-plugin to some-plugin-off. WordPress deactivates a plugin whose folder it can't find.
  4. Reload the site. If it works, that plugin was the cause. If not, rename it back and try the next one, starting with whatever was updated or installed most recently.

To rule out the theme, rename its folder in wp-content/themes the same way. WordPress falls back to another installed theme.

3. Find the exact error

Your host keeps an error log, usually in the hosting dashboard under Logs or Error log. The last lines before the crash name the file and plugin involved. That's also what to send to the plugin's support team.

Other common causes

  • A PHP version change. If the host upgraded PHP and an old plugin doesn't support it, update the plugin, or ask the host to switch back while you do.
  • Running out of memory. The error log says "Allowed memory size exhausted". Ask your host to raise the memory limit.
  • A half-finished update. An update that stopped part-way can leave a plugin's files incomplete. Reinstall that plugin.

If nothing else works, restore a backup from before the error, from your host or backup service.

If your site runs on Dirigible

  • While the Dirigible theme or a Dirigible plugin is being updated, a visitor who arrives mid-update sees "This site is updating. Please refresh in a minute." instead of the critical error. That clears by itself within seconds.
  • After the site is back, check your forms still email you: Send test email is in Dirigible → Tools & Maintenance. See Forms and email tools.

If the error comes back after every update, the log points at code you can't change, or the site sells online and every minute counts, get a developer to read the error log and fix the cause rather than leaving the plugin switched off.