In Brief
The WordPress critical error usually means a plugin or theme has broken your site
Check your admin email for a recovery mode link from WordPress
If no email arrives, access your site files through your hosting control panel to disable plugins
Always back up your site before attempting any fix
Regular backups and updating plugins one at a time helps prevent this error from happening again
You visit your WordPress site and instead of your homepage, a stark message appears: “There has been a critical error on this website.”
Your stomach drops.
But before you panic, know this: the error looks frightening, but it’s almost always fixable. Most site owners have their websites running again within a short time.
This guide walks you through exactly how to fix the WordPress critical error, step by step.
You don’t need to be a developer or understand code. By the end, you’ll know what caused the problem, how to solve it, and how to stop it from happening again.
Table of Contents
What the WordPress Critical Error Actually Means
The critical error message is WordPress telling you something has gone wrong with the code that runs your site.
Before WordPress 5.2 (released in 2019), this type of problem would show a blank white page, often called the White Screen of Death. The newer error message is actually helpful because WordPress now tries to tell you what went wrong and sends you information to fix it.
In simple terms, WordPress couldn’t load a file it needed.
This usually happens because of a conflict between plugins, a problem with your theme, or an issue with custom code. The good news is that your content, pages, and settings are almost certainly still there.
WordPress just can’t display them right now.
When this error occurs, WordPress tries to do two things. First, it pauses whatever caused the problem so you can still access your admin area. Second, it sends an email to your site administrator with details about the error and a special link to fix it.
Before You Start: Back Up If You Can
If you still have any access to your hosting control panel, create a backup before attempting fixes. Most UK hosts offer one-click backups through their dashboard. This gives you a safety net if something goes wrong during troubleshooting.
If you can’t create a backup right now, don’t worry. The fixes below are safe and reversible.
Just proceed carefully and follow each step exactly.
How to Fix the Critical Error Step by Step
The approach you take depends on whether you received an email from WordPress about the error.
Start with Method 1 if you have the email, or move straight to Method 2 or 3 if you don’t.
Method 1: Use the WordPress Recovery Email
When WordPress detects a critical error, it automatically sends an email to your admin email address. The subject line reads “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue.”
Check your inbox for this email, including your spam or junk folder where automated emails sometimes land. If you find it, you’re in luck because this is the quickest fix.
The email contains a special link that lets you access your WordPress dashboard in recovery mode. Click this link, then log in with your usual username and password.
Once logged in, you’ll see a notice at the top of your dashboard explaining which plugin or theme caused the error.
WordPress may have already paused it for you. Go to Plugins or Appearance and look for anything marked as having an error. Deactivate the problem plugin or switch to a different theme.
After fixing the issue, click the “Exit Recovery Mode” button in your admin bar. Clear your browser cache, then check your site loads normally.
Method 2: Access Recovery Mode Without the Email
Many WordPress sites aren’t set up to send emails correctly, so you might not receive the recovery email even though WordPress says it sent one. You can still access recovery mode manually, but only if WordPress has already detected and registered the error.
Add this to the end of your website address and visit it in your browser:
/wp-login.php?action=entered_recovery_mode
So if your site is www.example.com, you would visit:
www.example.com/wp-login.php?action=entered_recovery_mode
This takes you to the login page in recovery mode. Log in normally and follow the same steps as Method 1 to find and fix the problem.
If this doesn’t work and you just see the normal login screen, WordPress hasn’t registered the error properly. Move on to Method 3.
Method 3: Fix the Error Using Your Hosting Control Panel
If you can’t access recovery mode through either method above, you’ll need to disable plugins through your hosting account. This sounds technical but it’s actually straightforward.
Log into your hosting control panel. Most UK hosts like SiteGround, 20i, or Krystal offer a File Manager tool. Open File Manager and find the wp-content folder inside your WordPress installation.
Inside wp-content, you’ll see a folder called plugins. Rename this folder to something else, like plugins-old. This immediately deactivates all your plugins.
Now visit your website.
If it loads, a plugin was causing the problem. Create a new empty folder called plugins, then move each plugin folder back one at a time from plugins-old. Check your site after restoring each one. When your site breaks again, you’ve found the culprit.
If disabling plugins doesn’t fix the error, try the same approach with your theme.
Inside wp-content, find the themes folder and rename your active theme’s folder. WordPress will automatically switch to a default theme. If your site then loads, the theme was the problem.
What Causes the WordPress Critical Error
Understanding what triggers this error helps you prevent it in future and know where to look when troubleshooting.
Common Causes to Check
Plugin conflicts cause most critical errors. This often happens right after you update a plugin, especially if the update wasn’t compatible with your version of WordPress or clashed with another plugin. Poorly coded plugins or those that haven’t been updated in years are the usual suspects.
Theme problems work the same way. If you recently updated your theme or switched to a new one, that’s likely your issue. Themes need to be compatible with your WordPress version and work well alongside your plugins.
PHP version mismatches can trigger errors too. WordPress needs PHP 7.4 or higher, with PHP 8.0 or above recommended. If your hosting is running an older version, or if you recently upgraded PHP and some plugins aren’t compatible, you might see the critical error.
Memory limits being exceeded is another common cause. If WordPress tries to use more server memory than your hosting plan allows, it triggers a fatal error. You’ll often see “memory exhausted” in the debug log if this is your problem.
Corrupted WordPress files occasionally cause issues, particularly after an interrupted update. If WordPress was updating itself and the process got stopped halfway through, some files might be incomplete.
How to Prevent Critical Errors
Once you’ve fixed the immediate problem, take steps to stop this from happening again. A few simple habits make a real difference.
Prevention Checklist
Keep regular backups of your website. If you have a recent backup, you can restore it and avoid troubleshooting entirely. Most UK hosting providers include automatic backups, or you can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus. Test that your backups actually work by downloading one occasionally.
Update plugins one at a time rather than clicking “Update All.” After each update, check your site still works. If something breaks, you’ll know exactly which plugin caused it. This takes a bit longer but saves hours of troubleshooting when things go wrong.
Test changes on a staging site if your host offers one. A staging site is a private copy of your website where you can try updates and changes safely. If something breaks on staging, your live site stays unaffected.
Choose plugins carefully. Stick to plugins that are regularly updated, have good reviews, and come from reputable developers. Check when a plugin was last updated before installing it. If it hasn’t been touched in over a year, think twice.
Keep WordPress and PHP updated. Running the latest versions means better security and fewer compatibility problems. Your hosting control panel usually shows which PHP version you’re using and lets you change it.
How to Update WordPress Plugins Safely (Without Breaking Your Website)
When to Seek Help
Most critical errors are fixable with the methods above. However, some situations need expert assistance.
If you’ve tried all the troubleshooting steps and your site still won’t load, it might be a deeper issue with your database or hosting configuration.
If the error keeps returning after you’ve fixed it, something else needs investigating. And if you’re not comfortable accessing your hosting control panel or making changes to files, there’s no shame in getting help.
At Respect Experts, we fix WordPress errors as part of our maintenance service.
We diagnose the problem, fix it properly, and explain what happened in plain English. We also take steps to prevent the same error from recurring.
Getting Your Site Back Online
The WordPress critical error is alarming but rarely means disaster. In most cases, the fix takes just a few minutes once you know what to do.
Start with the recovery email if you received one. If not, try accessing recovery mode manually through your browser.
As a last resort, disable your plugins through your hosting control panel and test them one by one. Once you’ve identified and removed the problem, your site should be back to normal.
Don’t forget to clear your browser cache after fixing the error, as your browser might still be showing a cached version of the error page.
Going forward, keep regular backups and update plugins slowly and carefully. These two habits alone prevent most critical errors from ever happening.
Frequently Asked Questions
This message means WordPress has encountered a PHP error that stopped it from loading properly. Something in your site’s code, usually a plugin or theme, is preventing WordPress from working. Your content and settings are almost certainly still safe. WordPress just can’t display your site until you fix the underlying problem.
Many WordPress sites aren’t set up to send emails correctly. Without proper email configuration, WordPress can’t deliver the recovery message even though it tries. Check your spam folder first. If the email isn’t there, access recovery mode manually by adding /wp-login.php?action=entered_recovery_mode to your website address.
No. The critical error prevents WordPress from displaying your site, but your pages, posts, images, and settings remain stored in your database and files. Once you fix the error, everything should appear exactly as it was before. This is why the error is fixable rather than catastrophic.
The WordPress recovery email often names the specific plugin causing problems. When troubleshooting manually, disable all plugins at once through your hosting control panel, then reactivate them one by one. Your site will break again when you activate the problem plugin, identifying the culprit immediately.
Yes. The recovery mode method is straightforward and requires no coding knowledge. Even the hosting control panel method only involves renaming folders rather than editing code. Follow the steps carefully, take your time, and you should manage fine.
Recovery mode is a built-in WordPress feature that activates automatically when a critical error occurs. It temporarily pauses the problem code so you can access your dashboard. Safe mode is a separate feature offered by some plugins and themes. Recovery mode only affects your admin session, not what visitors see.
Not necessarily. Sometimes a plugin causes an error due to a temporary conflict that gets fixed in the next update. Try updating the plugin to its latest version first. If the error persists or the plugin hasn’t been updated recently, look for an alternative that does the same job. Delete it only after finding a suitable replacement.
Add a line to your wp-config.php file. Look for “That’s all, stop editing!” and add this above it: define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’); This gives WordPress more memory to work with. If you’re not comfortable editing files, ask your hosting provider to increase the limit for you.
Weekly automated backups suit most small business websites. If you update content frequently or run an online shop, consider backing up more often. Always keep at least one backup stored somewhere other than your hosting account, such as Google Drive or Dropbox. Many backup plugins handle this automatically.