When WordPress shows ‘There has been a critical error on this website.’, a plugin or the theme has usually caused an error that stops the page from loading. WordPress then sends an email to the administration email address of your website. The email contains a link that lets you log in despite the error and deactivate the plugin that caused it.
What does the WordPress critical error email say?
The subject of the email is the name of your website in square brackets, followed by ‘Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue’. The email names the plugin or theme that caused the error and the page on which the error occurred. It also contains the link to recovery mode, which is valid for one day. If the error occurs again after that day, WordPress sends a new link.
How to fix a critical error with recovery mode
- Open the email and click the link to recovery mode.
- Log in with your WordPress username and password.
- Open the ‘Installed Plugins’ screen. The plugin that caused the error shows ‘This plugin failed to load properly and is paused during recovery mode.’
- Click ‘Deactivate’ under the name of that plugin.
- Click ‘Exit Recovery Mode’.
- Visit your website and check that the page loads again.
Once the plugin is deactivated, the function that the plugin provided is gone too. Check whether an update for the plugin is available, or ask its developer, before you activate the plugin again.
If the email names your theme instead of a plugin, do not switch to another theme yourself, as your website may depend on that theme. Contact the developer of your website instead.
What if the WordPress critical error email does not arrive?
WordPress sends the email to the address under ‘Administration Email Address’ in ‘Settings’ > ‘General’. On many websites, this is the address of whoever built the website. Check that person’s spam folder as well. If nobody receives the email, your hosting provider can deactivate the plugin on the server.
Is your website hosted with us and showing a critical error? Send us an email at hello@fourteenrockets.com.