{"id":38366,"date":"2023-06-28T11:36:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-28T09:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/?p=38366"},"modified":"2026-01-02T12:36:54","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T10:36:54","slug":"how-to-troubleshoot-a-broken-wordpress-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/website\/how-to-troubleshoot-a-broken-wordpress-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to troubleshoot a broken WordPress website"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your website is \u201cgone\u201d and has been replaced with an error message such as \u201cCritical Error\u201d, a confusing block of code or a blank screen, then one of the following could be the issue:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a <\/span><b>plugin conflict<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8211; some plugins affect the functionality of others<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An outdated <\/span><b>plugin or theme version<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> isn\u2019t compatible with a newer version of WordPress<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The<\/span><b> PHP version<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of the web server has been updated and your website\u2019s theme, plugin or code isn\u2019t compatible with this new version<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <strong>troubleshooting steps<\/strong> below can assist to get your site functioning properly again. It\u2019s <\/span><b>usually<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> possible to fix these issues without any knowledge of coding or web development, even if you aren\u2019t familiar with WordPress.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>First, check the PHP version and roll back to a previous version<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Have you or xneelo recently upgraded the version of PHP used by your site? If so, your theme, plugins or any hard code may not be <strong>compatible<\/strong> with the newer PHP version.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the previous PHP version is still available in the xneelo control panel, then <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/website\/roll-back-your-php-version\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">roll back to that version<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and see if this resolves the issue. Note that this is only a temporary fix as xneelo regularly removes older end-of-life PHP versions and your site will need to become compatible with newer versions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>If rolling back fixed the site,<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">update the theme, plugins and WordPress core via the WordPress dashboard (<strong>Dashboard<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Updates<\/strong>) while still on the rolled-back PHP version. Then try switching to the new PHP version to test. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>If the site is still broken<\/strong> and shows an error message, continue with the <strong>troubleshooting<\/strong> below.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Note: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the WordPress core, theme and plugin updates don\u2019t resolve the issue, then your site may contain static code that isn\u2019t upgradeable to the new PHP version. In this case, you will need to enlist an experienced web developer to assist you.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Troubleshooting steps to take if the site is still broken<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">If you can you <strong>access your WP dashboard<\/strong> (usually at <em>\/wp-admin<\/em> e.g. <em>example.com\/wp-admin<\/em>) continue with <strong>Section A<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the <strong>WordPress dashboard also has an error <\/strong>continue to either <strong>Section B (phpMyAdmin) or Section C (FTP)<\/strong> &#8211; the same troubleshooting steps are possible via both options.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>Note: <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can\u2019t access the dashboard directly, there may be a screen message informing you to check your mail for a message from WordPress that will give you a link to access your dashboard in Recovery Mode. This mail is sent to the WordPress admin email address.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false,"plain":"<span >If your website is \u201cgone\u201d and has been replaced with an error message such as \u201cCritical Error\u201d, a confusing block of code or a blank screen, then one of the following could be the issue:<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li  aria-level=\"1\"><span >There is a <\/span><b>plugin conflict<\/b><span > - some plugins affect the functionality of others<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li  aria-level=\"1\"><span >An outdated <\/span><b>plugin or theme version<\/b><span > isn\u2019t compatible with a newer version of WordPress<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li  aria-level=\"1\"><span >The<\/span><b> PHP version<\/b><span > of the web server has been updated and your website\u2019s theme, plugin or code isn\u2019t compatible with this new version<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<span >The <strong>troubleshooting steps<\/strong> below can assist to get your site functioning properly again. It\u2019s <\/span><b>usually<\/b><span > possible to fix these issues without any knowledge of coding or web development, even if you aren\u2019t familiar with WordPress.<\/span>\r\n<h2>First, check the PHP version and roll back to a previous version<\/h2>\r\n<span >Have you or xneelo recently upgraded the version of PHP used by your site? If so, your theme, plugins or any hard code may not be <strong>compatible<\/strong> with the newer PHP version.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<span >If the previous PHP version is still available in the xneelo control panel, then <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/website\/roll-back-your-php-version\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span >roll back to that version<\/span><\/a><span > and see if this resolves the issue. Note that this is only a temporary fix as xneelo regularly removes older end-of-life PHP versions and your site will need to become compatible with newer versions.\u00a0<\/span>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><strong>If rolling back fixed the site,<\/strong> <span >update the theme, plugins and WordPress core via the WordPress dashboard (<strong>Dashboard<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Updates<\/strong>) while still on the rolled-back PHP version. Then try switching to the new PHP version to test. <\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><strong>If the site is still broken<\/strong> and shows an error message, continue with the <strong>troubleshooting<\/strong> below.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<em>Note: <span >If the WordPress core, theme and plugin updates don\u2019t resolve the issue, then your site may contain static code that isn\u2019t upgradeable to the new PHP version. In this case, you will need to enlist an experienced web developer to assist you.<\/span><\/em>\r\n<h2>Troubleshooting steps to take if the site is still broken<\/h2>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li><span >If you can you <strong>access your WP dashboard<\/strong> (usually at <em>\/wp-admin<\/em> e.g. <em>example.com\/wp-admin<\/em>) continue with <strong>Section A<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\r\n \t<li><span >If the <strong>WordPress dashboard also has an error <\/strong>continue to either <strong>Section B (phpMyAdmin) or Section C (FTP)<\/strong> - the same troubleshooting steps are possible via both options.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<em>Note: <span >If you can\u2019t access the dashboard directly, there may be a screen message informing you to check your mail for a message from WordPress that will give you a link to access your dashboard in Recovery Mode. This mail is sent to the WordPress admin email address.<\/span><\/em>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If your WordPress website is experiencing an error following a PHP upgrade, follow the steps in this Help Centre article to troubleshoot the error.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lsx_disable_title":"0","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[20033,19967,19961,19964,17604,17607,17168],"topics":[19481],"class_list":["post-38366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-website","tag-php-troubleshoot","tag-php-error","tag-how-to-troubleshoot-a-broken-wordpress-website","tag-broken-site","tag-php-upgrade","tag-php-version-upgrade","tag-php","topics-php-upgrade"],"acf":[],"additional_meta":{"category_title":[{"term_id":166,"name":"Website","slug":"website","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":166,"taxonomy":"category","description":"About your Website(s)","parent":0,"count":169,"filter":"raw","term_order":"120","cat_ID":166,"category_count":169,"category_description":"About your Website(s)","cat_name":"Website","category_nicename":"website","category_parent":0}],"tag_title":[{"term_id":20033,"name":"php troubleshoot","slug":"php-troubleshoot","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":20033,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1462"},{"term_id":19967,"name":"php error","slug":"php-error","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19967,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":2,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1484"},{"term_id":19961,"name":"How to troubleshoot a broken WordPress website","slug":"how-to-troubleshoot-a-broken-wordpress-website","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19961,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1485"},{"term_id":19964,"name":"broken site","slug":"broken-site","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":19964,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"1486"},{"term_id":17604,"name":"php upgrade","slug":"php-upgrade","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17604,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2257"},{"term_id":17607,"name":"php version upgrade","slug":"php-version-upgrade","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17607,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2258"},{"term_id":17168,"name":"php","slug":"php","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":17168,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":16,"filter":"raw","term_order":"2400"}]},"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"Alexia Papadatos","author_link":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/author\/alexia\/","author_avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dc491b1be8ef5ac4a33e742399256d17daf7e6fe70bc88cce1a7bbc06c1a406?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38366\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38366"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=38366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}