Disable a WordPress plugin or theme when you cannot log in

If WordPress shows a critical error, a white page, or you are locked out of wp-admin after installing/updating a plugin or theme, you can disable it from Plesk without access to the WordPress dashboard.

Method 1 — Use Plesk WordPress Toolkit (recommended)

1. Log in to Plesk.
2. Open WordPress (WordPress Toolkit).
3. Select your WordPress installation.
4. Open the Plugins tab and click Deactivate next to the problematic plugin.
5. If needed, open Themes and activate a different theme.

Method 2 — Rename the plugin folder (FTP/File Manager)

This method disables the plugin because WordPress cannot load it.

1. Open Plesk Files (File Manager) or connect via FTP‑SSL.
2. Go to /httpdocs/wp-content/plugins/.
3. Rename the plugin folder, for example:
   • plugin-name → plugin-name.disabled
4. Reload the website and try to log in again.

Disable all plugins at once (quick recovery)

1. Rename the whole folder:
   • /httpdocs/wp-content/plugins → plugins.disabled
2. If the site works again, create a new empty plugins folder and move plugins back one-by-one to find the culprit.

If the problem is caused by a theme

• Rename the active theme folder in /httpdocs/wp-content/themes/.
• WordPress will switch to a default theme (if available) and allow you to log in.

After you regain access

• Update WordPress core, plugins and themes.
• Remove unused plugins.
• Consider enabling automatic updates in Plesk WordPress Toolkit.

Related articles

• Enable WordPress auto-updates in Plesk WordPress Toolkit
• View website logs in Plesk (access_log, error_log) and troubleshoot errors
• Connect to hosting via FTP‑SSL (FTPS) using FileZilla