Fix “There has been a critical error on this website” (WordPress)

The WordPress message “There has been a critical error on this website” appears when WordPress hits a fatal PHP error. It often happens after:

• a plugin or theme update,
• switching PHP versions,
• installing a new plugin (especially security or caching),
• running out of PHP memory/time.

Below are safe troubleshooting steps for GARMTECH WordPress Hosting and WordPress on GARMTECH Web Hosting (Plesk).

1) Check WordPress Recovery Mode email

When a critical error happens, WordPress may send an email to the site administrator with a Recovery Mode link.

• Check the mailbox of the WordPress admin email address (including Spam/Junk).
• Use the Recovery Mode link to log in and disable the plugin/theme that caused the crash.

2) Check the error log in Plesk

1. Log in to Plesk via My.GARMTECH.
2. Websites & Domains → your domain → Logs.
3. Open error_log and look for “Fatal error” lines.

The error log usually points to a plugin/theme file and the exact reason.

3) Disable plugins (fastest fix)

Option A: WordPress Toolkit

1. In Plesk, open WordPress (WordPress Toolkit).
2. Select your WordPress installation.
3. Disable plugins one by one (start with the newest/updated plugin).

Option B: File Manager / FTP-SSL

If you cannot open wp-admin, disable plugins from the filesystem:

1. Plesk → Files → httpdocs → wp-content.
2. Rename plugins to plugins.disabled.
3. Reload the website. If it works, rename it back and disable plugins one by one (rename individual plugin folders) to find the culprit.

4) Switch to a default theme (if needed)

If disabling plugins does not help, the active theme may be broken.

• In Plesk File Manager, go to wp-content/themes and temporarily rename the active theme folder.
• WordPress will fall back to a default theme if available (for example Twenty Twenty‑Four).

5) Check PHP version and increase PHP limits

1. Plesk → Websites & Domains → domain → PHP Settings.
2. Try a stable PHP version supported by your WordPress/plugins.
3. If the log shows memory errors, increase memory_limit (and, if required, execution time).

6) Enable WordPress debug log (optional but very useful)

You can enable debug logging to see errors in a file:

1. Open wp-config.php in httpdocs.
2. Add (or set) these lines:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

Then check wp-content/debug.log for details. After fixing the issue, disable debug to avoid logging sensitive information.

7) Restore from backup if the site must be fixed quickly

If you need the fastest rollback, restore the last working backup in Plesk (Backup Manager).