Month: October 2026

WordPress Site Broke After a Plugin Update? How to Fix It Fast

Posted on by admin

Intro

You click “Update” on a plugin, and suddenly your site shows a white screen, a critical error message or a broken layout. It is stressful, but it is also very common, and in most cases the fix is quick. Here is what to do, step by step, when a plugin update breaks your WordPress site.

Step 1: Stay calm and note what changed

Before you touch anything, remember which plugin you updated and what error you see. Common ones are the “White Screen of Death”, “There has been a critical error on this website” and a 500 Internal Server Error. This tells you where to look.

Step 2: Check your email

Since version 5.2, WordPress often sends a “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue” email to the admin address. It names the plugin that caused the problem and includes a special recovery mode link that lets you log in and deactivate it. Check your inbox and spam folder first.

Step 3: Deactivate the plugin from the dashboard

If you can still log in to wp-admin, go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and deactivate the plugin you just updated. Then reload your site. In many cases it comes back immediately.

Step 4: Deactivate it using FTP or File Manager

If you cannot log in, use your hosting File Manager or an FTP client. Open the wp-content/plugins folder and rename the plugin’s folder, for example from plugin-name to plugin-name-disabled. WordPress will treat the plugin as missing and turn it off. If you are not sure which plugin is the cause, rename the whole plugins folder to plugins-old, check if the site loads, then rename it back and test plugins one at a time.

Step 5: Restore from a backup

If renaming does not help, restore the most recent backup from your host or backup plugin. This is why daily backups matter. Restoring takes you back to the state before the update, so you can try the update again in a safer way.

Step 6: Turn on debugging to see the real error

For a stubborn problem, enable debugging in wp-config.php by setting WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG to true. Errors will be saved to wp-content/debug.log, and they usually name the exact file and plugin. Turn debugging off again when you are done, and do not leave it on a live site.

Step 7: Check for compatibility issues

Most update crashes come from a mismatch: the plugin needs a newer PHP version than your server runs, it conflicts with another plugin or your theme, or it is not yet compatible with your WordPress version. Read the plugin’s changelog and support forum. Other users usually report the same issue.

How to avoid this next time

  • Always take a backup before updating. Daily automatic backups are best.
  • Update on a staging site first. Test on a copy, then move changes to the live site.
  • Update one plugin at a time. If something breaks, you know the cause right away.
  • Do not update during busy hours. Pick a quiet time, and check key pages after each update.
  • Remove plugins you do not use. Fewer plugins means fewer things that can break.
  • Keep everything updated regularly. Skipping updates for months makes the next jump riskier.

When to ask for professional help

If the site is still down, you are losing orders, or you are not comfortable editing files on the server, get help quickly. A developer can find the cause, restore the site and set up a safe update routine so this does not repeat. This is exactly what our WordPress maintenance plans cover, with daily backups, tested updates and fast support.

WooCommerce Checkout Not Working? 8 Quick Fixes That Actually Work

Posted on by admin

Intro

When your WooCommerce checkout stops working, every minute costs you real money. Customers add products to the cart, reach the last step, and then see an error, a frozen button or a blank page. Most of the time the cause is small and fixable. Here are eight common reasons WooCommerce checkout breaks, and how to fix each one. Before you start, take a full backup of your site.

1. A plugin conflict

This is the most common cause. A recently updated plugin, such as a security, cache, popup or payment add-on, can clash with WooCommerce. To test, temporarily disable all plugins except WooCommerce and your payment gateway. If checkout works, turn plugins back on one by one until it breaks again. The last one you enabled is the culprit.

2. Theme problems

Some themes override WooCommerce templates, and an outdated template can break checkout after a WooCommerce update. Switch to a default theme like Storefront on a staging copy and test. If checkout works there, update your theme or ask the developer to fix the template files.

3. Caching the checkout page

Cart, checkout and My Account pages must never be cached. If a caching plugin or your hosting cache stores them, customers may see an empty cart, wrong totals or expired sessions. Add these pages to the cache exclusion list in your caching plugin, then clear all caches.

4. Payment gateway errors

If the checkout loads but the payment fails, check your gateway settings. Make sure the API keys are correct, the gateway is not in test mode on a live store, and the plugin is on the latest version. Also check WooCommerce → Status → Logs for payment errors.

5. JavaScript errors

The checkout page depends on JavaScript. If a script fails, the “Place order” button may do nothing. Open your browser, press F12 and check the Console tab for red errors. Often a minify or “combine JS” option in an optimisation plugin is the cause. Turn it off for the checkout page and test again.

6. Missing or broken WooCommerce pages

WooCommerce needs its Cart, Checkout and My Account pages assigned correctly. Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced and confirm each page is set. The checkout page should contain the WooCommerce checkout block or the [woocommerce_checkout] shortcode.

7. SSL and mixed-content issues

Checkout must run on HTTPS. If your site loads some files over HTTP, browsers can block them and the page may break or show a security warning. Make sure your SSL certificate is active and that your WordPress and Site URL settings both use https.

8. Server limits and PHP errors

Low PHP memory, timeouts or an old PHP version can make checkout fail silently, often with a “500 Internal Server Error”. Ask your host to raise the PHP memory limit (256 MB is a good start) and check the error log. Turn on WP_DEBUG on a staging site to see the exact error.

Still not working?

Checkout bugs are tricky because they can come from several places at once, and testing on a live store risks more lost orders. If you want it fixed safely, our WooCommerce support service finds the cause, fixes it on a staging copy first, and then moves the fix live.

Why Is My WordPress Site Slow? 7 Common Causes and How to Fix Them

Posted on by admin