WordPress Says 'There Has Been a Critical Error on This Website'

What's happening

"There has been a critical error on this website" means a plugin, theme or piece of custom code hit an error serious enough that WordPress couldn't finish loading the page. Your content is almost always still safe; WordPress caught the crash and is showing this short message instead of a broken page.

Sometimes the whole site shows it. Other times only one page, the checkout, a form or the dashboard is affected, and the rest looks fine. If you're logged in, the message may add "Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions."

That email is the useful part. WordPress usually sends one to the site's admin email address with the subject "Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue." It names the plugin or theme WordPress blames and includes a recovery mode link. Recovery mode lets you, and only you, into the dashboard with the broken plugin or theme paused, while visitors keep seeing the error. Here's what that email means and how to use it safely.

Why it happens

The usual trigger is an update. A plugin, theme or WordPress itself updated, sometimes automatically, and something no longer fits together. Other common causes are two plugins that clash, a plugin that needs a newer version of PHP (the language WordPress runs on) than your server has, a site running out of memory, or code pasted into a theme file with a mistake in it, which shows up as a syntax error. Underneath, it's the same kind of failure as a 500 Internal Server Error; this is WordPress's own wording for it.

What you can safely try

• Look for the WordPress email, including in spam, and keep it. The details at the bottom show exactly where the error happened. If nothing arrived, WordPress email may not be getting through: here's why that happens.
• Think back to what changed. A recent update, a new plugin or a code edit usually lines up with when the error started.
• Check a few pages while logged out, including your checkout or contact form, so you know how much of the site is affected.
• If you use the recovery link, look but don't delete. Deactivating a plugin can be undone; deleting one can wipe its settings. Hold off on more updates or file edits too, because stacking changes makes the cause harder to find.

When to call us

We work on business websites, and this is a standard repair for us. We find the exact error behind the message, fix it or swap out the plugin that caused it, and check your key pages, forms and checkout afterward. We fix it at a flat rate you approve before any work starts. Start with our Site Down or Critical Error Fix.