Seeing There Has Been a Critical Error on Your Website can be shocking sometimes, but do not panic; this is a common WordPress error caused by a theme or plugin conflict, or PHP not completing its task. It tells you that there is a need for fix for your website to perform properly.
Resolving this issue only takes a few steps, which include identifying where the problem is coming from and solving it. In this complete guide, you will learn everything that will help your WordPress website come back to live under minutes.
What you need to know about WordPress errors
WordPress has different error messages that display on your website, but the common ones can be identified through these steps:
- Check what type of message is displayed on your website (Error Establishing a Database Connection, 500 Internal Server Error, and more)
- Back up your website from your CPanel account
- Identify where the error comes from, either Theme, Plugin, corrupted files, or PHP not completing task
- Deactivate plugins and the theme
- Solve the issue
How to fix WordPress There Has Been a Critical Error on Your Website
First thing you need to do when you see this error on your website is to check your admin email for any message with instructions. This email tells you exactly what is conflicting on your website, so that you can begin fixing.
1. Activate debugging mode
This is a technical method of forcing WordPress to display what error is affecting the website from working properly. You have to be very careful with your files here, and also, to be safe, always back up your website properly.
- Locate your website wp-config.php file at the root folder (Public_html) of your website
- Activate this setting by looking for the code “define ( ‘WP_DEBUG’, false)” and then replace the false with true.
- Add these two lines of code: “define ( ‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true)”, “define ( ‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false).”
2. Deactivate your theme
If the theme conflicts with another, visit your cPanel account through your hosting. Follow these steps to deactivate the WordPress theme.
- Log in to your CPanel account
- Find the file manager in your account; that is where your website files are stored
- Click on the file manager and navigate to your website files, it can be found in the Public_html folder
- Inside the folder, find the wp-content folder -> themes folder -> then your installed themes will be displayed
- Rename your active theme to any name
- If you have the default WordPress theme installed, your website front page will automatically change to the new theme, and the error will be fixed
This is a very straightforward method of solving “There has been a critical error on your website,” if the themes are conflicting. If this is the error, you can delete the conflicting theme and reinstall properly.
3. Deactivate Plugin
Some WordPress plugins do conflict with each other due to several reasons, such as the plugin not being compatible with the current version of WordPress, PHP errors, and badly developed plugins. These can cause several errors on your website. So, how do you fix this? Follow the steps.
- In your CPanel account, inside the Public_html folder, locate your wp-content folder
- Inside the wp-content folder, find Plugins and rename the conflicting plugins
- In a situation where you don’t know which one is causing the error, you can rename all plugins, then refresh your website
- After fixing this error, rename it back one after the other
4. Restore your site backup
If you recently made changes to your website, and an error message displays. Revert back to your previous changes by restoring the website with a backup. This is a great way of regaining your website after “There Has Been a Critical Error on Your Website.”
Conclusion
“There Has Been a Critical Error on Your Website” can feel like a nightmare for every WordPress website owner, but there are steps to fix these errors by identifying what error message displays and what fix is required to bring back the website. If you follow this guide properly, there is a high chance your website will be fixed.
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