How to Recover Your WordPress Site After a Plugin or Theme Update Breaks It

Troubleshooting

September 16, 2025

Sometimes updating a plugin or theme can unexpectedly break your WordPress site—causing errors, layout issues, or even the dreaded white screen of death. Don’t panic! Here’s a step-by-step guide to recovering your site quickly and safely.

Step 1: Identify the Problem

Did the error appear immediately after updating a plugin or theme?
Check the exact time of failure—this often matches the update log in Dashboard → Updates.
Enable debugging in wp-config.php to capture detailed error messages:

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

This logs errors to wp-content/debug.log without showing them to visitors.

Step 2: Access Your Site via Recovery Mode

If WordPress detects a fatal error, it may send an email to the admin address with a Recovery Mode link. This allows you to log in safely and deactivate the faulty plugin or theme.

Check your email for the “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue” message.
Click the special login link to access Recovery Mode.
Deactivate the plugin or theme that caused the issue.

Step 3: Deactivate Plugins Manually (If You Can’t Access Admin)

If you’re locked out of the dashboard:

Use FTP or your hosting file manager.
Navigate to wp-content/plugins.
Rename the folder of the suspected plugin (e.g., elementor → elementor-disabled).
Refresh your site—it should load again without that plugin.

For a theme conflict:

Go to wp-content/themes.
Rename the active theme folder.
WordPress will automatically fall back to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Five).

Step 4: Restore from a Backup

If you have a recent backup (via your host or a plugin like UpdraftPlus, BlogVault, or Jetpack Backup), restore it to roll back the changes.
Many managed WordPress hosts provide one-click restore in their control panel.

Step 5: Roll Back the Update

If the update is confirmed as the cause:

Download an older version of the plugin or theme from the WordPress.org repository (see the “Advanced View” tab).
Upload and replace the files via FTP.
Or use a rollback plugin like WP Rollback to switch versions easily (once your site is back online).

Step 6: Contact Support

Check the plugin or theme’s support forum on WordPress.org or the developer’s site.
Report the issue with details (WordPress version, PHP version, error logs).
Sometimes known bugs are fixed quickly in a follow-up update.

Step 7: Prevent Future Breakages

Use a staging site: Test updates on a staging environment before applying them to live.
Enable automatic backups: So you can restore in minutes if something goes wrong.
Update carefully: Update one plugin or theme at a time to easily spot problems.
Choose reliable plugins/themes: Stick to actively maintained and well-reviewed options.

Summary

Enable debugging and check for the faulty plugin or theme.
Use Recovery Mode or manually deactivate plugins/themes via FTP.
Restore from a backup if needed.
Roll back to a stable version until a fix is released.
Test updates on staging and keep regular backups to avoid downtime in the future.

By following these steps, you can recover quickly from a broken update and reduce the risk of it happening again.

👉 Need more help? Explore our WordPress Troubleshooting Guide for step-by-step solutions to the most common errors.