WordPress has a few peculiarly frustrating issues that tin completely shut down your site, but don't provide much guidance well-nigh what's causing the trouble. The "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." error is one such outcome.

On its face, information technology doesn't tell you lot much. Fortunately, in most cases, information technology is really quite unproblematic to resolve. A few troubleshooting steps should have information technology taken care of in no time.

In this article, we'll discuss where you might see this WordPress fault, as well as what causes it. Then we'll walk yous through half dozen steps for fixing information technology if it shows upwards on your ain site.

Let's bound right in!

An Introduction to the "The Site Is Experiencing Technical Difficulties." WordPress Error

"The site is experiencing technical difficulties." is a fatal WordPress error. This ways that your website will exist downwards, and probable unavailable on both the frontend and backend. For your visitors, it may expect similar this:

The site is experiencing technical difficulties. error
"The site is experiencing technical difficulties." message on the frontend

On the backend, the message appears like this:

The site is experiencing technical difficulties.
"The site is experiencing technical difficulties." message on the backend

A variation of this error in newer WordPress versions reads: "At that place has been a critical mistake on your website". Here's how it volition appear on the frontend of your site:

critical error visitor
"There has been a critical mistake on your site" bulletin on the frontend

And here'due south the backend view:

critical error admin
"There has been a critical error on your site" message on the backend.

Every bit you lot can see, the newer variation is quite like to the old one, apart from a slight difference in wording.

Sometimes WordPress will send an email to the site's administrator, with more information most what may be causing the error. Still, it's just as likely that you'll see this message with no explanation regarding why it appeared.

Most of the time, this error is the issue of a plugin or theme disharmonize. Due to WordPress' open-source nature, many different developers with various coding backgrounds and styles create extensions that users can add on to the platform.

Unfortunately, this means that sometimes plugins and themes from unlike developers don't play nicely with one another. When ii tools with conflicting code are both installed on a WordPress site, it tin atomic number 82 to a wide range of bug.

In some cases, one or both plugins will simply end working. Other times, all the same, this kind of conflict can consequence in a fatal error such as the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." message.

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How to Ready the "The Site Is Experiencing Technical Difficulties." WordPress Error (In 6 Steps)

If you're already familiar with troubleshooting plugin conflicts, resolving the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." error should be fairly easy. If not, don't worry. Below, we've included detailed steps for how to tackle this task, likewise every bit what to do if the problem persists.

Pace 1: Bank check Your E-mail for a Fatal Fault Notification

As we mentioned earlier, in some cases WordPress volition ship the site's admin an e-mail containing more information near what may exist causing the error:

technical difficulties email
Admin email for the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." error.

This e-mail will include the following key pieces of information that can assistance you troubleshoot the mistake faster:

  • The name of the plugin or theme causing the conflict
  • A link to put your site into 'recovery mode'

It is possible to troubleshoot the error without this information. However, it will require a lot of guesswork to decide which extension is causing the problem. If your site is using a big number of plugins, the procedure can become time-consuming.

If you're the site's admin and the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." fault message includes the addendum: "Delight check your site admin electronic mail inbox for instructions", information technology's best to exercise so before proceeding (recollect to attempt your spam binder every bit well). Then follow the instructions for troubleshooting in recovery mode beneath.

Withal, if you're non the site'south admin and they can't be reached, or if your error message doesn't say annihilation about an email, never fearfulness. You tin can notwithstanding follow the steps for troubleshooting using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) below.

Step 2: Troubleshoot for a Plugin or Theme Disharmonize

Due to the nature of WordPress' fatal errors, you won't be able to access the backend of your site to deactivate the extension that's causing the problem. Depending on whether or non y'all have admission to a recovery fashion link, you'll accept 2 options for working around this limitation.

Resolving a Conflict in Recovery Mode

If you lot accept access to a recovery fashion link, click on it. This will take you to your site's backend, where y'all will be prompted to log in using your WordPress credentials:

recovery mode login to fix "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." error
The Recovery mode login page

You practise not have to use an admin account. If the site'southward administrator wants to send the recovery mode link to some other user and allow them to troubleshoot the error, the latter political party can utilize their own credentials.

Information technology's important to note that, while y'all're working in recovery mode, the fatal error volition persist for other users and your site's visitors. Merely the user who logged in via the recovery mode link will be able to access the website ordinarily.

In recovery mode, the plugins and/or theme that WordPress has identified every bit causing the error will be paused. They will also be identified in a banner notification at the top of the screen.

Click on the link to the Plugins screen to come across the extensions involved in the conflict:

wordpress recovery mode
The WordPress recovery fashion

Under each plugin and/or theme's proper name, click on Deactivate:

recovery mode plugins
Deactivating a plugin in recovery mode

Then, select Go out Recovery Mode in the admin bar:

exit recovery mode
Exiting recovery mode

The problematic extensions will now exist deactivated for all users, and your site should be bachelor to anybody again. Of course, you'll first want to check and make sure that's the case. And then you tin can:

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  • Delete the extension(s) if they are not necessary for whatever key functionality on your site.
  • Remove the conflicting plugin or delete the theme and replace information technology.
  • Contact the plugin or theme'southward developer and enquire if they can edit the extension's lawmaking to resolve the conflict. So update and reactivate the new version.
  • Edit the tool's code to resolve the conflict yourself, and so reactivate information technology.

Specially if the plugin is popular, you lot may have practiced luck working with the developer to make the necessary changes. It'south worth noting, notwithstanding, that you lot'll want to test all potential changes and new extensions on a staging site earlier implementing them on your live site.

Determining the Source of the Trouble With FTP

If you tin't access WordPress' recovery way, you tin can notwithstanding troubleshoot a plugin conflict without admission to the backend. To do so, you'll need an FTP customer as well as your FTP credentials. Y'all should be able to find the latter in your hosting account's profile:

kinsta ftp credentials
FTP credentials in the MyKinsta dashboard

Log into your site's server via your FTP client, using your FTP credentials. Then navigate to wp-content > plugins:

filezilla plugins directory
The Plugins subdirectory in FileZilla

There y'all'll discover subdirectories for each of your plugins. If you know which 1 is causing the trouble, correct-click on it and select Rename:

filezilla rename plugin
Renaming a plugin in FileZilla

Modify the name of the binder to something like "plugin-name-deactivated". This will forbid WordPress from finding the plugin's files:

filezilla deactivated plugin
A deactivated plugin in FileZilla

The plugin volition now be deactivated, and y'all should be able to return to your site and admission the backend commonly. You can then bargain with the problematic plugin every bit you encounter fit, according to the options we outlined in the previous section.

If you don't know which plugin is responsible for the fatal fault, simply rename the kickoff one in the listing. So return to your site and refresh your browser to meet if the issue is resolved. Repeat this process, renaming your plugins i at a fourth dimension, until the error goes abroad.

At that point, y'all'll know that the last plugin y'all deactivated is the i causing the conflict. You lot can then remove it or contact the developer accordingly. This same process will work for themes, and you'll find the relevant subdirectories in wp-content > themes.

Pace 3: Ensure That Y'all're Running a Supported Version of PHP

If your site is back to normal later on completing Stride two, you tin stop here. However, there'due south a take chances that troubleshooting for a plugin or theme conflict volition not resolve the "This site is experiencing technical difficulties" error.

If that'due south the case for you, your adjacent move should exist to determine whether your site is using a supported version of PHP. Since WordPress v.0, the platform no longer supports versions older than 5.6.xx.

Additionally, the PHP developers themselves no longer provide support for versions older than 7.4.

You lot should be able to determine which version of PHP your site is using past logging into your hosting business relationship. Kinsta customers will find this information in their MyKinsta dashboards, past clicking on Sites in the sidebar:

mykinsta dashboard sites
Accessing your sites in the MyKinsta dashboard

The PHP version for each of your websites will be listed to the right:

current php version
Viewing your current PHP version in the MyKinsta dashboard

If you're running an outdated version of PHP, you'll need to update it. The steps for this process may vary based on your hosting provider.

Kinsta customers can simply use our PHP Engine tool. To admission it, click on the proper noun of the site you want to update. Then select the Tools tab:

Modifying your PHP version in the MyKinsta dashboard
Modifying your PHP version in the MyKinsta dashboard

Scroll downward until you find the PHP Engine tool. Click on the drop-downward menu labeled Modify, and select the version you wish to upgrade to.

Information technology's recommended that y'all run the latest PHP version available, for both security and performance reasons. In one case the update is complete, render to your site to see if the fatal mistake is resolved.

Step 4: Enable WordPress' Debug Mode

If you're still seeing the "This site is experiencing technical difficulties" message, you lot can attempt to diagnose the underlying issue by using WordPress debug mode. This is another built-in troubleshooting feature that will reveal whatever underlying PHP errors.

To enable this feature, yous'll need to access your wp-config.php file via FTP, and add the post-obit line of code right before "That's all, cease editing! Happy publishing.":

          define( 'WP_DEBUG', truthful );        

Save and re-upload the file, and so render to your site and refresh the page. Peruse the mistake messages displayed in debug way, and decide whether any of them might be causing the fatal error. You'll then demand to follow troubleshooting steps relevant to that effect.

It'southward important to annotation that WordPress isn't meant to exist left in debug mode permanently. This mode should be used for troubleshooting purposes but since it makes sensitive information potentially available to anyone.

To turn it off again, change the condition in the wp-config.php code snippet from "truthful" to false", then save and upload the file again.

Step v: View Your Server's Error Log

If you don't see whatever suspicious letters in debug mode, y'all can also check your server's error log. You should exist able to admission this via your hosting account. Kinsta customers can do so by selecting the Logs tab in the relevant site's profile:

kinsta error log
Accessing Error Logs in MyKinsta

From the drop-down menu, select error.log. Then look for any issues that may be causing the "This site is experiencing technical difficulties" bulletin, and troubleshoot them equally necessary.

Step 6: Contact Your Hosting Provider

If you've exhausted all of the in a higher place steps, and you still haven't been able to eliminate the "This site is experiencing technical difficulties" mistake in WordPress, so it'south fourth dimension to bring in some assist. The issue may lie with your server and be unreachable without assistance from your host.

Therefore, you'll want to contact your hosting provider by whatever means they offer. Kinsta customers can achieve our back up team 24/seven via chat, electronic mail, or our Contact page.

Summary

"The site is experiencing technical difficulties." error in WordPress tin be a frustrating issue. Vague alerts that give you lot footling indication as to what's causing the trouble tin be especially hard to fix.

Fortunately, you can resolve this particular issue in six steps or less:

  1. Check your email for a fatal error notification.
  2. Troubleshoot for a plugin or theme disharmonize.
  3. Ensure that you lot're running a supported version of PHP.
  4. Enable WordPress' debug mode.
  5. View your server's fault log.
  6. Contact your hosting provider.

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