How to Fix "The Site Is Experiencing Technical Difficulties" Error in WordPress (2024 Guide)
Is your WordPress site suddenly displaying the dreaded "The site is experiencing technical difficulties" error message? This can be a frustrating experience for both you and your visitors. Don‘t worry though – in most cases, this error has a straightforward fix.
In this guide, we‘ll walk you through two methods to troubleshoot the technical difficulties error and get your WordPress site back online as quickly as possible. Let‘s dive in!
Understanding the "Technical Difficulties" Error
When you see the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties" notice on your WordPress site, it means that PHP code somewhere in WordPress, a plugin, or a theme has a serious problem resulting in a fatal error.
Prior to WordPress 5.2, this would result in the infamous "White Screen of Death". But now, thanks to improved fatal error protection, WordPress will display this slightly more user-friendly error message instead of a completely blank white screen.
From the front-end of your site, it will simply say "The site is experiencing technical difficulties." But if you try to log in to your WordPress dashboard, the message will include an additional detail – it will instruct you to check the admin email inbox for further instructions.
There are two main ways to go about resolving the technical difficulties error:
- Using the special WordPress Recovery Mode via the admin email
- Manually troubleshooting by deactivating plugins, switching themes, etc.
We‘ll cover both methods in detail, starting with Recovery Mode since it‘s the easier approach if you received the admin email.
Method 1: Using WordPress Recovery Mode
Recovery Mode was introduced in WordPress 5.2 to make it easier to fix the technical difficulties error and other issues that lock you out of your site. Here‘s how it works:
When the fatal error occurs, WordPress will send an email to the admin email address registered for your site. This email contains a special login link that gives you access to Recovery Mode.
The email will also provide details about what caused the error on your site, such as a specific theme or plugin.
To access Recovery Mode, simply click the link in the email. You‘ll be taken to an alternate version of your WordPress login page. Log in with your normal admin username and password.
Once logged in via Recovery Mode, you‘ll see a message at the top explaining that you are in Recovery Mode along with a link to go fix the issue, like so:
"Warning: An error of type E_ERROR was caused in line 123 of the file /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/example-plugin/malfunctioning-file.php. Error message: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function some_function() in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/example-plugin/malfunctioning-file.php:123"
If the error was in a plugin, the message will include a link to access the Plugins page. If the error was in a theme, the link will take you to the Themes page. And if the issue was in a WordPress core file itself, Recovery Mode will reinstall core files for you automatically.
On the Plugins screen, you‘ll see the plugin that caused the error will already be deactivated with a notice about the specific error:
"The plugin example-plugin has been deactivated due to an error: E_ERROR in line 123 of the file /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/example-plugin/malfunctioning-file.php. Error message: Uncaught Error: Call to undefined function some_function() in /var/www/html/wp-content/plugins/example-plugin/malfunctioning-file.php on line 123."
With the broken plugin identified and deactivated, your site should now work normally again when you exit Recovery Mode. You can then look for an alternative plugin or reach out to the plugin developer for support.
Similarly, if a theme was the issue, you‘ll see a notification identifying the theme that caused the error in Recovery Mode:
"The theme Twenty Twenty-Two has been deactivated due to an error: E_ERROR in line 99 of the file /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/twentytwentytwo/functions.php. Error message: Uncaught Error: Undefined constant EXAMPLE_PATH in /var/www/html/wp-content/themes/twentytwentytwo/functions.php:99"
WordPress will revert to a default theme to get your site working again. You can then reinstall a fresh copy of the theme to see if that resolves the error before contacting the theme developer.
Once you‘ve fixed the issue, you can click the Exit Recovery Mode button at the top of the WordPress dashboard to return your site to normal.
While Recovery Mode makes troubleshooting the technical difficulties error much easier, it only works if you successfully receive the admin email with the special Recovery Mode link.
Many WordPress sites have issues with sending emails, so there‘s a chance you won‘t receive it. In that case, you‘ll need to troubleshoot the old-fashioned way.
Method 2: Manually Troubleshooting the Technical Difficulties Error
If you didn‘t receive the Recovery Mode email, you‘ll need to roll up your sleeves and do some manual troubleshooting to fix the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties" error.
The process mainly involves systematically ruling out potential causes – plugins, themes, and WordPress core files – to determine the culprit. Here‘s a step-by-step walkthrough:
Step 1: Deactivate All WordPress Plugins
One of the most common causes of the technical difficulties error is a problematic plugin, either due to a new plugin being installed, an update introducing a bug, or a conflict with another plugin, theme, or custom code on your site.
Since you won‘t have access to your regular WordPress admin dashboard due to the fatal error, you‘ll need to deactivate plugins via FTP (or alternatively, using the File Manager tool in your web hosting control panel).
To get started, connect to your site via FTP using a client like FileZilla. Then navigate to the wp-content folder.
Inside wp-content, you‘ll see a folder named plugins. To deactivate all plugins at once, simply rename the plugins folder to something like plugins-deactivated.
Now try accessing your site‘s front-end and wp-admin. If the technical difficulties error has disappeared, you‘ve confirmed a plugin was definitely the issue.
The next step is to determine which specific plugin caused the error. Rename the plugins-deactivated folder back to plugins to reactive them all again.
Then, access your Plugins page in the WordPress dashboard (now that you can access it again) and reactivate the plugins one at a time until the technical difficulties error returns.
When it does, you‘ve identified the guilty plugin! You can delete it via FTP and look for an alternative, or contact the plugin developer and share the error details to get support.
Step 2: Activate a Default Theme
If deactivating plugins didn‘t resolve the technical difficulties error, the next most likely culprit is your active WordPress theme. A bug in the theme code or a conflict with an installed plugin could be the cause.
To rule out a theme issue, you‘ll need to activate a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Two. Start by accessing your site via FTP again and navigating to the wp-content/themes folder.
Download a copy of your site‘s currently active theme to your local computer as a backup – just in case. Then, delete the theme folder from wp-content/themes.
If you already have a default WordPress theme installed, WordPress will automatically fall back to using it with your active theme gone. If not, you can download a fresh copy of Twenty Twenty-Two from the official theme directory and upload it to your site via FTP.
Now check your site‘s front-end. If it‘s loading without the technical difficulties error, your previous theme was the source of the error.
You can try downloading a fresh copy of the theme, uploading it to your site via FTP, and reactivating it to see if the error persists. If it does, you‘ll want to reach out to the theme developer for assistance. Be sure to share any specific error details you saw to help them identify the issue.
Step 3: Reinstall WordPress Core Files
If neither deactivating plugins or switching themes resolved the technical difficulties error, the next possibility is that WordPress core files are corrupted or have been modified by malware.
To check, you‘ll need to download a fresh copy of WordPress and use it to replace your site‘s core files:
- Go to wordpress.org/download and download the latest version of WordPress.
- Unzip the downloaded file to extract the wordpress directory.
- Connect to your site via FTP.
- Navigate to the root directory of your WordPress site (the one that contains folders like wp-content, wp-admin, and wp-includes).
- Upload the fresh wp-admin, wp-includes, and any other wp-* files, overwriting the existing ones on your server. Do NOT overwrite the wp-content directory or your wp-config.php file.
After uploading the new core files, visit your site and check if the error persists. If the technical difficulties error is gone, the core file reinstall fixed the issue.
However, if fresh core files don‘t resolve the error, you‘re dealing with something trickier. It‘s time to call for backup in the form of your web host‘s support team.
Step 4: Contact Your Web Hosting Provider for Assistance
Even after troubleshooting plugins, themes, and core files, it‘s possible (though less likely) that the technical difficulties error remains. This likely points to an issue at the hosting environment level.
The quickest solution is to contact your hosting provider‘s support and ask them to take a look. Quality WordPress hosts like Kinsta and WP Engine have skilled support teams experienced at resolving these types of issues.
They‘ll be able to:
- Check the server error logs for clues about the cause of the issue
- Restore a recent backup of your site to rule out any recent changes as the problem
- Thoroughly scan your WordPress files for signs of malware or a hack
- Investigate other server-side explanations for the error
If you‘re not using a WordPress-specific host, you can still contact your hosting provider for assistance. But if they‘re unable to help, you may want to consider migrating to a host that specializes in WordPress.
Choosing a reputable managed WordPress host gives you access to more advanced support from WordPress experts to quickly resolve issues like the technical difficulties error in the future.
Conclusion
Dealing with the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties" error is never fun. But equipped with this troubleshooting guide, you should be able to hunt down the cause and implement a fix to get your WordPress site back online ASAP.
Remember, if you don‘t receive the Recovery Mode email, follow these steps to manually resolve the error:
- Deactivate all plugins by renaming the plugins folder via FTP.
- Switch to a default theme by deleting your active theme folder via FTP.
- Reinstall a fresh copy of the WordPress core files via FTP.
- Contact your hosting provider and request assistance.
Of course, the best treatment for this error is prevention:
- Only install plugins and themes from reputable sources.
- Keep your WordPress installation and all plugins and themes updated to ensure you have the latest bug fixes.
- Take regular backups of your WordPress site so that you can quickly restore if something goes wrong.
Following WordPress security best practices and using secure WordPress hosting will go a long way in avoiding situations that trigger the dreaded technical difficulties error.
By methodically troubleshooting and taking proactive measures to keep your WordPress site in tip-top shape, you‘ll be able to resolve the "The site is experiencing technical difficulties" error and keep it from disrupting your site in the future.
If you liked this article, check out our other WordPress guides and tutorials to learn more about troubleshooting common WordPress errors and keeping your site secure. And if you have any other tips for resolving the technical difficulties error, share them in the comments section!
