We’ve all seen the frustrating ‘critical error’ message on WordPress websites. It says, “There has been a critical error on this website” Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.” It also gives a link to the WordPress troubleshooting guide.
In this guide, we’ll explain what causes this error, how to stop it from happening, and how you can fix it yourself—no tech skills needed.
What Is the Critical Error in WordPress?
This error stops WordPress from loading all the scripts it needs to function properly.
you’ll see a generic error message: ‘There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions,’ along with a link to the WordPress debugging guide.
You’ll also get an email sent to your admin email address for the site.
It also includes a link to access your WordPress dashboard in recovery mode, which we’ve found helpful when troubleshooting.
In some cases, the error message might not instruct you to check your email, simply stating that your site is experiencing a critical error.
how to fix it with email recovery mode
From my experience, the ‘critical error’ in WordPress usually happens because of a malfunctioning plugin, script, or piece of code that prevents WordPress from loading properly.
Now, let’s walk you through fixing the critical error in WordPress and running your website smoothly.
Fixing the Critical Error in WordPress Manually
If you didn’t receive the WordPress critical issue email, this guide will help you troubleshoot and fix the error.
If the issue started after a recent action, undoing it may resolve the problem.
If you’re unsure of the cause, follow the steps below.
1. Deactivate All WordPress Plugins
A common cause of WordPress critical errors is a plugin conflict or incompatibility. Since you can’t access the admin area, the solution is to deactivate all plugins.
Connect to your website via an FTP client or the File Manager in your hosting control panel, then navigate to the wp-content folder.
Inside the wp-content folder, find the plugins folder, right-click it, and select Rename. Change its name to anything (e.g., plugins-old). This prevents WordPress from loading activated plugins.
Now, visit your website to check if the critical error message is gone.
For more details, check our guide on deactivating all WordPress plugins.
2. Rename a theme folder to deactivate it
Access Your Control Panel – Log in to your hosting control panel (cPanel or similar) and navigate to File Manager.
Locate the wp-content Folder – Inside public_html, find the wp-content folder and open it.
Rename Your Theme Folder – Inside wp-content/themes, locate your active theme folder and rename it. For example, change hello-elementor to hello-elementor.old
Check for Errors – Visit your website to see if the issue is resolved.
If the error was caused by the theme, switch to a default WordPress theme (e.g., Twenty Twenty-Four) or update your current theme.
This method helps troubleshoot theme-related issues without losing your website content. 
3. Replace the WordPress core files.
A corrupted WordPress core file or malware can cause a critical error. The simplest way to replace the core files.
1️⃣ Download a Fresh Copy – Visit WordPress.org and download the latest version of WordPress.
2️⃣ Upload the ZIP file to your cPanel and extract it. This will create a WordPress folder.
📂 Open the folder, select all files, then right-click and choose Move Files. Ensure the destination path matches your current WordPress directory.
This method helps restore your site without affecting your content.
4. Turn On Debugging in WordPress
WordPress has a built-in debug system to log and troubleshoot errors.
Enable it by editing wp-config.php and finding this line:
define( 'WP_DEBUG', false );
define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'SCRIPT_DEBUG', true );
Debug mode displays PHP errors, warnings, and notices, helping you identify and fix issues.
It also logs errors in the debug.log file, stored in the /wp-content/ folder.
5. Increase PHP Memory Limit
Your hosting server needs memory to run applications smoothly. If it lacks resources for PHP, it may crash, causing a WordPress critical error.
Fix this by increasing the PHP memory limit in wp-config.php with this line:
define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M' );
Don’t forget to save and upload your changes to the server.
For more details, you can see our tutorial on how to increase the PHP memory limit in WordPress.
6. Upgrade Your PHP Version
If you have access to the WordPress recovery mode, you can see which PHP version your site is using by visiting the Tools » Site Health page and switching to the Info tab.
Most reliable WordPress hosts let you update PHP easily from your control panel. For details, check our guide on updating PHP with popular hosting providers.
Pro Tip: If you’re unable to resolve the error, consider hiring me to fix it for you.
How to Avoid the ‘Critical Error’ in the Future
WordPress follows high coding standards as an open-source platform, but conflicts can still cause errors.
Check out our article on how to prevent critical errors in the future.