On this simple quick article we will show you how to fix the WordPress error “The site is experiencing technical difficulties”. This error is also called White Screen of Death and it’s happen when we update WordPress core system, theme or plugin.
The site is experiencing technical difficulties – WordPress Error
To try to fix the error, we start with making WordPress into debug mode.
Debug Mode in WordPress
1- Locate your wp-config.php file.
2- If you use Cpanel, right click on the file and click to “Edit”. If you use old school way, use ftp client, grabb the file to your computer and edit it locally !
Turn wp_debug to : true and add this 2 lines under it :
[php] define(‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true);define( ‘WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY’, false );
[/php]
Once the lines added and the file saved, hit refresh on any page from your site.
Now, go to the /wp-content/ folder and view the file debug.log.
Look for the “PHP Fatal Error:” line. It will give you an exact file and line number where the error occurred.
You can use this to identify whether the error is in a plugin, theme or WordPress core.
Remember to remove the debug code lines from the wp-config.php file after you are finished.
Another Fix : Resolving Theme Conflicts
Always with Cpanel or FTP client, go to /wp-content/themes and rename the directory to “yourthemenaleold”.
For example if you nuse Twenty theme, rename the folder Twentyold, then refresh the front page of the site which has the error on it.
No panic, you won’t lose your theme settings. They will be available when you restore the theme folder name at the end if this fix.
Note: you will need to have at least one default WordPress themes in your themes folder for this to work.
If the error is still there after you refresh the font page of the site then the error is not in your theme and you can rename your theme folder back to its original name.
If the error disappears and you see your site using one of the default themes, then your theme has the error in it. You can now access the admin area to update your theme or reach out to the theme developer or company for an update.
Resolving Plugin Conflicts
If the theme isn’t the problem then chances are it will be a plugin. Always by using Cpanel File Manager or your ftp client, go to /wp-content/plugins and rename the “plugins” folder to “pluginsold”.
Now refresh the site and login to the admin dashboard and navigate to the Plugins view. You will notice that all the plugins have been deactivated. Now go back to file manager and rename “pluginsold” to “plugins”. Navigate to the plugins view in the admin dashboard and refresh.
Now, start to activate each plugin one and a time, refreshing the front of the site until the error message appears again. The last plugin you activated is the one that has the error.
Now you know which plugin is causing the issue you can reach out to the developer or company where you purchased it from for a patch, or in the worst case scenario, find an alternative plugin.
Upgrading Your PHP Version
WordPress has increased the recommended version of PHP to version 7.2 and plugin and theme authors are taking advantage of the new functions available in PHP 7. You may find that the PHP fatal error in the log file is generated because the old PHP 5.6 function doesn’t exist any more.
This is called deprecation, where old functions are removed in favour of newer, better functionality. So It’s time to upgrade your PHP version from 5 to 7 and you can also do this easily from cPanel.
If you don’t have access to cPanel, contact your hosting provider and they will help you to upgrade.
Voilà
Originally posted 2020-02-27 16:34:43.
Leave a Reply