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Rescue mode

Fix the WordPress critical error page without FTP

When a plugin or theme crashes WordPress, most tools go down with the site. Sitecommand's rescue file still answers, finds what crashed and switches it off.

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client-shop.com.au

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.

Fatal error in elementor-pro

modules/forms/actions/webhook.php:88

Fix site
Switched off elementor-pro. The site answers again in 0.4 s.

Fix site

One button, while the site is down.

  1. 01

    Recorded

    The site keeps the fatal error: which file, which plugin or theme.

  2. 02

    Switched off

    A broken plugin is switched off; a broken theme swaps for a default one.

  3. 03

    Checked

    The site is checked again. If another plugin fails next, it repeats, up to three rounds.

Why it still works

It loads before the code that crashed.

A normal plugin starts after WordPress, so a crash during startup takes it down too. The rescue file is a must-use file that loads first and answers signed requests before the broken code runs.

It can only report the error, switch off a plugin, switch the theme, and set a file aside or put it back, and only while a fatal error is recorded. It is not a second way into a healthy site.

Load order
  1. 1mu-plugins/0-wpmcp-rescue.phploads first, answers signed requests
  2. 2WordPress corestarts
  3. 3plugins/elementor-procrashes during startup
  4. 4Normal plugins and admin toolsnever get to run

The usual way

No FTP. No recovery email.

Without Sitecommand

Find the hosting login

FTP in and rename plugin folders one by one

Wait for WordPress's recovery email

Guess which plugin did it

With Sitecommand

Press Fix site

The plugin that crashed is named

Switched off, nothing deleted

Back up in seconds, the error kept for later

FAQ

Questions

Do I need FTP or hosting access?+

No. Fix site works from the dashboard through the connector's rescue file, even while WordPress shows the critical error.

I never got WordPress's recovery mode email. Does that matter?+

No. Rescue mode does not use the recovery email; the dashboard sees the error and Fix site acts on it directly.

How does it know which plugin caused it?+

The rescue file records the fatal error and the file it came from, so Fix site switches off that plugin or theme and nothing else.

What if WordPress core itself is broken?+

Rescue mode stops and says so, because switching off plugins will not help there. Reinstall WordPress from wp-admin → Updates to replace the core files.

Is anything deleted?+

No. The plugin stays installed and switched off until you fix it or roll it back.

Keep reading

Related

Safe updatesEach update gets a restore point and a front-page check. If the site breaks, it rolls back by itself. Plugins, themes and WordPress core across all your sites.Read Uptime monitoringUptime checks every few minutes, SSL and domain expiry, and vulnerable plugins. Alerts go to Slack, Discord, Telegram or a webhook, worst problems first.Read Code LockCode Lock blocks plugin installs, code snippets, code changes and new administrators on a site until you unlock it. Posts, pages and orders keep working.Read

The sites keep running.
So do you.

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