First, find WordPress’s email
When this error happens, WordPress usually emails the site’s admin address. The subject says something like “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue.” It names the plugin or theme that crashed, and it has a special link to get back in.
- Check your spam folder. These emails often land there.
- Check old inboxes too. The admin address is often whoever built the site, or an email you stopped using years ago.
- Use the link soon. It stops working after a while, and WordPress won’t send a new one right away.
What you can try yourself
- Use the link in the email.It opens your site in “recovery mode.” You still log in with your usual WordPress password. WordPress pauses the broken plugin for you only, so you can go to Plugins and switch it off, or update it.
- Think about what changed.Did a plugin update last night? Did your host email you about a PHP upgrade? The last thing that changed is usually the cause.
- Ask your hosting company.Their support team can read the error log, which names the file that crashed. Many can also restore last night’s backup.
Please don’t reinstall WordPress or delete plugins to “start fresh.” That can wipe your settings, and it rarely fixes the real problem.
Seeing a completely blank page instead? That’s the older version of the same problem. Our guide to the WordPress white screen covers it.