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If you’ve ever visited your WordPress site only to be greeted by the message:

“There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.” I know how frustrating it can feel. The good news is, this error is common, and with the right steps, you can fix it and get your site back online.


What Causes the WordPress Critical Error?

1. Plugin Conflicts
Plugins add powerful features to your WordPress site, but they can also cause trouble.

If two plugins are incompatible, they may break the site’s functionality.
An outdated plugin that isn’t compatible with the latest WordPress version can trigger errors.
Poorly coded or abandoned plugins may introduce bugs that crash your site.


2. Theme Issues
Your theme controls your site’s design, but it also contains PHP code.

If your theme is outdated, it may not work with the latest version of WordPress or PHP.
A coding mistake in the theme’s functions.php file can easily cause a critical error.
Premium or custom themes sometimes include bundled plugins that can conflict with WordPress updates.


3. PHP Version Incompatibility
WordPress is built on PHP, so running an unsupported or outdated version can lead to errors.

Some plugins and themes require PHP 8.0+ to work properly.
Hosting servers with older PHP versions (like PHP 5.6 or 7.0) often cause compatibility issues.
Even if the site works temporarily, unsupported PHP versions can create sudden crashes after updates.


4. Memory Limit Exhaustion
Every WordPress site is given a certain amount of server memory to run. If your site exceeds this limit:

Resource-heavy plugins (like page builders or security plugins) may use too much memory.
Large websites with lots of media files and traffic can quickly hit the limit.
When PHP memory runs out, WordPress can no longer load, resulting in a critical error.


5. Corrupted WordPress Files
Sometimes, WordPress core files get corrupted. This can happen if:

A WordPress update didn’t complete successfully.
A malware infection modified core files.
Manual edits were made incorrectly in the WordPress files.


6. Third-Party Code Errors
Custom code snippets, integrations, or external scripts can break your site.

Adding code to functions.php without proper testing may trigger a fatal error.
Scripts from third-party tools (analytics, tracking, etc.) may not load properly.
If you’re connecting to an external API, a broken connection can crash your site.


Why You Should Always Back Up Your Website

Before making any changes, always back up your website. A backup ensures you can restore your site if something goes wrong during troubleshooting.

You can back up your site using:

Plugins (e.g., UpdraftPlus, Duplicator, All-in-One WP Migration, WPVivid etc)
Hosting backups (many web hosts offer daily or on-demand backups)
Manual backup (download your files via FTP and export your database via phpMyAdmin)

https://www.abawoleye.com.ng/how-to-fix-there-has-been-a-critical-error-on-this-website/

Can you assist we build a site together?

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[quote author=DaCharis2016
post=136582799]Can you assist we build a site together?

Ihdfkkgdsrhkyrsxfjkbfssegukkkv[/quote]Yeah sure, you can send me a message here
https://www.abawoleye.com.ng/contact/

DaCharis2016:
Can you assist we build a site together?

What type of website do you want to build?
Is it e-commerce, school, company etc?

How to fix:

Access your website via FTP: - Use an FTP client like FileZilla to connect to your website's server.

Navigate to the wp-content folder: - Once connected, go to the 'wp-content' folder in your WordPress installation directory.

Rename the plugins folder: - Find the 'plugins' folder within 'wp-content' and rename it to something like 'plugins_old'.

Create a new plugins folder: - Create a new folder named 'plugins' in the 'wp-content' directory.

Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard: - Try accessing your website's admin dashboard to see if the error is resolved. If you can access it, the issue was likely caused by a plugin conflict.

Activate plugins one by one: - If you can access the admin dashboard, reactivate your plugins one by one to identify the conflicting plugin. Once you find the problematic plugin, you can either update it if a new version is available or contact the plugin developer for support.

Delete the new plugins folder: - Once you have resolved the conflict and updated the necessary plugins, you can delete the newly created 'plugins' folder and rename the original 'plugins_old' folder back to 'plugins'.

Test the website: - Finally, test your website to ensure that the error no longer occurs during plugin updates.