I can't access my site due to a fatal plugin error, what to do?

Fatal errors generated by plugins or themes are quite common. In this article, we show you how to investigate and solve this.

Understanding the warning

In this type of error message, WordPress informs which file path caused the break. This information will be used to disable the plugin or theme that is triggering the warning.

For example, if the warning informs that the error is in /www/website/wp-content/plugins/elementor/plugable.php we know that the problem is in the Elementor plugin. If the warning has /www/website/wp-content/themes/divi/plugable.php we see that the warning is related to the Divi Theme.

So, after analyzing the error warning and understanding which plugin or theme it refers to - let's do the forced deactivation of this tool, using the hosting SFTP accesses.

Effecting the fix

With SFTP access credentials in hand (if you don't have this data, here we show you how to get it and how to access your files).

Access the files on your website, and in the field highlighted in red, double click on the "website" folder:

After that, follow the path indicated by the error, and find the folder of the plugin or theme that is generating the warning. To disable one of them, right click on the folder of the plugin and choose the option 'rename':

Add one ".old" and pressure Enter.

This way, the file name changes, WordPress can no longer recognize it and the warning adds up.

This is a palliative solution, just for you to get back access to your website and your administrative environment. It is important to look for the developer of the plugin or theme that generated the notice, to understand what changes need to be made in them for the operation to happen normally.