Chris Schutte

June 8, 2022

[SOLVED] How to Fix “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties” On WordPress

Reading Time: 4 minutes

WordPress may be the go-to content management system for many websites, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Sometimes, it behaves like a child having a tantrum, refusing to cooperate with website owners and not telling you what’s wrong. It just says “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties” and refuses to elaborate. Cue the ensuing panic.

But no worries. If you’re reading this article, then you’ve come to the right place. At Launch Digital, we’ve shared the most foolproof ways to fix “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties.” You’ll have your website back up and running in no time! So keep reading to find out how.

What Is “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties?”

In a nutshell, this error message appears when your website is inaccessible on both the front and back end. “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties” is what web visitors might see, which was the white screen of death in the past until the WordPress 5.2 version. But you’re going to find variations of the message on your end as the website owner. You might see “Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.”

There are many reasons why this can appear, so the ways to fix them are just as varied. Yes, it’s a bit confusing (and frustrating). But knowing how these can happen will help you gain a better understanding of your WordPress website.

One thing you have to remember is that WordPress is an open-source CMS. This means that plugins and extensions come from different coding backgrounds and styles. Because of that, there’s a high chance that something you installed goes in direct conflict with something else on the website. That’s the most common reason for the fatal error, and we’ll focus on that below. So for now, let’s get to the meaty part and discuss what you can do.

How to Fix “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties”

You might be wary about doing something to your website that’ll cause irreparable damage. But the steps we’re going to talk about are simple enough to do on your own. Besides, there’s really nothing you can do that will spell the end of your website. You can trust your WordPress hosting provider to fix things when it all gets too complicated.

1. Clear Your Cache

You’ve probably heard of the line “Have you tried turning it off and on again?” in IT jokes. Well, this first step is almost the equivalent for websites. Clearing your cache and refreshing your page might just do the trick. But we want to set expectations: it’s probably going to take more than this to fix the error. Still, it’s worth the shot.

So, go to your browser of choice (Google in this case) and look for the option that allows you to “Clear Browsing Data.” Then, go back to your website and refresh it. If it worked, then well done! If it didn’t, then go to the next step.

2. Check Your Email for Fatal Error Notifications

As mentioned, the message on your end should have the additional “Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.” So go and access your admin inbox and find the message with the technical issue. In most cases, you’ll see the culprit plugin or theme as well as a link that places your site in Recovery Mode. Click that then follow the steps to troubleshoot and resolve the issue.

3. Troubleshoot Theme or Plugin Conflicts

When you click the link to the recovery mode, you’ll be prompted to the WordPress admin site. Log in using your credentials (which you should know or have saved somewhere). You’ll see a red notification on the dashboard saying you’re in recovery mode.

A little further down, there’s a link saying “Go to the Plugins Screen,” which will lead you to the misbehaving plugin. Now, all you have to do is deactivate it. The same goes for themes. Once you’re done, click “Exit Recovery Mode” and your website should be back to normal.

4. Update Your PHP Version

Before you say “Great, more acronyms I can’t keep up with,” the PHP version is simply the version of your WordPress site. So if troubleshooting the theme or plugins didn’t work, then this should be what you’ll need to check next. Since the 5.2 update, WordPress no longer supports anything older than 5.6.20. So having an older version might be causing the issue.

To see if your site is using the latest version, visit your hosting account. The steps may vary depending on your hosting provider, but the upgrade tool or dropdown should be visible on your dashboard. After that, you simply need to update it to the latest version. In some cases, you might need to create a staging site to see if your themes and plugins are compatible with the latest version.

5. Reach Out to Your Hosting Provider

Okay, so everything we mentioned above is simply too complex or risky for you. That’s alright! Your hosting provider will come to the rescue. Just contact them and tell them about your issue, and they should be able to fix it in no time.

What to Do to Prevent “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties”

So how do you avoid getting these errors in the first place? Here are some tips from your website care experts:

    1. Perform regular backups that you can have recent versions to restore.
    2. Check if your new tool, plugin, or theme is compatible with your PHP version. And while you’re at it, make sure these programs are in their latest versions as well.
    3. Check if your PHP version is the latest one.
    4. Always try new things on a staging site before activating them on your live site.

Let Launch Digital Help With Our WordPress Care Plan

Launch Digital will help ensure that your business in South Africa will stay up in running with premier WordPress Care Plans. We’ll take care of your website and ensure that everything is running smoothly to avoid errors like “This Site is Experiencing Technical Difficulties.” With us, you’ll get:

  • Unlimited Support
  • Weekly Backups
  • WordPress Updates
  • Security Scans
  • Performance Scans
  • eCommerce Management

See the plans available today and choose the ones that best fit your needs!

wordpress care plan support

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