My WordPress site broke after an update. What should I do?

Work out what was updated

Updates come from three places: WordPress itself, plugins and themes. Many sites have automatic updates switched on, so something may have updated overnight without anyone pressing a button.

• Check the administration email inbox. WordPress sends an email listing the plugins and themes it has updated automatically, and their new version numbers.
• If you can log in, go to Plugins, then Installed Plugins. Each plugin shows its current version, and the plugin’s page on wordpress.org shows the date that version was released.
• Go to Dashboard, then Updates, to see the WordPress version you are running.
• If you use a management or security plugin with an activity log, it will list every update with a time.
• Ask anyone else with a login whether they updated or installed anything.

Match the time the problem started against the update times. If the site shows "There has been a critical error on this website", check for a recovery mode email from WordPress, which names the plugin or theme that failed.

Deactivate the suspect plugin to confirm

Before rolling anything back, confirm the cause. Go to Plugins, then Installed Plugins, click Deactivate on the plugin that updated, and reload the page that was broken in a private browser window. If the fault disappears, you have found it. If you cannot reach the dashboard, rename that plugin’s folder inside wp-content, then plugins, using your host’s file manager or FTP, which has the same effect.

Clear any caching plugin and your host’s cache before judging the result. Layout problems after an update are sometimes caused by old cached CSS files, the files that control how the site looks, and disappear once the cache is emptied. In Elementor, the option is under Elementor, then Tools, and is labelled as clearing or regenerating files and data.

Roll the plugin back to the previous version

If the site needs the plugin, put the earlier version back while you wait for the developer to release a fix. For free plugins from wordpress.org there are two reliable ways.

1. Take a backup first, using your host’s backup tool or a backup plugin.
2. Option one: install the free WP Rollback plugin. It adds a Rollback link under each wordpress.org plugin on the Installed Plugins screen. Click it, choose the version you had before, and confirm.
3. Option two: open the plugin’s page on wordpress.org, choose Advanced View, scroll to the bottom, pick the earlier version from the previous versions list and download the zip file.
4. In your dashboard, go to Plugins, choose to add a new plugin, click Upload Plugin and select the zip file.
5. WordPress will say the plugin is already installed and offer to replace the current version with the uploaded one. Accept this, then check the site.
6. On the Installed Plugins screen, turn off automatic updates for that plugin so it does not update itself again overnight.

Running an old version is a temporary measure. Updates often contain security fixes, so report the fault to the plugin’s developer and move to the fixed release when it appears.

Restore from your host’s backup

If you cannot identify the cause, or several things updated at once, restoring a backup is the quickest way to get the site working. Most hosts keep daily backups in the control panel, usually under a heading such as Backups or Restore. Choose the most recent backup from before the problem started.

Where the host lets you choose, restore the files only. Plugin and theme code lives in the files, so this undoes the update without touching the database. Some updates also change the database, so if the site is still faulty after restoring files, a full restore may be needed.

A full restore returns the database to the backup date. Orders, form entries, bookings, comments and edits made after that point are lost. On a shop, export recent orders from WooCommerce, then Orders, before restoring.

How to update safely in future

• Take a backup, or check your host’s latest backup exists, before every round of updates.
• Use a staging site if your host offers one. A staging site is a private copy of your website where you can run updates and check the result before doing the same on the live site.
• Update one plugin at a time and look at the site between each, so that any fault has an obvious cause.
• Check the important pages after updating: the home page, the contact form, and on a shop the basket and checkout.
• Read the changelog for major releases, those where the first number changes, such as 3.9 to 4.0. These are the updates most likely to cause trouble.
• Keep automatic updates on for small, well maintained plugins, and consider turning them off for the plugins your site is built around, such as WooCommerce or your page builder, so you can update those by hand at a quiet time.
• Remove plugins you no longer use. Every plugin is one more thing that can clash.

Related questions

Should I turn off automatic updates in WordPress?

Not entirely. Automatic security releases for WordPress itself are worth keeping. For plugins, a sensible middle ground is to leave automatic updates on for minor plugins and update the large ones your site relies on by hand after a backup.

Why does my site look wrong after an update but still work?

This is usually cached styling. Clear your caching plugin, any cache at your host and your browser cache, and regenerate the CSS files in your page builder’s tools if it has that option.

Is it safe to keep using an old version of a plugin?

For a short time, yes. Over the long term it is a risk, because security fixes only arrive in new versions. Treat a rollback as a holding position until a fixed release is out.