The reason for the error should be visible in the error log. You can find it in your hosting area. If necessary, the support of your hosting can help you.
Alternatively, you could also enable debugging in WordPress. How to do this is described here: https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/ – also here the support of your hosting can help you if necessary to edit the file accordingly.
In both cases you should be able to see what the cause is in the logfile.
The issue is, it has kicked us out of WordPress I can’t access wordpress its asking for the admin email and we’re not sure who the admin email is. Trying to find who our hosting service is too. My account which had admin perms when I try logging into wordpress it says the user account doesn’t even exist?
To solve the problem, you’ll definitely need access to the hosting account. FTP access would be sufficient. As far as I can tell, your hosting provider appears to be OVH. If you receive invoices from them, you can contact their support team using the customer number listed on the invoice and ask for assistance. If you can find your login credentials under that name, that would certainly speed up the process.
When I do Whois domain it says the hosting site is OnlineNIC, Inc ? Just so confusing. We’ve gotten invoices from a company called A6 strategy group?
OnlineNIC, Inc. sounds like a domain service provider that simply handles domain management (presumably a subsidiary of OVH). However, the IP address that the domain points to belongs to OVH. I’m not familiar with the other name in the context of hosting. But it seems you’ll need to get your administration in order first before you can solve the problem.
Hello @katakuri4life,
I checked the hosting details via hosting checker, and your site appears to be hosted by OVH SAS. If you don’t have access to the sftp/ftp account, their support team can help you with the critical error.
Once you have access, you can enable debugging by following the Debugging in WordPress guide.
https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/
Then check wp-content/debug.log for the fatal error, which usually names the plugin or theme causing it.
To regain access to your dashboard, deactivate that plugin or theme by renaming its folder inside wp-content/plugins or wp-content/themes. After you can log in, update it to the latest version so it is compatible with your current PHP version and WordPress core.
If you need any additional help, feel free to follow up on this forum and share the error from the log.
Hello, I just got my cpanel is it possible you can walk me through how I can update my sites php to the newest php version without breaking anything else? And will there be a way to revert it all back?
Hello @katakuri4life,
Good that you now have access to cPanel. That should be enough to move forward. Before you change anything, create a backup of the files and the database. cPanel has a backup function for this. If something goes wrong afterwards, you can restore it. You can follow this guide for more information:
– https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/files/backup-for-cpanel/
Whether a newer PHP version solves the problem isn’t certain. As far as I can tell, the critical error appeared right after the Elementor update. Current versions of Elementor need a newer PHP version than 7.1 or 7.3, so that may well be the cause. To be sure, you should still look at the error log in the wp-content/debug.log before you change anything. You can follow this guide for more information:
– https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/
You can change the PHP version in cPanel under “MultiPHP Manager”. Select the domain, choose the version, and apply it. I wouldn’t necessarily pick the very latest version. Older plugins or themes may not support it yet. Just in case the website throw the fatal error, review the logs and update the plugin/theme to resolve the issue. A version that is still supported and widely compatible, such as 8.2 or 8.3, is usually the safer choice. Please follow these guide for more informaiton:
https://docs.cpanel.net/cpanel/software/multiphp-manager-for-cpanel/
https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/updating-wordpress/
You can undo the change the same way. Select the old version again in the same place and apply it. Keep in mind that PHP 7.x no longer receives security updates, so that can only be a temporary fallback.
Feel free to reach out anytime in case you need further assistance.
Best,
Mubashir
Before changing PHP, take a full backup from cPanel (files plus a database export). Switch PHP to 8.2 in cPanel; it can be switched back if anything breaks. Then check wp_users in phpMyAdmin for your account, and if it’s missing, create a new admin there.
.
. Reason: removed redundant url
