Site broke after an update? We roll back safely and fix the cause.
A plugin, theme, WordPress or WooCommerce update, or your host moving you to a newer PHP. Something changed and now the site is down or half working. We reply within 30 minutes during business hours, diagnose it for free and quote a fixed price before we start.
Six kinds of update, six different ways to break.
The fix depends on what changed, and when. Each kind breaks a site in its own way.
A plugin update
The most common cause. The new version calls code another plugin or your theme no longer has, or two plugins now load the same library. Expect a fatal error, a white screen, or one feature that quietly stops working.
A theme update
Custom changes made straight in the theme are overwritten, or a child theme still uses templates the parent has changed. The site loads, but layout, menus or page sections look wrong.
A WordPress core release
Core rarely breaks a site on its own. An old plugin or theme that relied on something core has changed does, so look first at whatever has not been updated in a long time.
Your host changed the PHP version
Often nobody on your side touched anything. WordPress recommends PHP 8.3 or newer, and PHP 8.1 reached end of life on 31 December 2025, so hosts move sites up. Old plugins and themes that use removed PHP functions then stop with fatal errors.
A WooCommerce upgrade
Checkout, emails or order screens stop because an extension or a template override in the theme has not kept up. Since WooCommerce 8.2, new stores keep orders in their own tables (HPOS), and older extensions that read orders the old way can misbehave. See how to switch to HPOS safely.
An automatic update overnight
Since WordPress 5.5 you can switch on auto-updates per plugin and theme, and many hosts run updates for you. The site broke at 3 a.m., nobody knows what changed, and the log is the only witness.
What to do in the first fifteen minutes.
Most of the damage after a bad update comes from the second and third attempt to fix it. These steps keep the site repairable, whether you fix it or we do.
Since WordPress 5.2, a fatal error from a plugin or theme emails the site's admin address a secret link to recovery mode. It logs you in with the broken plugin or theme paused for your session only, so you can find it and deactivate it. Check spam too. Our critical error guide walks through recovery mode and the debug log step by step.
WordPress creates a file called .maintenance in the site root while it updates. If the update was interrupted, the file and the message stay. The official fix is to delete the file over FTP or your host's file manager, then check what the update finished before it stopped.
Which plugin, theme or version was updated, roughly when, and by whom. The Plugins screen shows current versions, and your host may log updates and PHP changes. A few lines of notes here save the most time later.
It sounds odd, but a copy of the site as it is now protects you if a rollback or restore goes wrong, and keeps orders, form entries and comments made since your last backup. Most hosts make one from the control panel.
Deleting a plugin can remove its settings and data along with the files. Running the update again, or updating everything else to see if it helps, piles more changes on top of the one you are trying to find.
Rolling back is not always the safe choice.
Putting the old version back is the fastest way to a working site, and often the right first step, but not every time. This is how we decide.
If one plugin update broke the site and that release only added features, putting the previous version back is quick and low risk. With command-line access, wp plugin install with --version and --force installs a specific earlier version from WordPress.org. Then pause auto-updates for that plugin until the conflict is fixed.
If the update closed a security hole, the old version has that hole, and it is now public. In that case we keep the new version and fix the conflict around it, or replace the plugin. A working site with a known vulnerability is not a fix.
Some updates, WooCommerce and larger plugins especially, change the database as they install. Putting the old files back does not undo that, and old code may misread new data. A full restore from a backup taken just before the update, or fixing forward, is safer.
If your host moved you to a newer PHP, most control panels let you switch back for now. That only buys time: PHP 8.2 gets security fixes only until 31 December 2026, and hosts may remove old versions. The real fix is updating or replacing the code that depends on the old version, which is what our PHP bug fixing service does.
Since WordPress 6.6, if a plugin auto-update causes a fatal error, WordPress puts the previous version back and emails the admin. It only covers plugin auto-updates, and only catches a fatal error that shows when WordPress loads your home page. A theme update, a PHP change, or a checkout that quietly stopped taking payments still needs a person to notice.
From broken update to working site.
A fixed price first, then the work. Four steps:
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01
You tell us what changed
The URL, what was updated if you know, roughly when, and what is broken now. A screenshot of the error or the recovery email helps.
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02
Free diagnosis
We reply within 30 minutes during business hours, find what the update broke, tell you whether we roll back or fix forward, and quote a fixed price. You only pay if you approve the work.
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03
Backup, then the fix
We back up the current state, roll back or patch the cause, and test the pages and flows that matter to you, such as forms, checkout and logins.
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04
Documented, with recurrence support
You get a short write-up of what broke and what we changed. If the same issue returns within 14 to 30 days, depending on the tier, we fix it again at no charge.
A real one: the site that broke when PHP was upgraded.
A martial arts school's site ran for years on a legacy premium theme, bundled shortcodes and outdated plugins, until the server's PHP version was updated. Read the full case study.
Repeated fatal errors, a hard-to-reach admin area, several failing plugins, and a front-page promo section showing as raw shortcode text. An SSL certificate problem on the server also stopped the site from downloading updates from WordPress.org.
The theme, its bundled shortcodes and its builder files were tied together. Activating a separate page builder plugin to fix the shortcodes caused duplicate function errors.
We restored admin access first, then cleared the fatal errors one at a time, patching some plugins and disabling non-essential legacy ones. We updated what could be updated, flagged the certificate problem to the host, and added a small front-end fallback so the promo box rendered again. The existing design stayed.
Three tiers, the same as every WordPress fix.
The free diagnosis shows which tier your update problem fits. The fixed price is in writing before we start.
Quick Fix
One update, one broken thing- One plugin or theme update gone wrong
- Roll back or fix forward, explained
- Backup before deployment
- Same-day fix typically
- 14 days recurrence support
- Documented fix
Emergency
Site down or store not taking orders- White screen or fatal error after an update
- Critical e-commerce errors
- Priority response
- Backup before any change
- Post-incident report
Multi-Issue
Several things broke, often after a PHP or major upgrade- Up to 5 related issues
- Full site review
- Performance check included
- Security baseline established
- 30 days recurrence support
- Prevention recommendations
All prices exclude VAT. Diagnosis is always free. For problems that did not start with an update, see WordPress fixes. For stores, see WooCommerce fixes.
No fix, no fee. In writing.
If we agree to fix what an update broke and cannot do it within the agreed scope, you do not pay. Diagnosis is always free, the price is fixed in writing before we start, and every fix comes with recurrence support for 14 to 30 days.
Questions about sites broken by updates.
Tell us what was updated.
Send the URL, what changed and when, and what is broken now. We reply within 30 minutes during business hours, diagnose it for free and quote a fixed price before any work starts.
- Free diagnosis before any quote
- Backup before we change anything
- Roll back or fix forward, explained
- No fix, no fee
Describe what broke
Write URGENT if the site is down or the store cannot take orders.
