The use of plugins is one of the most popular features of WordPress. While WordPress itself cannot provide all the possible functionalities, we use various plugins to extend the capability of the platform. A WordPress plugin is basically a bunch of codes. And like any coding, these plugins could go wrong too.
An error created by a plugin could be very frightening, especially if you are a beginner and don’t know what is going on. Plugin errors could be created by different reasons. A poorly coded plugin or pirated copy of a premium plugin could contain malicious codes. Some WordPress plugins do not work well with other plugins. And some others don’t work well with WordPress themes.
So, what happens when there is a plugin that is faulty? At the basic level, the plugin can display error message(s) in your admin dashboard or just stop working. Sometimes, the error message(s) could be displayed on the front page too. But the most dreaded case will be to face the infamous white screen of death. At this stage, most people get really panicked. However, today I will show what to do in that case, so bear with me.
You need to disable the guilty plugin(s) in order to get rid of the white screen. And we know you have to go to the plugins menu to deactivate plugins. But what do you do when you don’t have access to the admin panel? Isn’t there any other way? Yes, there is. Actually, there are two different ways. I will discuss them one by one.
The FTP Method
Connect to your website by using an FTP client (like FileZilla) or through your web host’s file manager. Go to the ‘wp-content’ folder. Inside that folder, you will see a folder titled ‘plugins’. Rename that folder to anything you like, for example plugin-disabled, plugin.disabled, etc. Doing this will disable all the plugins of your WordPress website.
Now you should be able to log into your website. After logging in, go to the Plugins menu and activate the plugins one by one. After activating each plugin, reload your website and the admin dashboard. By doing this, you will be able to find the faulty plugin which is creating the problem.
The phpMyAdmin Method
This method is not as simple as the previous one. And we recommend you to try the FTP method first and only if that method is not working, then try the phpMyAdmin Method. We are being extra cautious with this method because now we will work with the database of our website. Any mistake here could be devastating.
However, let’s see how to disable plugins in this way. First of all, log in to your phpMyAdmin. Then, navigate to the database of your WordPress website. Find the wp_options table and click on it. Click the search link on the top menu. On the resulting page, write active_plugins in the option_name field and click ‘Go’.
At this point, you will be provided with a page like the following:
Click the ‘Delete’ link. A pop-up box will appear asking if you really want to delete this. Click ‘OK’ and that’s it. This will automatically disable all the plugins of your WordPress website. Now you can log in to your dashboard and find the faulty plugin.
So, those were the two ways of deactivating WordPress plugins when you don’t have access to the wp-admin area. Do you still have any question? If yes, please let me know in the comment box. I will be glad to help you.