WordPress Update Failed or Broke Your Site?

Symptoms

What broke

Update breakages come in many forms.

Site shows errors or white screen after update

Plugin conflict or PHP incompatibility

Layout broken — sections missing or overlapping

Theme or CSS conflict after update

WooCommerce checkout or cart not working

Plugin conflict affecting the store

Admin area broken — can't access dashboard

Plugin conflict in the admin backend

Some features stopped working

Partial breakage — works but not fully

Site slower than normal after update

Caching issue or conflicting new code

Our process

How we fix it

We identify what broke, roll back if needed, and deploy the fix cleanly.

Identify the culprit

Error logs, plugin isolation, and version comparison to find exactly which update caused the problem.

~20 mins

Roll back if needed

Previous version restored — either from backup or previous plugin version. Site back online quickly.

~30 mins

Fix the root conflict

We investigate the compatibility issue and apply a targeted fix rather than just leaving the rollback in place.

1–3 hrs

Test and redeploy

Fix tested on staging, then deployed to live. Full site verification before signing off.

~30 mins

Root cause

Why updates break things

Understanding why helps prevent the next one.

Plugin conflicts

Two plugins updated in the same window can create PHP conflicts that neither would create alone.

No staging environment

The most preventable cause. Testing on staging before deploying to live catches 95% of breakages.

PHP version mismatch

A plugin updated to use new PHP features your server doesn't yet support.

Customisations not accounted for

Custom code or child themes that rely on specific plugin behaviour — and break when that behaviour changes.

Your fix, sorted

Fix the breakage

Get it fixed as a one-off — scoped and quoted before we start, no plan required. Or put it on a care plan and the same team keeps it sorted going forward.

One-off fix

POA

No care plan needed. We scope the job and quote it before we start, so you know the cost upfront — no open-ended hourly meter. Most small fixes land between £85 and £170; larger jobs are scoped and quoted per job.

Want it handled long-term?

A care plan keeps the same team on your site — updates, backups, security and support, so this doesn't happen again. From £49/mo +VAT.

Move onto a plan within 30 days and your fix cost comes off your first month.

No contracts · UK support team · 3-month minimum

FAQ

Common questions

Should I roll back or wait for a new version?

Depends on the severity. If the site is down or the issue affects sales, roll back now and wait. If it's cosmetic or partial, sometimes waiting for the next patch is faster. We'll advise.

Can you prevent this in future?

Yes — it's exactly what our care plans do. We test updates on staging before deploying to live. In 8+ years, we've never shipped a breaking update to a client's live site.

What if there's no backup to roll back to?

We can often repair the issue without restoring a backup, by isolating and patching the conflicting code directly. We'll tell you if this isn't possible.

A WordPress update just broke your site.

What broke

How we fix it

Why updates break things

Fix the breakage

Common questions

Also useful

Update broke something? We'll fix it.