WP site repair, with a person's OK
A free plugin adds a chat to your WP dashboard. If your site crashes, it finds the cause and prepares the repair. Nothing changes until a person approves it.
A person approves every repair. Install it before anything breaks.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1 and PHP 8.0 or newer. What it installs
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Plugins are installed from a computer. Get the plugin here instead
- Install it while your site works
- No account, no password to share
A real run on our test site, Oct 11, 2026. Go through it step by step
Watch it do this on a real site
The site crashes
We switched on Bisque Gallery, a plugin we broke on purpose. Every page showed this error, the dashboard too. The rescue files (3 small files the plugin adds so we can reach your site even when WP can't start) reported the crash. A second check confirmed it, and 80 seconds after the crash CMSHands was on it. Our test site is checked more often than a free site, but this crash came in through the crash report, which works the same on the free plan.
The site crashes
We switched on Bisque Gallery, a plugin we broke on purpose. Every page showed this error, the dashboard too. The rescue files (3 small files the plugin adds so we can reach your site even when WP can't start) reported the crash. A second check confirmed it, and 80 seconds after the crash CMSHands was on it. Our test site is checked more often than a free site, but this crash came in through the crash report, which works the same on the free plan.
The chat shows what it did
Your dashboard was down too, so the chat could only open once the plugin was off. This is the card at that moment. The person who approved the fix was the engineer running this test, so it went fast. On your site, the fix waits for a person at CMSHands. Times count from the crash.
A person takes over
All four pages loaded again 2 minutes 35 seconds after the crash. Its next check still saw the old crash report, so it handed the incident to a person at CMSHands instead of guessing. That's why the headline still says the site is down. It changed once that person closed the incident.
What happened, in plain words
The 18 minutes run from when CMSHands noticed the crash to when a person at CMSHands closed the incident. Pages loaded again 2 minutes 35 seconds after the crash. That person checked the site and wrote the note at the bottom.
A plugin we broke on purpose on our test site, Oct 11, 2026. This is what you'd see in the chat once your dashboard loads again. A person at CMSHands approved the fix. Step times count from the moment the site broke.
- It reads your error log and settings to find why your site broke, if CMSHands was on it before.
- It prepares the repair; a person at CMSHands approves it before it runs. Tried on our test sites; hosts differ.
- It checks your site once a day on the free plan, and at once if the site crashes.
More it does here (5)
- It can switch off a crashing plugin, put a broken settings file back or end a stuck maintenance mode. A person approves each one.
- After a repair it loads your home page, login page, dashboard and a post to check they work.
- Ask “What are the errors on my site?” and it lists the errors from your site's error log.
- It can put back the plugin version that worked, for plugins from the WP plugin directory.
- If WP can't start, it may need your host's SFTP login. It uses it only for its own files and 2 settings files.
How to repair a WordPress website yourself
Checked on WP 7.1, Oct 14, 2026
1. Write down the exact message your site shows. Note whether every page shows it, or only one.
2. Look in your email for “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue”. Its link logs you in to your dashboard in recovery mode.
3. Go to Plugins › Installed Plugins and press Deactivate under the plugin the email names. Then reload your site.
4. No email and no dashboard? Open your host's file manager. In the wp-content/plugins folder, rename the folder of the plugin you changed last.
5. Seeing “Error establishing a database connection”? Compare DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD and DB_HOST in wp-config.php with your host's database page.
6. Still no clue? Set WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG to true in wp-config.php. Reload, then read wp-content/debug.log for a plugin or theme name.
7. Once your site loads, go to Tools › Site Health and read anything listed as a critical issue.
WP sends the “Technical Issue” email to the Administration Email Address in Settings › General. It sends one at most once a day, and its link works for 1 day. If that address is an old inbox, change it while your site works.
Why it won't wreck your site
- A person checks every repair. When your site is down you can't reach the chat, so a person at CMSHands approves the fix before it runs.
- It checks your pages after the fix. It loads your home page, login, dashboard and a post again before it calls the repair done.
What it won't do here
- It can't be installed into a site that is already down.A plugin can't be added to a dashboard that won't load. Get your site back by hand first with the steps above, then install it for next time.
- Repairs aren't automaticA person at CMSHands approves every repair plan before it runs, so a repair can wait for them.
- Editing plugin or theme codeIt switches a broken plugin off or puts back the version that worked. It doesn't rewrite the plugin's code.
- Slow pagesIt explains why a page is slow. It can't speed it up.
- Updating WP itself or your themeIt updates plugins from the WP plugin directory, one at a time. It answers questions about WP updates, but it can't update WP itself.
Questions
Who can help me fix my WordPress site?
Start with your host. Their support can read your server's error log, and many can put back an earlier copy of your site. A WP developer can fix custom code. If CMSHands was on your site before it broke, it finds the cause and a person at CMSHands approves the repair.
How do I repair WordPress myself?
Find the cause first: the message on screen, the recovery-mode email or the debug log. Then undo the last change, such as a plugin you added or updated. The steps above go in that order, and most need only your dashboard or your host's file manager.
Is there a WordPress repair plugin?
Yes, but it has to be on your site before something breaks, because a plugin can't be added to a site that won't load. CMSHands adds 3 rescue files: small files that let us reach your site even when WP can't start. They report crashes, and a person approves each repair.
Can I fix my website for free?
Often, yes. Many breaks come from one plugin, theme or setting, and the steps above cost nothing. Paid help makes sense when the cause is in custom code, or when your host's file manager is locked to you.
Can CMSHands fix a site that is already down?
No. It can't be installed into a site that won't load, so get your site back by hand first with the steps above. Once it's on your site, it checks once a day on the free plan, and at once if the site crashes.
Is it free?
To start, yes: 3 changes with no account, then 10 a month once you add your email. Questions are free, up to 30 a day.
Written by CMSHands team.
Install it before it breaks
- Nothing changes without your OK
- Undo in one click, or a warning first
- No account, no password to share
Free to startNo account: 3 to try itWith your email: 10 every monthWhat's free