Wordpress web app suddenly stopped working

Question

Wordpress web app suddenly stopped working

Henrique Meyer 20

The following error shows up when I try to access the Wordpress site in the web app:

"There has been a critical error on this website."

Everything was working fine and then it just stopped without anything changing.

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Answer 1

Bhargavi Naragani 2,010 Microsoft External Staff

Hi @Henrique Meyer,

The critical error on your WordPress website typically occurs as a result of problems such as plugin conflicts, theme issues, or database connection problems.

Check your logs, go to App Service -> Monitoring -> Logs (Log Stream) for error information.

Enable WordPress Debugging, add these lines in your wp-config.php to view detailed errors:

define('WP_DEBUG', true); 
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true); 
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

Verify Database Connection, make sure Azure PostgreSQL credentials in wp-config.php are accurate and the server is running.

Disable Plugins and Themes. Rename the plugins directory or change to a default theme to see if problems exist. Restart your App Service and clear any caching plugins or Redis Cache.

Refer to below links:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/troubleshoot-diagnostic-logs
https://learn.wordpress.org/tutorial/debugging-in-wordpress/

If the answer is helpful, please click Accept Answer and kindly upvote it so that other people who faces similar issue may get benefitted from it.

Let me know if you have any further Queries.

Bhargavi Naragani 2,010 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-06T17:20:20.69+00:00

Hi @Henrique Meyer,
Just checking in to see if above information was helpful. If you have any further updates on this issue, please feel free to post back.
Bhargavi Naragani 2,010 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-07T11:39:28.3133333+00:00

Hi @Henrique Meyer,
If this answer was helpful and pointed you in the right direction, please consider clicking "Accept Answer"—it may benefit other community members reading this thread. If you have any further questions, feel free to let us know.
Henrique Meyer 20 Reputation points

2025-03-07T15:20:17.0533333+00:00

define('WP_DEBUG', true);

define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);

define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

I did this, and renamed the plugins folder to "plugins.hold" and nothing changed.

I ended up deleting all the files (except "wp-config.php") and re-installing wordpress, then restarting the app service.

Now at least I can get into wp-admin and get my data before to install the themes and plugins again. The strange thing is that the theme and plugins were working fine, and then everything just died out of nowhere.
Bhargavi Naragani 2,010 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff

2025-03-07T17:31:16.1066667+00:00

Hi @Henrique Meyer,

Thanks for the update! glad you were able to get into wp-admin and backup your data! we agree it's certainly odd when things just stop working without apparent changes

Sometimes, WordPress problems are caused by improper file permissions. Make sure your folders and files have proper permissions: Files: 644, Folders: 755. You can do this through an FTP client or via Kudu (Advanced Tools) in Azure App Service.

Ensure your App Service is on a PHP version that is supported by your WordPress installation, preferably PHP 8.1 or higher. Navigate to your App Service -> Configuration -> General Settings -> PHP version. Make sure required PHP extensions such as mysqli, curl, and mbstring are enabled.

Check Database Health, since you’re using Azure Database for PostgreSQL, Go to Azure Database for PostgreSQL Flexible Server -> Monitoring -> Metrics. Check for high CPU, memory usage, or connection limits. Run a quick query to ensure your tables and data are intact.

If you use CI/CD or have an auto-deployment setup, your issue might've been caused by an automatic deployment to your WordPress, theme, or plugins. You can find deployment history through Azure App Service -> Deployment Center.

Before proceeding to add the themes and plugins back, Make a new fresh backup of your WordPress database as well as the wp-content directory. Re-install your theme and plugins individually one at a time, testing for site stability upon each installation.

Please refer to the below documentations for better understanding:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/resources-kudu
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/app-service/configure-language-php?pivots=platform-linux
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/postgresql/flexible-server/concepts-monitoring

if you have any further concerns or queries, please feel free to reach out to us.

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