A plugin crashed my site is a common result of a bad update: a white screen, a 500 error, or an admin that will not load. You can usually get back in without deleting the plugin’s data. Rename the plugin folder, or use recovery mode, then decide whether to roll back.

Get into the site over FTP

Connect with FTP or your host’s file manager. Open the WordPress directory, then wp-content/plugins. Find the folder for the plugin you just updated and add -old to the folder name. WordPress will stop loading that plugin, and the dashboard should return.

Do not delete the renamed folder from the Plugins screen. The uninstall routine can run and remove settings and tables. Delete that folder over FTP only after a fresh copy is working and you have confirmed the new data is safe to keep.

Plugin crashed my site and recovery mode

WordPress 5.2 and later can email a recovery link when a plugin throws a fatal error. The link lets you into wp-admin with that plugin paused. Use it if the email arrives. If it does not, the folder rename above is the reliable path. The steps are written up in WordPress recovery mode.

Recovery mode pauses the plugin that fataled. It does not remove its files. Once you can reach Plugins, you can switch the plugin off properly, then rename the folder back only if you intend to load it again.

Roll back instead of staying broken

If only part of the plugin misbehaves and the site still loads, WP Rollback can restore an older version from WordPress.org when one is listed. Open Plugins, find Rollback under the plugin name, pick the version, and confirm. Test the front end, and a checkout or form, before you call it fixed.

If the new version is required for a security fix, ask the author for a patch instead of staying on an old build. Custom code should be tested on a staging copy first. How to customize WordPress safely is the longer version of that rule. A backup from before the update is the other way back if both the rename and the rollback fail.