Entire site gone!! Cannot log-in to WP Admin

  • Hello. I just started my self-hosted site through WP.org (the website URL is https://belongwithwildflowers.com). I was trying to add social media icons to the upper-right corner, and found CSS to do so from a WP.org forum. The author of the forum said to put the code in functions.php, so that’s what I did.

    As soon as I hit update, the page went blank. I could back up and see my WP dashboard and everything, but anytime I clicked on a link, it would bring me back to the blank page. My website is now gone, I can’t log-in to belongwithwildflowers.com/wp-admin, EVERYTHING is showing up blank.

    I am supposed to launch this new site today, and now I have no idea what to do. PLEASE HELP!!!

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

  • The site popped up for me.

    The site link is down for me. The advice you had sounds unclear, as css rules are always placed in the style.css file, and not the functions.php file.

    Two choices, either

    1. restore a pre-edited functions.php file from your backup and place it in your wp-content/themes/your theme folder to overwrite the existing functions.php file

    2. go into your cPanel and access your file manager. Navigate down through your public_html folder into your wp-content/themes/your theme folder. You should see your functions.php file there. Open it for editing and search for the code you inserted (you could copy and paste all the file’s code into another file on your desktop just to have a second copy in case anything goes amiss). Remove the offending css code and save, and you should have access back into your site.

    Good luck!

    Thread Starter belongwithwildflowers

    (@belongwithwildflowers)

    I ended up speaking with my hosting service and they restored everything to 24 hours prior. The code I used definitely was defective!

    Great to hear your site is up and running, and I’ve used my host’s “get me back to where I was” restore service a few times too.

    It would be a good idea to install a child theme if you want to make modifications to your main theme. That way you can update the main theme and can’t break it (as you add the overriding rules to the child theme – which can break, but is easier to repair): https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Child_Themes.

    Also, a good backup plugin is vital. Take your pick, but I use BackUpWordpress.

    Finally, using an FTP client like Filezilla can give you access back into your site files and directories when you’ve added (or removed) something that breaks your site and prevents WordPress Dashboard access.

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)
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