Rescuing Your WordPress Site from the White Screen of Death: Introducing CT Safe Recovery
We’ve all been there: you click “Activate” on a new plugin or push a quick code change, and suddenly—silence. The “White Screen of Death” stares back at you, or a fatal error locks you out of your own dashboard. Usually, this means scrambling for your SFTP credentials or logging into a hosting control panel just to rename a folder and get your site back.
I wanted a better, faster way to handle these “oops” moments directly from the browser. That’s why I built CT Safe Recovery.
What is CT Safe Recovery?
CT Safe Recovery is a lightweight safety net for WordPress developers and site owners. It installs a tiny “Must-Use” (MU) plugin that acts as an emergency bypass. If a plugin crashes your site, you can trigger a Safe Mode that temporarily silences all standard plugins, allowing you to log in and fix the problem without touching a single file via FTP.
Key Features
- One-Click Safe Mode: Use a simple URL parameter to bypass crashing plugins and regain access to your admin dashboard.
- Sticky Sessions: Once you enter Safe Mode, it stays active for your browser session, so you can navigate to the Plugins page or Settings without getting locked out again.
- The Kill Switch: Know exactly which plugin caused the crash? You can disable it instantly by adding a specific command to your URL.
- Zero Footprint: Safe Mode only affects your view. Your site visitors won’t even know you’re performing surgery under the hood.
How to Use It in an Emergency
If your site crashes, don’t panic. Just follow the Crash Recovery Workflow:
- Enter Safe Mode: Navigate to your site’s recovery URL:
your-site.com/wp-admin/?ct_safe_recover=1 - Fix the Issue: Once the dashboard loads, you have two choices:
- Option A: Go to the Plugins page (which will now load safely) and deactivate the broken plugin.
- Option B (Kill Switch): Use a URL parameter to force-disable the plugin:
?ct_safe_recover=1&ctc_disable=plugin-folder/plugin-file.php
- Exit Safe Mode: Once everything is stable, simply click “Exit Safe Mode” in the admin bar or visit:
your-site.com/wp-admin/?ct_safe_recover=0
Free to Use, Supported by You
I believe in building tools that make the WordPress ecosystem better and more accessible. I’m releasing CT Safe Recovery for free because I know how stressful a crashed site can be.
If this plugin saves you a few hours of headaches (or a frantic call to tech support), please consider dropping a tip in the jar. Your support helps me keep these tools updated and allows me to keep building new ones for the community.