How to Disable a WordPress Plugin Manually When You Can't Access wp-admin

If your website suddenly shows a white screen, a fatal error, or "critical error" message after activating or updating a plugin, you may not be able to reach your WordPress dashboard to turn it off. In that case, you can disable the plugin directly on the server by renaming its folder through your hosting account. This forces WordPress to stop loading it without needing to log in.

Renaming a plugin's folder does not delete anything. WordPress simply can't find the plugin under its expected name, so it stops running it. You can rename the folder back at any time to restore the plugin exactly as it was.

Find the Plugin Folder

Every WordPress plugin lives in its own folder inside wp-content/plugins/ in your website's files. You'll need to reach this folder using your hosting control panel's file manager, or an FTP client if you already have FTP details set up.

Disable the Plugin via File Manager

In cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. Navigate to your website's root folder (usually public_html, or a subfolder if WordPress is installed in one).
3. Open wp-content, then plugins.
4. Find the folder for the plugin you suspect is causing the problem. Right-click it and choose Rename.
5. Add anything to the folder name, for example changing plugin-name to plugin-name-disabled, then confirm.
6. Try loading your website again. If it comes back up, that plugin was the cause.

In DirectAdmin

1. Log in to DirectAdmin and open File Manager.
2. Navigate to your website's root folder (usually public_html, or a subfolder if WordPress is installed in one).
3. Open wp-content, then plugins.
4. Select the folder for the suspected plugin, then use the Rename option in the toolbar.
5. Add anything to the folder name, for example changing plugin-name to plugin-name-disabled, then confirm.
6. Try loading your website again. If it comes back up, that plugin was the cause.

Disable the Plugin via FTP

If you prefer an FTP client, connect using your existing FTP account details, browse to wp-content/plugins/, and rename the plugin's folder the same way. This works identically on both cPanel and DirectAdmin hosting since FTP behaves the same regardless of control panel.

Not Sure Which Plugin Is the Problem?

If you don't know which plugin caused the issue, rename the entire plugins folder itself to something like plugins-disabled, then create a new empty folder named plugins in its place. This disables every plugin at once. Load your site to confirm it works, then rename the original folder back to plugins and, one at a time, rename each plugin's subfolder to reactivate it and reload your site after each one. When the error returns, you've found the culprit.

Turning the Plugin Back On

Once you've resolved the issue (updated the plugin, switched to a compatible version, or decided to remove it), go back into the plugins folder and rename it back to its original name. Then log in to your WordPress dashboard and confirm under Plugins whether it needs to be reactivated.

For more on diagnosing a broken WordPress site before it gets this far, see WordPress White Screen of Death: How to Fix It.