How to Enable or Disable WordPress Plugins via the Database

If your WordPress admin login page displays only a blank screen, it may be caused by one or more installed plugins. This commonly occurs when a plugin is incompatible with the active theme. It can also happen after a WordPress update, as plugin developers may not always update their plugins immediately to maintain compatibility with the latest WordPress features and security updates.

To determine whether a plugin is causing the issue, temporarily disable all plugins, then re-enable them one at a time to identify the problematic plugin.

In this article, we will discuss the following:

• Method 1: Through the Plugins Tab ⤵
  • Step 1: Disable All Plugins ⤵
  • Step 2: Find the Plugin Causing the Issue ⤵
• Method 2: Through the Database ⤵
  • Step 1: Determine the Database Name ⤵
  • Step 2: Disable All Plugins ⤵
  • Step 3: Isolate the Plugin Causing Issues ⤵

Method 1: Through the Plugins Tab

This is the easiest method. Disable all plugins through your Customer Portal, then re-enable them one at a time until the issue reappears.

Step 1: Disable All Plugins

1. Log in to your Customer Portal.
2. Go to Websites from the left navigation menu.
3. Click Manage Site next to the website you want to manage.

   
    

4. Click the Plugins tab in the top menu.
5. Use the toggle on the right to disable each plugin, one at a time.
6. Once all plugins have been disabled, refresh your website. You may also want to clear your browser cache.

Step 2: Find the Plugin Causing the Issue

1. Re-enable your plugins one at a time.
2. Reload your website.
3. Repeat steps 1-2 for each plugin until the issue returns. The plugin you turn on last is likely the cause.
4. Turn off that plugin and turn the rest back on.
5. You may update that plugin, contact its developer, or replace it with an alternative.

Method 2: Through the Database

Use this method if you can't disable your plugins in the Customer Portal (Method 1) or WordPress Dashboard. You'll disable all plugins at once by editing your WordPress database. Your plugins stay installed, and their settings are kept.

Step 1: Determine the Database Name

Identify the database associated with the WordPress installation you want to modify.

1. Log in to your Customer Portal.
2. Go to Websites from the left navigation menu.
3. Click Manage Site next to the website you want to manage.

   
    

4. Navigate to the Files & Access tab.
5. Find the File Manager, then click the Manage button.

   
    

6. In the left pane, go to  public_html (or the domain's document root).
7. Click Settings in the top-right corner.
8. Select the Show Hidden Files (dotfiles) checkbox. By default, the WebRoot (public_html or www) option is selected.

   
    

9. Click Save.
10. Right-click wp-config.php and select View. You can also click the View button found in the top-right corner.

    
     

11. Take note of the database name. It looks similar to this:

    define('DB_NAME', 'domain_wrdp1')

    (The first part is a short form of your domain or cPanel username.)

Step 2: Disable All Plugins

1. In cPanel, click phpMyAdmin in the Databases section.

   
    

2. In the left menu, click your database name from Step 1.
3. Click the wp_options table. If your site uses a custom table prefix, the table may be named differently, such as wpxy_options.

   
    

4. In the option_name column, find the line named active_plugins. (You may have to click the > at the bottom of the page to view more columns.)

   

5. Click Edit on the active_plugins row. The option_value box shows something similar to this:

   a:5:{i:0;s:35:"add-from-server/add-from-server.php";i:1;s:25:"age-verify/age-verify.php";i:2;s:19:"jetpack/jetpack.php";i:4;s:69:"simple-full-screen-background-image/simple-full-screen-background.php";i:6;s:27:"wp-super-cache/wp-cache.php";}

6. Select all of the code in the box, cut it, and paste it into a text file. Save the file on your computer.
7. Once the code has been removed, click Go.

All plugins are now disabled.

Step 3: Isolate the Plugin Causing Issues

Re-enable your plugins one at a time to identify which plugin is causing the issue.

1. Visit your WordPress admin login page, reload it, and log in.
2. Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. To know where to find your WordPress plugins, you can use this video as a guide.
3. Click Activate under one plugin, then reload the page where the issue appeared.
4. Repeat step 3 for each plugin until the issue returns. The plugin you activated last is likely the cause.
5. Deactivate that plugin and activate the rest. Then update the plugin, contact the developer, or replace it with an alternative.