Troubleshooting 101: Disabling your WordPress Plugins

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To disable all plugins, log in to phpMyAdmin and select your WordPress database from the left-hand menu.

Browse the table wp_options and find the option active_plugins. Click the pencil icon to edit. The table content will vary, depending on the plugins enabled. For example, if you have the Akismet and Hello Dolly plugins enabled, the code there will be:

a:2:{i:0;s:19:”akismet/akismet.php”;i:1;s:9:”hello.php”;}

If you want to disable all plugins, delete the code and click Go to save your changes.

The following query will also disable all WordPress plugins:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = ” WHERE option_name = ‘active_plugins’;

Disabling the plugins does not remove them from your WordPress site. They will be deactivated, and you can reactivate them at any time from your admin area.

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October 17, 2022,

Rob Jennings

After sitting through a meeting filled with talk of “customer‑centric core competencies,” he decided there was a better way to do digital. He now leads a results‑driven agency that replaces buzzwords with clear thinking, strategic marketing, and practical business advice—helping organisations use the web intelligently to support real growth.