How to Check for WordPress Plugin Conflicts (2 Methods)

Over the past 15+ years of running WPBeginner and managing our other branded websites, we have encountered almost every WordPress error you can imagine. We have also learned that the most common reason for many errors is conflicts with plugins.

Plugin conflicts can cause a variety of problems on your website, from minor glitches to complete outages. This can be really frustrating and does not provide a good user experience for your visitors.

In this article, we will show you how to identify conflicts between WordPress plugins and walk you through the steps to properly resolve these conflicts.

What is a WordPress plugin conflict?

A plugin conflict occurs when one or more plugins conflict with each other, with the design of your website, or with the WordPress core files.

This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as outdated plugins, incompatible software, poor coding practices, or resource contention when two plugins try to perform the same task.

When a plugin conflict occurs, your WordPress site will show signs of it. Some common signs include a blank white screen, disorganized layouts, error messages, an overall unstable site, and more.

Now let’s look at different ways to check for WordPress plugin conflicts on your site. You can manually check for conflicts by disabling them or use a plugin to enable debug mode.

We’ll cover both methods and provide tips for avoiding future conflicts. Just click on the links below to jump to any section.

Pro tip: Before attempting to resolve plugin conflicts, it’s best to create a backup of your website. This way, if something goes wrong, you can easily restore your content and settings.

Method 1: Deactivate all plugins and activate them manually

The easiest way to determine if there is a plugin conflict is to deactivate all plugins on your site and then activate them one by one.

Disabling plugins will help you check whether the WordPress error you are facing is related to the plugin or not. If it is, re-enabling each plugin individually should help you figure out which plugin is causing the problem.

To disable plugins, go to Plugins » Installed Plugins in your WordPress dashboard. Then simply click on the “Deactivate” option under the plugin name.

Alternatively, you can also deactivate plugins on your site en masse.

Just click the checkbox above to select all plugins.

Next, you can click on the Bulk Actions dropdown menu at the top.

Select the “Deactivate” option here. Then click the “Apply” button to deactivate all plugins.

You may also want to read our guide on how to disable plugins if you can’t access wp-admin.

Now that you have deactivated all plugins, you should check if the website error still occurs.

Once the error is resolved, you can start manually reactivating each plugin on your site. This will allow you to see which plugin might be causing the conflict.

Otherwise, if the error persists, it’s a good idea to check if your theme is causing the problem. You’ll need to deactivate your current theme and activate one of WordPress’ default themes, such as Twenty Twenty-Four, to see if that resolves the issue.

For detailed information, see our tutorial on changing WordPress themes.

Method 2: Use a plugin to check for conflicts

Another way to check for plugin conflicts in WordPress is to use a plugin like Health Check & Troubleshooting.

It is a free WordPress plugin that helps you troubleshoot with a default theme and all plugins disabled. It allows you to check for plugin conflicts and fix any issues without affecting traffic on your live website.

First, you need to install and activate the Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin. If you need help, please read our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activation you can Tools » Site Health from the WordPress dashboard. From here you can go to the Troubleshooting tab.

Next, you can click the “Enter Troubleshooting Mode” button.

This will deactivate all plugins on your site and switch it to a default theme. Now you can check for plugin conflicts that could be causing various errors and problems.

How to resolve WordPress plugin conflicts

Once you have identified the problematic plugin, you need to fix the problem. Here are some tips on how to fix the problem.

1. Update the plugins on your site

Plugin updates often provide bug fixes and other improvements that can resolve plugin conflicts, so simply updating the correct plugin may resolve your issue.

To check if an update is available for a plugin, go to Plugins » Installed Plugins and check if there is an “Update Now” link below:

Or go to Dashboard » Updates to view your available updates.

For more detailed instructions, see our guide on how to properly update WordPress plugins.

2. Check the plugin and WordPress versions

Sometimes your WordPress and plugin versions don’t match, which can cause conflicts.

When you install a new plugin, make sure it is compatible with your current WordPress version. You can check this in the plugin description below:

If both the plugin and your site are up to date, you should see the message “Compatible with your WordPress version”.

Otherwise, you’ll see “Not tested with your WordPress version” here, in which case you may need to update or consider using a different plugin.

3. Update or change your WordPress theme

As mentioned above, sometimes the problem may lie between a plugin and your WordPress theme.

Once you know the theme is the problem, you can reactivate it. Then, deactivate the plugins on your site one by one until the problem is resolved. This will help you determine which plugin is conflicting with your site’s theme.

To fix the problem, you can first update the WordPress theme to the latest version. This should help fix any bugs or compatibility issues that might be affecting a plugin.

In extreme cases, if the problem is not resolved, it may be a good idea to change the design of your website.

For more details, see our guide on how to properly modify a WordPress theme.

4. Contact plugin developers

If updating does not resolve a plugin issue, we recommend contacting the tool’s developers.

You can check the plugin’s WordPress.org page or the developer’s website for support options or contact information.

When describing the problem in a forum or to the plugin’s support team, it’s best to provide detailed information. This can include the error messages you’re seeing, your WordPress version, and any steps you took to reproduce the problem.

This will help plugin developers better understand the problem and hopefully help you find a solution quickly.

For more information, see our guide on requesting and receiving WordPress support.

5. Find alternative plugins

If you still cannot resolve the plugin conflict after trying all of the above methods, you may need to replace the problematic plugin with a compatible one.

You can use the WordPress plugin repository to find plugins with similar features. If you find a good alternative, be sure to check the plugin reviews, ratings, number of installations, testing with the latest WordPress versions, and support responsiveness before switching.

Suppose you are looking for an alternative to WordPress form plugin. Just visit the WordPress.org website and go to the Plugins section.

From here, search for “forms” in the search bar and you will see numerous options.

You can also visit our WPBeginner Solution Center where you will find expert plugin recommendations from our team as well as reviews from real customers.

Prevent future conflicts with WordPress plugins

Plugin conflicts can cause a lot of trouble on your website and are very difficult to detect, so you should also look for ways to avoid them.

Here are some best practices to minimize the risk of plugin conflicts:

• Perform regular updates – Keep your plugins, themes, and WordPress core up to date to avoid compatibility issues or bugs that can cause conflicts.
• Use only necessary plugins – Use only the essential WordPress plugins that you really need on your website to reduce opportunities for conflict. The more plugins you have, the higher the chance of plugin conflicts.
• Choose well-coded plugins – Choose plugins from trusted developers with good reviews. Or test a plugin on a staging site to see if it meets your needs before activating it on a live website.

If conflicts occur regularly, it may be time to outsource your website maintenance to a WordPress agency.

WPBeginner WordPress Maintenance & Support is the best and most affordable service you can avail today. Our professionals continuously monitor your site for conflicts and resolve them quickly.

They also help avoid conflicts by keeping plugins, themes, and WordPress up to date. Additionally, WPBeginner’s maintenance experts perform regular backups, malware scans, and more.

We hope this article helped you learn how to check for WordPress plugin conflicts. You may also be interested in our guide on how to fix plugins disappearing from WordPress dashboard and how to create a WordPress maintenance report.