davidC-124

Problem:
The client's website went down after updating WPML plugins.

Solution:
We recommended the following steps to troubleshoot and resolve the issue:
1. Connect to the site via FTP and rename the WPML plugin folders to deactivate them.
2. Take a full backup of the website and database.
3. Enable debugging.
4. Deactivate all plugins except WPML and check for the issue.
5. Switch to a default WordPress theme like 2021 or 2024.
6. Activate each plugin one by one and check for issues after each activation.
7. Lastly, switch back to the current theme if everything works fine.

We also found that:
- The client was using an outdated version of WordPress, which we updated to the latest version.
- There were two versions of WPML installed; we removed the older one.
- The WPML Translation Management plugin was deleted as it is now part of the core plugin.

We advised the client to:
- Update all plugins and the theme on a test site first.
- Follow a specific order for updating and activating plugins and themes on the production site.

Here is a guide on safely updating from older versions of WPML: https://wpml.org/faq/how-to-safely-update-wpml-from-an-old-to-new-version/

If the provided solution does not apply or is outdated, or if you encounter further issues, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If necessary, please open a new support ticket for personalized assistance: Contact WPML Support.