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WordPress 5.5 Breaking Websites: How to Fix

Written by Kristen Wright on August 19, 2020

Last Updated on August 25, 2020

If you have a broken website after updating to WordPress 5.5, don’t panic. In this post, we’ll cover why WordPress 5.5 is breaking websites and how to fix it.

In this guide:

    What Changed in WordPress 5.5 to Break Websites?

    WordPress 5.5 turned off jQuery Migrate, a tool that WordPress has included for many years to help plugins and themes with outdated code still run properly. By turning jQuery Migrate off, many outdated plugins and themes no longer work properly, which can result in broken websites.

    What is jQuery Migrate?

    jQuery Migrate is a javascript library that has helped theme and plugin developers preserve the compatibility of deprecated jQuery code. Basically, jQuery Migrate helped old code run properly on the current jQuery version and later. Query Migrate was intended to help developers during the transitional period as they replace their code with more modern code (or remove it entirely).

    Why Did WordPress 5.5 Remove jQuery Migrate?

    Older versions of jQuery are no longer supported, so it is necessary for WordPress to update coding standards. As WordPress prepares to make the transition to updating to the latest supported version of jQuery, removing jQuery Migrate was a required first step to make sure plugins and themes are up to date and no longer using deprecated code.

    Why is My Site Broken After Updating to WordPress 5.5?

    Quite simply: you are running a plugin or theme that has outdated code. After updating to WordPress 5.5, outdated plugins or themes will no longer function properly.

    Since the outdated code in a plugin or theme is no longer supported by WordPress core, it may break your website.

    Note: Plugins and themes with outdated code pose a major security risk to your website, so it’s a best practice to not use old plugins and themes that have been abandoned by their developers.

    How to Fix WordPress 5.5 Breaking Sites

    If your site broke after updating to WordPress 5.5, there are a few steps you can take to fix your site.

    1. Download & install the jQuery Migrate Helper plugin

    1. If you have a broken site after updating to WordPress 5.5, install the jQuery Migrate Helper plugin on your site. This plugin will re-enable the jQuery Migrate tool that was removed in WordPress 5.5, and provide you with information about what plugin or theme might be misbehaving.
    Enable jQuery Migrate Helper
    Note: The jQuery Migrate Helper plugin is a temporary solution to repair your site. This plugin re-enables the jQuery Migrate tool for your site to give your plugin and theme authors some more time to update, and test their code, but it should not be used as a long-term solution to fixing your site.

    After installing and activating the jQuery Migrate Helper plugin, you’ll see this message to explain that you will see warnings while using your WordPress admin, but they will not be shown on the front-end of your site.

    2. Look for warnings generated by the jQuery Migrate Helper plugin in your WP admin area

    Pages in your WP admin generated by plugins that have issues in WordPress 5.5 should output this type of error message. This error will give you an indication of which plugin(s) may be causing issues.

    3. Use your browser console to find additional errors

    The jQuery Migrate Helper plugin will also output error messages in your browser console to help you identify which plugin or theme has broken your site. Here’s more on how to use your browser to diagnose JavaScript errors. Just note that troubleshooting this way is a bit more technical.

    4. Update all your themes and plugins to the latest versions

    If you do see warning messages, you should check the theme or plugin that generated them for a version update. Hopefully, there will be an update you can install.

    • If you discover you are not running the latest version of a theme or plugin, update it to the latest version. Available updates will be shown in your WordPress admin dashboard on the Updates page.
    • If you are running an outdated version of a premium plugin or theme, you will need to add your license key or purchase a new license to update to the latest version. Most premium plugins and themes use license keys to provide updates via your WordPress admin dashboard, so you should see any available updates after adding a license key.
    It’s a WordPress security best practice to keep your plugins and themes updated to the latest version. Version releases often include important security patches as well as updated code or new features.

    If updating your plugins or themes fixes your broken site, and there are no more warnings, please deactivate Enable jQuery Migrate Helper.

    5. If no update is available, contact the theme or plugin developer to update their code

    Unfortunately, in order for you to continue using one of the themes or plugins with outdated code, the theme or plugin developer will need to update their code. If you get no response, you’ll need to remove the plugin or theme, as the code will no longer be functional in versions of WordPress moving forward.

    Theme and plugin developers can learn more in this Updating jQuery version shipped with WordPress article by the WordPress team.

    The Security Issues of Using Outdated Plugins & Themes

    We mentioned this briefly already, but it’s important enough to reiterate: as a WordPress security best practice, you shouldn’t run outdated versions of your plugins or themes.

    Running outdated plugins and themes is the #1 reason WordPress sites get hacked.

    Just check out how many plugin and theme vulnerabilities have been disclosed in our twice-monthly WordPress vulnerability roundup reports. Version releases often include important patches for security vulnerabilities, so you need to keep everything updated.

    The security risk of running outdated plugins and themes has become such a critical issue that WordPress 5.5 now includes auto-updates for plugins and themes. So it’s a good idea to turn auto-updates on moving forward and get a WordPress backup plan in place.

    Get the ebook: A Guide to WordPress Security
    Download the PDF

    Why WordPress Backups Are So Important

    Before updating to any major version of WordPress, it’s always a good idea to run a complete backup of your site. Along with the removal of jQuery Migrate, WordPress 5.5 introduced additional changes like auto-updates of plugins and themes. That’s why having a solid WordPress backup plan is more important than ever.

    With the BackupBuddy WordPress backup plugin, you can always restore your website to a previous version if something breaks. Plus, you can set up scheduled, automatic backups to run on your schedule.

    Get BackupBuddy now

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    Comments

    1. Daz says:
      August 20, 2020 at 2:35 pm

      So if you can’t access the site to install and activate this plugin, what do you do ?

      Reply
      • Kristen Wright says:
        August 20, 2020 at 4:46 pm

        Hi Daz, it sounds like you may need to manually upload the plugin directly using an sFTP client. Download the plugin zip file, unzip it, then upload the entire folder and its contents to the wp-content/plugins folder. Here are more detailed instructions on the manual plugin installation method.

        Reply
    2. Jason LeMahieu says:
      August 21, 2020 at 9:27 am

      The most common problem I’ve seen from reviewing a few dozen plugins is the use of .attr(‘checked’) to determine if a checkbox is checked.
      Use .prop(‘checked’) instead.

      Reply
    3. juanma says:
      August 23, 2020 at 2:45 pm

      This guide helped me to solve a problem adding and editing “posts” (pages, woocommerce products). Thanks a lot!

      Reply
    4. Chris says:
      September 15, 2020 at 1:18 pm

      Thanks guys – great article!

      Reply

    Respond

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