Emergency help · WordPress
WordPress on strike?
White screen, critical error, database gone — or somebody has been inside who had no business being there. We work out what is actually broken and bring the site back. First call free.
No root access needed: for WordPress, FTP and the database are enough. You have both on an ordinary shared hosting plan.
The site is down right now
Get in touch now.
Two sentences are enough: what do you see instead of the site, and what was the last thing that was changed? Request a callback or use the form — both reach us directly.
- First call free, no root access needed
- Fixed price from €149, agreed before we start
- No night, weekend or holiday surcharge
We get back to you as fast as we can, usually the same day. Most WordPress failures are fixed in under an hour — and we tell you beforehand which ones will not be.
What we see most often
What is actually stuck.
Almost every WordPress failure looks the same to the owner: the site is down. Behind it sit very different causes — and they decide whether this takes ten minutes or two days.
Nothing. Just white.
The infamous White Screen of Death. PHP hit an error and gave up without showing it. Usually a plugin or theme update, less often too little memory. The cause sits in the server’s error log — that is where we look first, instead of guessing at plugins.
“There has been a critical error”
Since WordPress 5.2, the friendly version of the white page. Most common causes: a broken .htaccess, a PHP version your host raised without warning, or a plugin that no longer runs on it. WordPress also sends a mail to the admin address in that case — worth its weight in gold, and usually sitting unread in spam.
“Error establishing a database connection”
Either the credentials in wp-config.php no longer match, or the database server refuses connections, or a table is damaged. The difference matters: one is fixed in five minutes, the other needs a repair or the backup.
Too many redirects
The site sends the browser round in circles. A classic after a domain or HTTPS move: the address in the settings, the .htaccess and a redirect plugin contradict each other. It can also be a hack — in which case only other visitors end up elsewhere, never you.
“Briefly unavailable for maintenance”
An update broke off halfway through and WordPress never lifted the maintenance lock. Harmless in itself and quickly cleared — but afterwards someone has to check whether that update finished cleanly or is left half-applied.
You cannot get into the backend
Password resets go nowhere, the login spins forever, or your account is suddenly no longer an administrator. That last one is a clear warning sign: attackers like to remove rights rather than draw attention.
Adverts that are not yours
Visitors land on other sites, the source contains unknown links, there are posts or user accounts nobody created. That is not a fault, that is a break-in — and the treatment is an entirely different one.
The browser warns about your site
A red warning page, or a notice in Search Console. Google found malicious code, often long before anyone in the business noticed. Speed matters here: while the warning stands, practically no visitor gets through, and delisting takes another few days after the clean-up.
Hacked, or simply broken?
This question decides everything that follows. A broken site gets repaired; a hacked one has to be understood first — otherwise you rebuild the hole along with it.
Points to broken
- It happened right after an update, a change or a change of host
- The error message names a specific file and line
- Only one area misbehaves, the rest of the site runs
- You see the same thing your visitors do
- No foreign content, no unknown users
Points to hacked
- Visitors land on other sites; you never do
- Posts, users or redirects nobody created
- Google or the browser warns about the site
- The host reports spam being sent or unusual traffic
- Many files carry a modification date when nobody was working
Not sure? That is exactly what the first call is for. Telling the two apart is the first step of every diagnosis, and we make the call from the logs, not from a hunch.
What we need
No root. Really.
A WordPress problem lives in files and in the database, not in the operating system. You can reach both on an ordinary shared hosting plan — which means so can we. We only need root when it is not the website that is affected, but the server underneath it.
| Access | Do we need it? |
|---|---|
| FTP/SFTP or the file manager in your hosting panel | Required. Without file access nothing happens at all. |
| Database (phpMyAdmin, or the credentials from wp-config.php) | Required for database errors and after any hack. |
| A WordPress administrator account | Helpful, but not essential — on a broken site nobody can usually get in anyway. |
| Hosting panel (Plesk, cPanel or your provider’s interface) | Helpful: PHP version, error logs and backups live there. |
| Root or SSH on the server | Not needed. If it is, this is no longer a WordPress case. |
How we spot that it is the server after all
Several websites on the same plan fail at once; the data centre sends an abuse or load notice; utilisation stays high although there are no visitors. Then the problem sits below WordPress, and the case changes pages.
Site builders and hosted WordPress.com are out, unfortunately: there is neither file access nor a database to work on. We tell you that in the first call, before any money changes hands.
How it runs
Our sequence
Back up first, then understand, then touch. Anyone who disables WordPress plugins one by one until something works again ends up with a running site and no idea why.
First call
Free. What do you see instead of the site, what was changed last, which credentials do you have? After that you know whether this is a job for the rapid fix or something bigger — and what it costs.
Backup first
Files and database get copied before anything is changed. Even when the site looks broken: its current state is the evidence of what happened, and it cannot be recovered once it is gone.
Diagnosis, not guesswork
Server error log, WordPress debug log, file timestamps, database check. At the end there is a cause, not a suspicion. This is the step that “just switch off all the plugins” skips.
Repair or clean up
For a fault: fix it, update, restore whatever can be restored. For a break-in: malicious code out — including from the database — entry point closed, all credentials and security keys rotated.
Secure & hand back
A short report in plain language: what it was, what we did, what you should do so it does not come back. On request we set up backups and monitoring straight away.
What it costs
The fixed price is agreed before we start. If the rapid fix is not enough, it counts towards the larger package — you do not pay for the diagnosis twice.
The most common case: the site is down, there is exactly one cause, and in ninety minutes it runs again.
- Credentials checked, backup taken
- Diagnosis from the logs: what is stuck and why
- Fixed, as far as it fits the time
- Short report on what it was
- If the time is not enough: fixed-price quote, the €149 counts towards it
For everything that cannot be pinned to one spot: update chaos, a damaged database, a half-migrated site.
- Everything from the rapid fix (up to 90 min)
- Database repaired or restored from backup
- Update, plugin and theme conflicts resolved
- PHP version and server requirements checked and adjusted
- Site handed back in a verified working state
- Report naming the spots that will cause trouble next
When somebody has been inside. Cleaning is not enough here — the door has to shut, or they are back next week.
- Everything from the repair
- Malicious code fully removed, including from the database
- Entry point identified and closed
- All credentials and security keys rotated
- Removal from Google and other blocklists
- Hardening and four weeks of follow-up checks
All prices net, excl. VAT. Anything beyond the fixed price is billed in 15-minute increments — and we say so beforehand, not on the invoice.
Hourly rate and prevention
The one figure for everything that will not fit in a package. And the note that avoids the whole emergency.
Billed in 15-minute increments. The market sits between €90 and €200 an hour, clustering around €110. No night, weekend or holiday surcharge. For comparison: planned work outside an emergency is billed at €89, a server emergency with root costs €190.
Most cases that land on our desk would never have happened with timely updates and a backup somebody had actually tested. The market charges €40 to €129 a month for that — we sit right inside it at €39 to €129. Not a second product for WordPress, just what we offer for every website.
To website careBy the way: no price here is set in stone.
Budget and package don't quite match? Talk to us and we'll find a fair deal. We especially like supporting founders and young businesses, for example with a lower project price combined with hosting or ongoing care.
What this costs elsewhere
Researched on 27 Aug 2026. Three reference figures worth keeping apart — otherwise you are comparing an hourly rate with a per-incident fee.
WordPress rapid help per hour
€90 – €200 per hour
From €90 at agencies focused on maintenance up to €200 at a 24-hour emergency service, clustering around €110. This is where we sit.
Our rate €119 per hour
Surveyed at: die-mainagentur.de, wpservicesofort.de, tortuga-security.de, notdienst.seo-manager.info
Hack clean-up at a fixed price
€145 – €500 per case
The cheap offers at the low end are malware removal and nothing else. Our package from €490 sits at the upper edge — in exchange it includes proof of the entry point, hardening, blocklist removal and four weeks of follow-up checks. That is the same scope others charge €499 for, not a surcharge on the €145 version.
Surveyed at: wpfuchs.de, tortuga-security.de, sixhop.net, wordpress-malware-entfernen.com
Ongoing WordPress maintenance
€40 – €129 per month
The prevention that usually saves you the emergency. Our website care sits right inside this corridor at €39 to €129 a month.
Surveyed at: correct-conception.de, wpservicesofort.de, die-mainagentur.de
The figures come from publicly listed prices by the providers named. We deliberately do not link them — some are competitors, and the name is enough to check.
When we turn you down
Better now than halfway through the invoice. Three cases where we are not the right route.
Site builder or WordPress.com
On Wix, Squarespace, Jimdo or hosted WordPress.com there is no file access and no database. Nobody but the provider can repair anything there — us included.
The server, not the website
If several sites fail at once, or the data centre sends an abuse notice, the problem sits below WordPress. Then you need root access and our server emergency help, not this page.
No backup, files destroyed
If there is no backup and both files and database are damaged beyond recovery, a rebuild is more honest and usually cheaper than a repair. We will say so, rather than pour hours into a rescue that will not be one.
Common questions
My WordPress site shows nothing but a white page. What is that?
The so-called White Screen of Death: PHP hit an error and gave up without displaying it. In the vast majority of cases a plugin or theme update is behind it, less often too little memory or a PHP version the host raised. The actual error message sits in the server’s error log — that finds the cause in minutes, instead of disabling plugins one after another.
How do I tell whether my site was hacked or is just broken?
A fault is likely if it happened right after an update or a change, if the error names a specific file, and if you see the same thing your visitors do. A break-in is likely if visitors land on other sites while you never do, if there are posts or users nobody created, if Google warns, or if the host reports spam. The distinction matters because a hacked site has to be understood before it is cleaned — otherwise the hole goes straight back in.
Do you need root access to my server?
No. For WordPress, FTP or SFTP access plus the database are enough, and you have both on an ordinary shared hosting plan. A WordPress administrator account and access to the hosting panel are helpful but not essential. We only need root when it is not the website that is affected but the server underneath — and that is a different case.
What does WordPress help cost with you?
The rapid fix is €149 net as a fixed price for up to 90 minutes: backup, diagnosis, fix and a short report. If that is not enough, repair with recovery starts at €390 net and clean-up after a hack at €490 net — with the €149 counted towards it. Anything beyond that is billed at €119 net per hour, with no night or weekend surcharge. The first call is free.
How quickly will the site be back?
Most failures — white page, critical error, stuck maintenance mode, plugin conflict — are done within the rapid fix. A damaged database or a half-finished migration takes longer. A clean-up after a hack usually runs one to three days, because blocklist removal follows afterwards. Which one yours is, we tell you after the first call, not after the work.
I have no backup. Is the site lost?
Usually not. Even without a backup of your own, copies often still sit with the host, and in many cases the data in the database is untouched — only the route to it is broken. A site is lost only when files and database are destroyed at the same time and no copy exists anywhere. In that case we will tell you honestly that a rebuild is the better route.
Can I not simply restore the site from a backup?
For a fault, often yes, and then it is the fastest route. After a break-in it is risky: if nobody knows when the attacker got in, restoring may bring the back door back with it. And the hole they came through is still in the backup anyway. So with a hack we establish the timing and the entry point first, and decide afterwards.
How do I stop this happening again?
The three most effective things cost little: install updates promptly rather than once a year, keep a backup that actually runs and has been restored at least once, and use fewer plugins. Nearly every case on our desk has one of those three causes. If you would rather not watch that yourself, hand it to website care from €39 a month.
First we look, then we quote.
Tell us briefly what you see instead of your site. The first call costs nothing and may well end with us telling you who you actually need.