Troubleshoot Plugin and Theme Conflicts
Some problems on your site can be caused by a conflict between Jetpack and other plugins or a theme. Get to the root of the problem by running a conflict test.
A conflict test involves testing with a default WordPress theme (for example, Twenty Twenty Five) and only Jetpack plugins installed. This allows you to isolate issues so that you can understand their cause.
Important: Before deactivating any plugins or changing your theme, we recommend backing up your site first. If you don’t already have a way to back up your site, you can try Jetpack VaultPress Backup.
There are three ways to run a conflict test:
- The Troubleshooting plugin disables your plugins and switches your theme for your logged-in session only. Visitors keep seeing your site as normal. This is the fastest safe option on a live site.
- A staging site is a separate copy of your site. Nothing you do there reaches your live site.
- Manual testing deactivates plugins for everyone, including visitors. Use this method only when the first two are not available, and run it during low-traffic hours.
Test with the Troubleshooting Plugin
The Troubleshooting plugin (formerly part of the Health Check plugin) turns your plugins off and lets you switch themes for your logged-in session only. Visitors continue to see your site with all plugins active and your current theme in place. It does not deactivate anything for other users, and it does not delete plugins or themes.
- Install and activate the Troubleshooting plugin from the WordPress.org plugin directory.
- Go to Tools → Site Health in WP Admin.
- Select the Troubleshooting tab.
- Click Enable Troubleshooting Mode. Your plugins are now off for your session, and a Troubleshooting Mode menu appears in the toolbar at the top of WP Admin.
- Open Troubleshooting Mode → Themes in the toolbar and click Switch to this theme under a default theme such as Twenty Twenty Five. Check whether the issue is resolved. If it is, your theme is causing the conflict, and you can contact the theme developer or choose a different theme.
- If the theme is not the cause, open Troubleshooting Mode → Plugins and click Enable next to Jetpack. Check whether the issue returns.
- Enable your other plugins one at a time, checking after each one, until the issue returns. The last plugin you enabled is causing the conflict.
- Click Disable Troubleshooting Mode in the toolbar when you are finished. Your plugins and theme return to how they were.
Caching plugins and host-level caching do not always respect Troubleshooting Mode. If your results look inconsistent, clear your caches and test again.
Test on a Staging Site
A staging site is a separate copy of your live site. Deactivating plugins or switching themes on a staging site has no effect on your live site or on its visitors. Many hosts create staging sites from their control panel, so check whether your plan includes one.
Set WP_ENVIRONMENT_TYPE to staging on the copy before you test. Jetpack then keeps your live site’s settings and connection protected from the changes you make while testing. For the steps, read our Staging Sites documentation.
Once the staging site is ready, follow the steps in Identify a plugin conflict and Identify a theme conflict below on the staging copy instead of on your live site.
Manual testing on a live site
Manual testing deactivates plugins for everyone, including visitors. Use this method only when the first two are not available, and run it during low-traffic hours.
You’ll want to create a backup before doing this testing and will then follow the steps below to identify conflicting plugins or themes.
Identify a plugin conflict
- Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins in WP Admin.
- Deactivate all plugins except Jetpack.
- Check whether the issue is resolved.
- If resolved, reactivate your plugins one at a time, checking after each, until the issue returns. The last plugin you activated is causing the conflict.
- Contact the plugin’s developer to see if they can fix the conflict, or leave the conflicting plugin deactivated.
If after Step 2, the issue persists with just Jetpack activated, then try to deactivate and reactivate the Jetpack features on the Modules page to narrow down the issue. If that doesn’t help, then proceed to the steps below to see if your theme is responsible.
Identify a theme conflict
- Go to Appearance → Themes in WP Admin.
- Activate a default WordPress theme (such as Twenty Twenty Five).
- Check whether the issue is resolved.
- If resolved, your active theme is causing the conflict. Contact the theme developer for assistance or choose a different theme.
Need more help?
If you’ve followed these steps and determined that Jetpack is causing a problem on your site, please contact us for further support.
