WordPress 6.1 introduces breaking changes that require updating WPML and String Translation before updating WordPress. Please update both WPML (4.5.12) and String Translation (3.2.3). Are you too late and does your site have a fatal error? Then let me explain how to fix it.
If you run WPML on your website you will need to update your WPML plugins to the latest versions before updating WordPress to 6.1. If not, your website will incur a fatal error. For a quick fix (if you don’t have time to update the site immediately) you can make your site visible again by deactivating the WPML String translation plugin.
How to update WPML plugins
It’s common sense, but please make a backup of your website before updating plugins and installing WordPress updates so that you can revert to your old version. You can update WPML from the commercial tab of the ‘Add New plugins’ page which takes you to the custom WPML installer.
- Go to Plugins > New Plugin
- Go to ‘Commercial’ tab
- Click ‘Check for Updates’ to see the current versions
- Select the WPML plugins that need updating
- Below, check ‘activate after download’ and click on the download button
Troubleshooting
Your website is inaccessible
If you cannot access the site because of the fatal error, you may need to use FTP or log into your DirectAdmin account to change the String Translation plugin folder name, which will deactivate it (see: How to disable a WordPress Plugin by renaming the plugin folder). You can then delete it from the plugins page and reinstall it (with the latest version).
You don’t have the ‘Commercial’ option in the ‘Add new plugins’ tab
It may be that you haven’t updated WPML in a while (versions older than WPML 4.5) and the option isn’t visible. You can’t download the WPML plugins directly from your WPML account anymore. This is annoying because WPML doesn’t automatically update (or give you update warnings), meaning that you have to check for updates. You can fix this by disabling your WPML plugins and downloading and installing the WPML’s OTGS Installer. This plugin allows you to register your site and then install the WPML plugins you need. Please note that the OTGS Installer Plugin will not activate if you are already running WPML, so you may have to remove and reïnstall them. It’s a bit of a weird fix – but on one client site which I updated on request, I was able to see the ‘Commercial’ tab afterwards.
This post contains affiliate links. You don’t pay extra for any plugins you purchase, but I do receive a small commission from a sale if you decide to purchase a premium plugin.
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