After activation, the admin menu disappears or dashboard becomes inaccessible.
Plugin Breaks Admin Menu or Dashboard
Key Points: A plugin disrupts the WordPress admin interface, hiding menus or preventing access.
You activate a plugin — and half the admin sidebar vanishes. Or you’re redirected to a blank page when accessing dashboard pages. Some plugins go too far with custom admin logic or output buffering.
🧩 Common Causes
- Plugin outputs content or headers too early
- Conflicts with admin_enqueue_scripts or admin_menu hooks
- Broken admin CSS or JavaScript injections
🛠️ Recovery Steps
- Disable the plugin via FTP by renaming its folder
- Check error logs for PHP notices or conflicts
- Switch to a default theme and reactivate plugin to isolate
💡 Tip
Always test plugins in a staging environment — especially dashboard-enhancing or admin rebranding tools.