I added a meta description tag to the header.php and then hit “update file”. It gave me the following error, “Unable to communicate back with site to check for fatal errors, so the PHP change was reverted. You will need to upload your PHP file change by some other means, such as by using SFTP.”.
Now ‘header.php’ is blank in the WP dashboard as well as the zip file on my local folder. I have lost all formatting on my site. Please help urgently.
Don’t worry, none of your posts, pages or any other content were affected You most likely have made a mistake in code that made your website temporarily inaccessible.
Now there are 2 solutions to this:
you can either reupload the original “header.php” file to the root directory of your theme using FTP/cPanel,
hire a professional from Envato Studio that will fix your website.
Thanks for your prompt response. My local file header.php in the zip folder also seems to be blank and is showing this text: > >




false, ‘theme_location’ => ‘main-menu’, ‘menu_class’ => ‘menu’ ) ); ?>
How can I re-upload it using FTP. I don’t have the username of password for the ftp login.
Your local file, if was not edited, should contain a bit more code. Alternatively you can download purchased theme again and use the new file (if you haven’t updated theme for a long time and somehow download newer version, this may cause issues though).
You don’t have to use FTP, you can log in to your hosting area and use whatever panel they provide to upload any file you need.
I activated the theme last year around june maybe. Haven’t updated it since. So don,'t know if there is a new version out there. Also, I don’t see a way to download the theme again. Can you help pls?
If I want to get it fixed, is it a simple process and how long will it take?
In that case you should probably hire someone to fix it for you, unless you have unmodified copy of your theme somewhere on your computer and can use the “header.php” file from there.
You will need to give access to the hosting area to whatever person you decide to contact, if you can’t use FTP.
is there a way to buy support for this theme? I have the original zip folder of the theme. How do I get the ftp username and password? I would prefer to get it fixed by the support team vs. a contract programmer.
It depends where you have your theme from, but you can probably contact @SoloPine, the author of “Sprout & Spoon” theme for a quote, as fixing issues caused by modifications are usually not covered by any standard support:
As for the FTP login/password - it all depends on hosting you are using. You can contact them for instructions.
Ok. Thanks for the info. I purchased the theme from Solopine via Envato. What I cannot understand is why is the file not updating with the code, or why is it not reverting back to original, like it says. Do you know what could be the issue?
While editing CSS files is forgiving, if there’s even the slightest mistake in the theme PHP code, it will simply not work. Usually all you end up with is a blank page/a simple error instead of at least some content being displayed. It will not automatically be reverted to original, I’m afraid.
I see. All I did was add a meta description tag, fairly simple, nothing complicated. I guess I messed it up somehow. Thanks for your help, I guess now I have to either do it myself or get it fixed by someone … Thanks for your help.
You most likely have made a mistake in code that made your website temporarily inaccessible.