Update: The plugin has indeed had version 4.8.1 released, which seems to fix the issues present in the original 4.8 release. This article is being kept as is for archival sake as a reminder to be careful when using new software in a production environment, at least on day zero.
Update 2: In testing the updated plugin on Xadara, it not only BREAKS THE SITEMAP XML, but also doesn’t “adjust” properly, meaning I basically cannot edit anything. I’m reverting back to version 4.7.1 until further notice.
Update 3: The 4.8.2 version released on the 7th FINALLY fixes the issues I was having. The interesting thing is, the plugin errors were supposed to be caused by an older version of PHP installed on the server, but Xadara is running a version considered current for this plugin: My only thought is that this was a common problem, and was used as a way to blame the errors on something other than a coding mistake they made, but clearly this wasn’t the only cause and the plugin itself was still flawed at it’s core.
It’s a rare thing when I write about the backend of blogging, but when I do, it’s something major. In this case, Jetpack, one of the top-tier plugins for WordPress, is breaking websites in its latest version, 4.8. I write about this primarily because this happened to me last night – Jetpack 4.8 killed this site for a short while.
Here’s the deal – depending on your particular settings, the plugin may not install at all. This is good, very good. The bad thing is when the update does install – for some people, it works fine, but for many, the site completely breaks, being listed as only a “white screen” and nothing more. No back end access of any kind, no WordPress dashboard, no admin panel, no nothing. Your databases are fine (I checked mine, as I feared the site was attacked by someone), all your files are good, this is simply a case of the plugin completely screwing up the actual rendering of php on the server end.
Now, in scouring the forums for Jetpack, it seems this has something to do with sitemaps – perhaps completely disabling them will allow you to install the update, but I honestly find this rather pointless. You would do better to just stick with the previous version, 4.7.1, than to upgrade until at least they fix version 4.8. I don’t see any improvements that are super critical compared to the high chance it will mess up your site if you use sitemaps, which let’s face it, virtually any complex blog probably is using the built in sitemap tools of Jetpack if the plugin is installed.
Now, if you have already upgraded and it has broken your website, simply FTP into your web server and access the wp-content/plugins folder of your wordpress installation and delete the “Jetpack” folder – this will kill the plugin and at least get the site visible again. I suggest then re-installing the old 4.7.1 version until the next update, avoiding the urge to try to re-install the 4.8 upgrade. Hell, my install didn’t even actually allow me to install the 4.8 release at all, so clearly there is something very wrong in the code for this version.
Don’t get me wrong, Jetpack is a great plugin, it’s just this particular version is heavily messed up.
On https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/jetpack/ you can see many users complaining about the plugin, not just causing the “white screen of death” but other issues.