Don’t worry, you’re not alone. The “Elementor not activating after installation” problem is a common hiccup that many WordPress users encounter. But here’s the good news: most of these issues are easily fixable. At Hostinger, we understand the importance of a smooth website building experience, and in this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through a series of proven solutions to get Elementor up and running.

From simple checks to more in-depth troubleshooting, we’ll cover everything you need to know. By the end of this article, you’ll have Elementor activated and ready to transform your website!

Understanding Why Elementor Might Not Be Activating

Before diving into solutions, it’s helpful to understand the potential reasons behind Elementor not activating after installation. Many factors can contribute to this, often stemming from conflicts or environmental issues within your WordPress setup. Understanding these can help you pinpoint the root cause more quickly.

Common Culprits for Elementor Activation Failure:

• Server Environment Limitations: Low PHP memory limit, outdated PHP version, or other server-side restrictions can prevent plugins from activating correctly.
• Plugin Conflicts: Another plugin on your site might be interfering with Elementor’s activation process.
• Theme Conflicts: While less common, certain themes, especially custom-built or poorly coded ones, can cause issues.
• Corrupted Installation Files: The Elementor plugin files might have been corrupted during download or upload.
• WordPress Core Issues: Rarely, issues with your WordPress installation itself could be the cause.
• Outdated WordPress Version: Running an old version of WordPress can lead to compatibility problems.

Initial Checks Before Deeper Troubleshooting

Before you delve into more complex solutions for Elementor not activating after installation, let’s run through some quick and easy checks. These often resolve the problem instantly.

1. Clear Your Cache

Caching can sometimes cause outdated versions of pages or scripts to be served, leading to activation issues. If Elementor is not activating, this is always a good first step.

• WordPress Cache Plugin: If you use a caching plugin (e.g., WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, LiteSpeed Cache), navigate to its settings in your WordPress dashboard and clear all cached data.
• Hostinger Cache: If you’re a Hostinger user, you can easily clear your website cache from your hPanel. Go to WordPress > Dashboard > Cache and click Purge All.
• Browser Cache: Clear your browser’s cache and cookies, or try using an incognito/private browsing window to rule out client-side caching issues.

2. Re-upload or Reinstall Elementor

Sometimes, the download or upload process can corrupt plugin files. If Elementor is not activating, a fresh installation can often fix this.

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
2. Find “Elementor” and “Elementor Pro” (if applicable), deactivate them if they appear active but problematic, and then delete them.
3. Download the latest version of Elementor (from WordPress.org for the free version, or your Elementor account for Elementor Pro).
4. Go to Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin, choose the downloaded ZIP file, and click Install Now.
5. Once installed, click Activate Plugin.

For more detailed instructions on plugin installation, refer to the official WordPress plugin management documentation.

3. Update WordPress Core

Running an outdated WordPress version can lead to compatibility problems with modern plugins like Elementor. Always ensure your WordPress core is up-to-date.

1. Go to Dashboard > Updates in your WordPress admin area.
2. If an update is available, click Update Now.
3. Always back up your website before performing any major updates. Hostinger users can easily create backups via hPanel.

Step-by-Step Solutions to Fix Elementor Not Activating After Installation

If the initial checks didn’t solve the problem, it’s time to dive into more specific troubleshooting methods for when Elementor is not activating. We’ll start with the most common and move to more advanced solutions.

Solution 1: Increase PHP Memory Limit

One of the most frequent reasons Elementor won’t activate is insufficient PHP memory. Elementor, especially Elementor Pro, requires a decent amount of memory to function correctly. WordPress, by default, sets a relatively low memory limit.

How to Increase PHP Memory Limit:

You can usually do this by editing your wp-config.php file. Access your website files via an FTP client (like FileZilla) or your hosting provider’s file manager (e.g., Hostinger’s File Manager).

1. Connect to your website using FTP or open your hosting panel’s File Manager.
2. Navigate to your WordPress root directory (usually public_html).
3. Locate and open the wp-config.php file.
4. Add the following line of code just before the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */:

   define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );

   Note: We recommend setting it to at least 256M, but 512M or 1024M might be necessary for larger sites or if you’re still experiencing issues. Most reputable hosting providers support these limits. Hostinger typically provides ample resources, but checking doesn’t hurt.

5. Save the wp-config.php file and re-upload it if using FTP.
6. Try activating Elementor again.

You can verify your current PHP memory limit from the WordPress dashboard under Elementor > System Info or Tools > Site Health > Info > Server.

Solution 2: Deactivate All Other Plugins (Plugin Conflict)

Plugin conflicts are a very common reason for Elementor not activating. Another plugin might be using conflicting code or resources that prevent Elementor from initializing correctly.

How to Check for Plugin Conflicts:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
2. Select all plugins except Elementor and Elementor Pro (if installed).
3. From the “Bulk Actions” dropdown, choose Deactivate and click Apply.
4. Now, try activating Elementor.
5. If Elementor activates successfully, one of your other plugins was the culprit.
6. To identify the conflicting plugin, reactivate your other plugins one by one, checking Elementor’s functionality after each activation. The plugin that causes Elementor to stop working again is the one conflicting.
7. Once identified, consider finding an alternative plugin, contacting the plugin developer, or seeing if there’s a setting in the conflicting plugin that can be adjusted.

This systematic approach is crucial when troubleshooting any WordPress plugin issues, not just when Elementor is not activating. Elementor’s official documentation also suggests this strategy for diagnosing plugin conflicts.

Solution 3: Temporarily Switch Your Theme (Theme Conflict)

While less frequent than plugin conflicts, a theme can also interfere with Elementor’s activation, especially if it’s poorly coded or uses specific frameworks that clash.

How to Check for Theme Conflicts:

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Themes.
2. Activate a default WordPress theme like “Twenty Twenty-Four” or “Twenty Twenty-Three”.
3. Try activating Elementor.
4. If Elementor activates, your original theme was causing the conflict.
5. You might need to contact your theme developer for support or consider using an Elementor-compatible theme like Hello Elementor, Astra, or OceanWP.

Remember to switch back to your original theme after testing, unless it’s genuinely the problem.

Solution 4: Update PHP Version

Elementor, like most modern WordPress plugins, requires a recent PHP version for optimal performance and security. Running an outdated PHP version can lead to various issues, including Elementor not activating.

How to Update PHP Version:

This process is usually done through your hosting control panel (e.g., Hostinger’s hPanel).

1. Log in to your hosting control panel.
2. Look for a section related to PHP Configuration or PHP Version Manager. (On Hostinger, navigate to Hosting > your domain > Advanced > PHP Configuration).
3. Select a recommended PHP version (e.g., PHP 8.0 or higher). Always choose the latest stable version your host offers and ensure your WordPress site is compatible.
4. Save changes.
5. Try activating Elementor again.

Before updating PHP, it’s a good practice to ensure all your themes and plugins are also updated to their latest versions, as they might have been updated to support newer PHP versions. Always create a backup before making PHP version changes.

Solution 5: Review Server Error Logs

If Elementor is not activating and you’re not getting a clear error message, your server’s error logs can provide invaluable insights into what’s going wrong.

How to Access Error Logs:

Error logs are typically found in your hosting control panel or through FTP.

• Hosting Control Panel: Many hosts (including Hostinger) provide a direct way to view error logs. Look for sections like “Error Logs,” “Raw Access Logs,” or “Website Logs.”
• FTP: Sometimes, a debug.log file might be generated in your WordPress wp-content directory if WordPress debugging is enabled (see next step). Your web server’s error log (e.g., Apache’s error_log) would be in a server-specific location, often within the root web directory or in a separate log directory.

Enabling WordPress Debugging:

To make WordPress generate a debug.log file with more specific errors:

1. Access your wp-config.php file via FTP or File Manager.
2. Find the line define('WP_DEBUG', false);.
3. Change false to true.
4. Add the following lines below it:

   define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

   This will log errors to wp-content/debug.log without displaying them on your live site.

5. Save the file.
6. Try activating Elementor again, then check the debug.log file for new entries.

Look for fatal errors, warnings, or notices related to Elementor or other plugins/themes. The error message often provides a clear indication of the conflict or missing resource. Remember to set WP_DEBUG back to false once you’re done troubleshooting to avoid performance issues and security risks.

Solution 6: Check File Permissions

Incorrect file permissions can prevent WordPress from reading or writing necessary files, which can cause plugins like Elementor to not activate or function correctly.

How to Correct File Permissions:

You can usually adjust file permissions via your FTP client or hosting file manager.

1. Connect via FTP or open your hosting File Manager.
2. Navigate to your WordPress root directory (e.g., public_html).
3. For folders: Right-click on folders (like wp-content, wp-admin, wp-includes) and set their permissions to 755. Apply to subdirectories and files within recursively.
   

   

4. For files: Select all files and set their permissions to 644.
   

   

5. Try activating Elementor again.

Important: Do not set permissions to 777 unless specifically instructed by support for a very temporary fix, as it poses a significant security risk.

Solution 7: Manually Activate Elementor (Database Activation)

In rare cases, if the standard activation process fails repeatedly, you might be able to manually activate Elementor directly in your database. This is an advanced step and requires caution.

How to Manually Activate Elementor:

1. Access your database via phpMyAdmin (available in your hosting control panel, like hPanel).
2. Select your WordPress database.
3. Find the wp_options table (the prefix wp_ might be different if you changed it during installation, e.g., myblog_options).
4. Look for the option_name row named active_plugins.
5. Click “Edit” for this row.
6. You will see a serialized array. You need to add Elementor (and Elementor Pro if applicable) to this array.
7. The value will look something like this:

   a:2:{i:0;s:19:"hello-dolly/hello.php";i:1;s:25:"akismet/akismet.php";}

   You need to increment the array count (a:X) and add the plugin path. For Elementor, it’s typically elementor/elementor.php and for Elementor Pro, it’s elementor-pro/elementor-pro.php.

   Example of adding Elementor:

   a:3:{i:0;s:19:"hello-dolly/hello.php";i:1;s:25:"akismet/akismet.php";i:2;s:22:"elementor/elementor.php";}

   If you also need to activate Elementor Pro:

   a:4:{i:0;s:19:"hello-dolly/hello.php";i:1;s:25:"akismet/akismet.php";i