wp-elementor-fix

name	wp-elementor-fix
description	Fix broken Elementor rendering on any WordPress site after malware cleanup, plugin restore, or migration. Bumps elementor_css_version, clears _elementor_css postmeta, removes missing plugins from active_plugins, and clears transients and file cache. Works on any host.
metadata	{"type":"management","script":"scripts/restoration/wp-elementor-fix.py","requires":"paramiko"}

WP-ELEMENTOR-FIX — Restore Elementor Rendering

Symptoms this fixes

• Site loads (HTTP 200) but shows plain text instead of the designed layout
• Page source has raw <p> tags, no .elementor-* classes
• WP Admin → Elementor → "Regenerate CSS" has no effect
• Site looks like unstyled HTML with huge fonts

Root causes handled

1. Plugin missing from filesystem but still in active_plugins → PHP fatal → blank response
2. _elementor_css postmeta is stale → regeneration never triggered
3. elementor_css_version unchanged → WP serves old (missing) CSS
4. wp-content/cache/ holding outdated output

Usage

python scripts/restoration/wp-elementor-fix.py \
  --config config/config.yaml

# Or with explicit flags:
python scripts/restoration/wp-elementor-fix.py \
  --host ssh.host.com --user USER --password PASS \
  --wp-path /var/www/html/yoursite \
  --db-host localhost --db-user DBUSER --db-pass DBPASS \
  --db-name DBNAME --db-prefix wp_

What it does (in order)

1. Verify wp-content/plugins/elementor/ exists on filesystem
2. Remove missing plugins from active_plugins DB option
3. Bump elementor_css_version to current Unix timestamp
4. Delete all _elementor_css postmeta rows
5. Delete all _transient_elementor* rows
6. Delete all WP transients
7. Clear wp-content/cache/
8. Verify Elementor kit (global styles) is assigned
9. Verify siteurl == home (mixed-content guard)

After running

Visit the site in a browser — CSS regenerates on the first page load. If still broken, go to WP Admin → Elementor → Tools → Regenerate CSS & Data.

If Elementor Pro is missing

Elementor Pro must be installed with a valid licence from elementor.com. It cannot be restored from wordpress.org. Remove it from active_plugins via this script, then reinstall manually: WP Admin → Plugins → Add New → Upload.