Fixing the WordPress White Screen of Death
Encountering a white screen instead of your WordPress site can be alarming, but don’t worry. This common issue, known as the WordPress white screen of death, can be resolved using various methods. In this guide, we will take you through troubleshooting steps to get your website up and running again.
Check Other Websites on Your Hosting Account
Before troubleshooting your WordPress site, it is essential to determine if the white screen of death affects other websites hosted on the same server. If the issue is limited to one site, it is most likely a problem specific to that website. However, if multiple sites are affected, it could indicate an issue with your WordPress hosting service. In that case, contact their support for assistance.
Search for Error Messages
Rather than seeing a plain white screen, you may come across a critical error message or a notification stating technical difficulties. These messages can provide valuable information about the plugin or theme causing the problem. WordPress may also send an email to your admin address with details on the issue. If you receive such messages, follow the instructions provided to resolve the error.
Increasing PHP Memory Limit
Exceeding the memory limit allowed by your server is a common cause of the white screen of death. To address this, you can increase the PHP memory available to WordPress. There are two methods to achieve this: editing your site’s wp-config.php file or using a code snippet plugin like WPCode. Follow our tutorial for detailed instructions on increasing PHP memory in WordPress.
Disabling Plugins
If increasing the memory limit did not fix the issue, the next step is to disable plugins on your WordPress site. If you can still access your admin area, go to “Plugins » Installed Plugins” and select all installed plugins. Use the “Bulk actions” dropdown to choose “Deactivate.” In case you cannot access the admin area, disable the plugins via FTP. Connect to your WordPress site using an FTP client, go to the wp-content folder, locate the plugins folder, right-click, and select “Rename” to change it to 'plugins-deactivated'. This action will deactivate all the plugins. If the white screen of death disappears, reactivate the plugins one by one until you find the one causing the error. Then, you can replace it with an alternative or report the issue to the plugin’s author.
Switch to a Default Theme
If disabling plugins did not resolve the problem, try switching to a default theme. Connect to your website via FTP, navigate to the /wp-content/themes/ folder, and create a backup copy of your current theme. Next, delete the current theme from your site. If you have a default WordPress theme installed, it will automatically become the new default theme. If not, manually install a default theme using FTP. Check if the white screen of death error is resolved. If so, examine your theme’s functions.php file and remove any extra spaces at the bottom that may be causing the issue. You can also try downloading a fresh copy of your theme and manually installing it using FTP.
Enabling Debugging
If none of the above solutions work, you can enable debugging in WordPress. By adding a code snippet to your wp-config.php file, you can display any errors, warnings, or notices on the white screen itself. This additional information can help you identify the root cause of the issue. If you do not see any errors on the screen, check the debug log located in the wp-content folder using an FTP client. The debug.log file contains a record of all errors, notices, and warnings.
Clearing Caching
In some cases, a caching plugin can cause the white screen of death to appear on the frontend of your website while leaving the backend accessible. To resolve this issue, clear your WordPress cache. Follow our guide on how to clear the cache in WordPress for detailed instructions.
Increasing PHP’s Text Processing Capability
If you encounter the white screen of death on a long post or page, you can try increasing PHP’s text processing capability by modifying your wp-config.php file. Simply copy and paste the provided code snippet into your wp-config.php file to increase recursion and backtrack limit.
We understand that the WordPress white screen of death can be frustrating, but rest assured that one of these troubleshooting tips should resolve the issue for you. If you want to learn more about troubleshooting WordPress problems or explore the best WordPress managed hosting providers, check out our WordPress troubleshooting guide and expert pick recommendations. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube Channel for informative WordPress video tutorials and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for more WordPress updates.
