How to Solve the WordPress White Screen of Death? (Step by Step Guide)

The WordPress White Screen of Death is arguably one of the worst things to happen to a website owner. Worse, it can affect just a specific part of the site. Whatever the case, the part or the entire website is effectively down, and you have no idea what caused it. 

The good news is there are various things you can do that might solve the issue. If you don’t know, keep reading as I’ll explain this error, what causes it, and how to fix it. 

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What Is the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD)? 

As the name suggests, the WordPress White Screen of Death, or WSoD, is an error that causes your website to display a blank white screen instead of regular content. 

It’s one of the most frustrating errors you can get on your WordPress website and, unfortunately, one of the most common ones. 

Interestingly, the error rarely gives out a standard message or just an error code like most others. If it does show something, you might get a message like: “There has been a critical error on this website,” which won’t help much. 

Some browsers might show the HTTP 500 error message stating that “this page isn’t working.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t explain what caused the issue.

Common Causes of the WSoD 

One of the main issues with this error is that there are several possible causes. Here’s an overview of the main ones: 

• Exhausted PHP memory limit — WordPress relies on a specific PHP memory amount to function, and this memory can run out from resource-intensive features or high traffic. When it runs out, your site can crash. 
• Corrupted files — WordPress core, theme, or plugin files can cause the error when corrupted. Corruption can occur for various reasons, which can also cause another common WordPress issue called “Error Establishing a Database Connection.”
• Plugin conflicts — Badly coded or incompatible plugins can conflict with other plugins or WordPress itself, leading to the error. 
• Theme problems — Like plugins, incompatible themes can cause the WSoD error. 
• Server issues — Downtime, misconfigurations, and other web hosting server issues can sometimes cause the problem. 
• Failed updates — Failed WordPress, plugin, or theme updates can lead to the error, just as they can cause the “WordPress Updating Failed” message.

Preliminary Checks Before Troubleshooting 

Before I give you the detailed step-by-step guide on fixing the WordPress White Screen of Death, we need to look at a few things first. Besides ensuring your site hasn’t been hacked, here are the main preliminary checks you should complete:

• Open your website on different browsers and devices to rule out any local issues. 
• Check your server’s status to see if a hosting issue is causing the error. 
• Clear your browser’s cache and cookies to eliminate outdated data that might cause the issue.
• Clear the cache of each plugin individually through a caching plugin like W3 Total Cache. 

Step-by-Step Solutions to Fix the White Screen of Death 

Now that I’ve covered everything you can do and everything you need to know about the WSoD error, it’s time to start with the solutions. Keep reading the steps and complete what they cover until the error is gone. 

1. Increase the PHP Memory Limit

PHP memory is to a WordPress website what fuel is to a car. Without it, it won’t run, and if the PHP memory limit is too low, the site will crash and cause the WSoD error. 

The limit can become too low if your site has a lot of content, plugins, or even high traffic. This is not uncommon when you have to deal with hosting on your own, as you do with WordPress. Interestingly, if you’re using a website experience platform with integrated hosting like Webflow, this can’t happen as the platform scales with your site. 

You can check this limit in your hosting provider's control panel. If it’s not there, you can contact the provider to see what it is and increase it with their help. You’ll likely have to edit the wp-config.php file or the .htaccess file if the former doesn’t do the trick. 

2. Disable All Plugins

Since conflicting plugins can cause the error, you can disable all of them to see if this is an issue. Here’s what you should do:

1. Access the WordPress dashboard. If the error has also brought down the admin area, you’ll need to use your FTP client or the hosting's file manager. 
2. Find plugins folder in wp-content folder. 
3. Deactivate plugins by renaming the folder to “plugins-disabled” or something similar. 
4. Check your website to see if it’s working. If it is, the issue lies in one or more plugins. 
5. Reactivate plugins one by one while checking the site after each to see if it’s down again. 
6. Troubleshoot the problematic plugin once you’ve identified it as the culprit. Try to update it or contact its developer to fix the issue. You can also simply find an alternative. 

3. Switch to a Default Theme

Just like plugins, your theme can also cause the WSoD error. To determine whether this is the case, here’s what you need to do:

1. Open your WordPress dashboard.
2. Visit the Themes section in the Appearance area.
3. Activate one of the default themes. WordPress comes with pre-installed themes like Twenty Twenty-Two or Twenty Twenty-Three. 
4. Check the site to see if it’s operational. If it is, the problem lies in your theme. 
5. Troubleshoot the issue by trying the following:
   
   1. Update the theme. 
   2. Contact the theme's developer for help. 
   3. Find an alternative theme and start using it instead. 

4. Enable Debugging Mode

The debug mode can highlight crucial information that might show why the WordPress White Screen of Death error has happened. Here’s how to use it to fix the issue:

1. Access the wp-config.php file by logging into your CPanel or using another FTP client.
2. Find the “define (‘WP_DEBUG’, false)” line in the file
3. Change the line to “define (‘WP-DEBUG’, true)”. 
4. Save the changes and upload the file. 
5. Open the site again to see if the error is still there. 

5. Check for Syntax Errors in Code

Sometimes, the WDoS error can arise due to a simple typo in the site’s code. This can happen at almost any point when you manually edit core files, like functions.php.

If you’ve made some changes recently, you should review them again because even the tiniest mistakes, like an unclosed bracket or missing semicolon, can lead to the WDoS error. If you can’t find the issue, you can search online and on forums for answers, as others might have had the same issue. 

6. Look for File Permission Issues

WordPress files have specific permissions, just like files on a computer. Incorrect file permissions can lead to problems with the site’s functionality and potentially cause the White Screen of Death error. 

Use the hosting control panel or the FTP client to check and change the permissions if necessary. You only need to right-click on a folder or file, find “File Permission”, and click “Change Permissions.” Ideal permissions should be 644 or 664 for files and 755 or 775 for folders. 

If you’re unsure what to do, consult your hosting provider or check WordPress forums. 

7. Fix an Auto-Update Issue

Failed WordPress updates can lead to the WDoS error as well. If there’s a failed automatic update, you need to open your site’s root folder and find a file titled .maintenance. 

If you find the file, simply delete it. If you can’t find it, the error likely isn’t caused by this, so you should move on to the next fix. 

8. Restore from a Backup

If nothing works, you can always restore a backup of your site. This will restore your site to a working state, and you won’t have to look for issues in the code or check individual plugins. 

Naturally, this is only possible if you regularly back up your site through automatic or manual updates. 

Advanced Troubleshooting (If the Issue Persists) 

Unfortunately, the WordPress White Screen of Death error can persist even after you’ve tried all the steps I’ve covered. In that case, there are a few more advanced troubleshooting methods you should try:

• Review server error logs — Server error logs can contain details on what went wrong with your site, and it’s worth reviewing them to find the log that points to the WSoD issue. You can see the logs in your cPanel, dubbed as “logs” or “error_logs”. 
• Check for exhausted PHP memory in error logs — The PHP memory limit issue is a common cause of the WSoD error. Look for this in the error logs using the Ctrl+F search function. Enter phrases like “out of memory” or “exhausted”. 
• Consult your hosting provider — When everything fails or you can’t do any of the steps outlined here on your own, it’s best to consult the hosting provider. The provider’s support agents can also tell you if the issue lies in something outside of your control, like server downtime and resource limitations. 

How to Prevent the White Screen of Death in the Future 

Once you’ve fixed the error, that doesn’t mean it won’t occur again. To try and prevent this, here are a few things you can do:

• Regularly backup your site — A backup and restore plugin can automatically do this, and you should store the backups on servers separate from your own. 
• Update themes, plugins, and WordPress core files — Updating all of these is critical because updates contain compatibility improvements, bug fixes, and security patches you need to keep them running smoothly and without overtly causing the WSoD error.
• Use a staging environment for testing — Create a copy of your website, i.e. a staging environment in which you can test updates before deploying them to your site. That way, you’ll catch issues early on. 
• Migrate to a more stable environment — The last solution is to simply migrate to a more stable platform with integrated hosting that scales with your website more easily and seamlessly, like Webflow. 

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Conclusion

As you can see, there are several things you can do to try and solve the famous WordPress White Screen of Death error. 

Unfortunately, it’s sometimes hard to find the exact cause and solution, so you have to try many of the methods we’ve covered here. Moreover, the issue can arise again in the future, and even though you can try to proactively mitigate this, nothing will guarantee that the issue won’t persist. 

The easiest and safest way to avoid the WSoD error is to migrate from WordPress to Webflow, which is a more stable website experience platform with integrated hosting and CMS. Contact Flow Ninja if you need help with this.