How To Fix The WordPress White Screen Of Death

At one time or the other, if you are running a WordPress website, you might encounter the WordPress white screen of death.

You don’t have to be alarmed by the name. The WordPress white screen of death (WSOD), much like the Windows error, is an error that causes your WordPress website to appear as a blank page in a browser with no error messages or error codes.

Although it can seem terrifying, there are a few easy solutions to the WordPress white screen of death malfunction. We’ll walk you through each of these methods for fixing the WordPress WSOD error in this guide.

1- What Is WordPress White Screen Of Death?

Among the most common errors that WordPress users face is the white screen of death. It usually happens after downloading an incompatible plugin or theme with another plugin or the WordPress core files.

If you try to visit your website and get a blank page with no errors or details, your site is most likely giving you a WordPress White Screen Of Death error.

2- What Causes WordPress White Screen Of Death Errors?

PHP errors or database errors can also cause WordPress White Screen Of Death errors in WordPress. Installing an outdated plugin without modifying it in a while, for example, can cause problems. This is because the plugin code isn’t compatible with the code used by newer versions of WordPress.

This happens a lot whenever you install themes with obsolete plugins that you have to install for the theme to work correctly. That is why it is often better to purchase themes that have had revisions done regularly. Also, make sure the theme or plugin you’re about to install is consistent with the new WordPress versions.

3- How To Fix The WordPress White Screen Of Death Error

The WordPress WSOD error is a simple fix. You don’t need to recruit developers or providers because you can do it yourself. Follow the measures described below.

Note: The methods below require you to make changes to your website’s core data. Before proceeding with any of the measures below, we suggest that you make a backup of your website. Contact your web host and see whether they have recent backups of your website on the server if you haven’t already set up backups or don’t have access to your website backend.

Method 1: Try Disabling Plugins

Since plugins and themes are often the sources of PHP errors, you can begin troubleshooting by disabling all plugins on your WordPress site.

Check to see if you can access your website’s admin dashboard. Disable all of the plugins if you have the choice. Check to see if the WordPress White Screen Of Death error is no longer there.

If your site is up and running after disabling the plugins, you can activate them one at a time to see which one is causing the problem.

You can reset all of the plugins on your WordPress website via FTP if you don’t have access to the WordPress admin area.

To do so, you’ll need to use an FTP client program to connect to your server. Then log in to the server with your root login credentials, which you got when you signed up for a hosting contract.

To find the wp-content folder, look through the directories. You’ll find a subfolder called plugins inside this folder. This is where you’ll find all of your plugins. Simply change the name of this document (e.g., plugins-bad).

This will switch off all of the plugins on your website and restore it to its original state.

Method 2: Change the Theme

If disabling plugins doesn’t solve the issue, it’s almost certainly due to a theme. Changing the theme is an option. You can modify the theme using the same measures as before.

Go to Appearance >> Themes in your Admin dashboard, then trigger the default WordPress theme.

If you don’t have access to the admin area, use FTP to access the server’s wp-content folder. There’s a sub-folder called Themes in this folder. You’ll find a folder containing all of the files for your latest active theme in the Themes section. Duplicate the theme and then remove the original. This will restore the default WordPress theme to your website.

If this solves the problem, look for any code in your defective theme’s functions.php file that may be causing the WSOD error.

Method 3: Change Memory Limits

In some instances, not providing sufficient memory to run your website will cause WordPress White Screen Of Death issues. When your site has a lot of plugins and a lot of traffic, for example, the default memory limits cannot be enough to manage all of the website instances simultaneously.

You will see if growing your website’s memory limits solves the issue.

To do so, use an FTP client to connect to your server and open the wp-config.php file in a text editor. Then, in the file, define (‘WP MEMORY LIMIT’, ’64M’); add this code and save it.

You can also try adding the code PHP value memory limit 64M to your .htaccess file to see if that solves the problem.

Note to always make a backup copy of your files before making any changes.

Conclusion

I hope this WordPress tutorial helped you learn the steps to Fix the WordPress White Screen Of Death Error. For more WordPress, free step-by-step tutorials visit our dedicated WordPress tutorials section (You can find more tutorials like 7 Ways to Fix the ‘Sorry You Are Not Allowed To Access This Page’ WordPress Error) and check our WordPress hosting providers guide if you are still looking for a host to start your blog.