How to Troubleshoot and Fix the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD)

if you’ve ever encountered the dreaded WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), you know how frustrating it can be. One moment, your website is running smoothly, and the next, you’re staring at a blank, white screen with no hints about what went wrong. This issue can affect both the front-end and back-end of your site, making it completely inaccessible and leaving you in the dark about how to fix it. But don’t worry – understanding what causes the WSoD and how to troubleshoot it can help you get your site back up and running in no time.

The White Screen of Death can be caused by a variety of issues, such as conflicts between plugins or themes, running out of memory, or errors in your site’s code. Sometimes, a plugin or theme isn’t compatible with your version of WordPress, or it’s not coded properly, leading to the WSoD. Other times, your site might hit its PHP memory limit, causing the server to give up and show a blank screen instead. Coding errors, like typos or missing files, can also be culprits. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to diagnose and fix the problem, so you can get your WordPress site back on track quickly.

To diagnose the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), you can follow these steps:

Increase Memory Limit:

Sometimes the WSoD occurs due to the site exceeding its PHP memory limit. You can try increasing the memory limit by adding the following line to your ‘wp-config.php‘ file:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');

Disable All Plugins:

A conflicting or faulty plugin can cause the WSoD. To check if this is the case, disable all your plugins. If the site comes back, enable each plugin one by one to identify the culprit.

You can disable plugins by renaming the ‘plugins‘ folder in ‘wp-content‘ directory via FTP.

Switch to a Default Theme:

A theme-related issue might be causing the WSoD. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One) to see if the problem resolves. This can be done via the WordPress admin dashboard or by renaming the current theme folder in ‘wp-content/themes‘.

Enable Debugging Mode:

Enabling WordPress debugging can provide more information about the error. Add the following lines to your ‘wp-config.php‘ file:

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

This will create a ‘debug.log‘ file in the ‘wp-content‘ directory, which can help pinpoint the issue.

Check for Corrupted Files:

Sometimes, corrupted WordPress core files can cause the WSoD. Re-upload fresh copies of WordPress core files via FTP, excluding the ‘wp-content‘ directory to avoid overwriting your themes and plugins.

Increase PHP Text Processing Capability:

Large posts or pages can cause issues. Increase the PHP ‘pcre.backtrack_limit‘ and ‘pcre.recursion_limit‘ by adding the following to your ‘.htaccess‘ file:

php_value pcre.backtrack_limit 1000000
php_value pcre.recursion_limit 1000000

Clear Browser and Server Cache:

Sometimes, the WSoD can be caused by caching issues. Clear your browser cache and any server-side cache (like Varnish or caching plugins).

Check File Permissions:

Incorrect file permissions can cause the WSoD. Ensure your WordPress files and folders have the correct permissions, typically 755 for directories and 644 for files.

Check Error Logs:

Server error logs can provide valuable information about the cause of the WSoD. Check the logs via your hosting control panel or by accessing the error_log file in your WordPress root directory.

Reinstall WordPress:

As a last resort, reinstall WordPress. This can be done via the WordPress dashboard under Updates or by uploading fresh WordPress files (excluding ‘wp-content‘).

Get Professional Help 

By systematically following these steps, you should be able to diagnose and resolve the issue causing the White Screen of Death on your WordPress site. But if you’re stuck or just want to make sure the problem doesn’t come back, we’re here to help! With our WordPress Quick Fix Service, for just €35/hour, you can sit back and relax while we handle the technical stuff. Whether it’s a one-time fix or ongoing support, we’ll make sure your site stays secure and runs smoothly. Get in touch with us today—we’re always happy to help!