Fix the WordPress white screen of death

A WordPress white screen of death (WSoD) means PHP hit a fatal error before any output was sent to the browser-so the page is blank. The error might be a plugin, the theme, a PHP version incompatibility, or a memory limit. Here's how to find and fix it.

Enable WordPress debug mode

WordPress can display error messages that are otherwise hidden. Edit your wp-config.php file (in the root of your WordPress installation) and add or update these lines:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false ); // Logs to wp-content/debug.log, not screen

Check wp-content/debug.log for error messages after enabling this. Remember to set WP_DEBUG back to false when you're done-debug mode should not run on a production site.

Plugin conflict

A recently activated or updated plugin is the most common cause of a white screen. To isolate it:

1. Deactivate all plugins via File Manager

   If you can't access the WordPress admin (the white screen covers everything), use cPanel → File Manager. Navigate to wp-content/plugins/ and rename the plugins folder to something like plugins_disabled. Reload your site-if it comes back, a plugin is the cause.

2. Re-enable plugins one at a time

   Rename the folder back to plugins, then enter it and rename each plugin folder back one at a time. Reload the site after each one until the white screen returns-that's the problem plugin.

3. Update or replace the plugin

   Check if an update is available for the problematic plugin. If it's been abandoned or is incompatible with your PHP version, replace it with an alternative.

PHP memory limit

WordPress requires enough PHP memory to run. If the limit is too low, you get a white screen-especially on resource-heavy operations like importing content or running a complex plugin.

Add this to your wp-config.php to increase the limit (before the /* That's all, stop editing! */ line):

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );

If that doesn't work, update the limit in .htaccess:

php_value memory_limit 256M

Or via cPanel → MultiPHP INI Editor → set memory_limit to 256M.

PHP version incompatibility

Plugins and themes written for older PHP versions can crash on newer ones (and vice versa). Check your current PHP version and try switching.

In cPanel, go to Software → MultiPHP Manager to change the PHP version for your domain. Use a currently supported version that matches your WordPress and plugin requirements. If a plugin is incompatible with your current PHP 8.x version, temporarily switch to the last compatible version your plan provides while you replace the plugin.

Theme conflict

To check if the theme is causing the issue, switch to a default WordPress theme via the database or by renaming the active theme folder:

1. In cPanel → File Manager, navigate to wp-content/themes/.
2. Rename your active theme folder (e.g. mytheme → mytheme_disabled).
3. WordPress will fall back to a default theme (twentytwentyfour, twentytwentythree, etc.).
4. If the site comes back, the theme was the cause.

Admin-only white screen

If the front end of your site works but the admin dashboard (/wp-admin/) is blank, this is often caused by a plugin affecting only the admin area. Deactivate all plugins using the File Manager method above, then reactivate them one by one in wp-admin.

FAQ

Related articles