How to Fix White Screen Error on WordPress

The white screen of death, also known as the “White Screen of Death” (WSOD), is one of the most common and frustrating errors that WordPress users can encounter. When it happens, your entire website displays a blank page, with no error message or indication of the cause. This article will show you how to fix the white screen of death in WordPress and get your website back up and running quickly.

What is a White Page Error and Why Does It Occur?

A blank page error occurs when WordPress is unable to load a page for some reason. This could be related to an issue with your theme, plugins, or server configuration. Some common causes of a blank page error include:

• Plugin or theme conflict.
• PHP memory limit exceeded.
• Error in file functions.php or other files.
• Permission error or incorrect server configuration.

How to Fix White Screen of Death Error in WordPress

To fix the white screen of death error in WordPress, you can follow some of the following methods. Note that before making any changes, you should backup your website to ensure that no data is lost.

1. Disable Plugins

Plugin conflicts are one of the common causes of white screen errors. To check, you need to disable all plugins and then reactivate each plugin to see which plugin is causing the problem.

• Use FTP or access cPanel and navigate to the folder wp-content/plugins.
• Rename folder plugins wall plugins_old to disable all plugins.
• Check to see if the site is working again. If it is, it was caused by one of the plugins.
• Rename the folder to plugins and activate each plugin to determine which plugin is causing the error.

2. Change Default Interface

Your theme can also cause the white screen error, especially if the theme has buggy code or is incompatible with your version of WordPress. To test, you can switch to the default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-One or Twenty Twenty-Three.

• Access to the directory wp-content/themes via FTP or cPanel.
• Rename the current interface folder to theme_old.
• WordPress will automatically switch to the default theme. Check to see if the error is resolved.

3. Increase PHP Memory Limit

If your website uses too many resources, the PHP memory limit may be exceeded, resulting in a white screen error. You can increase the PHP memory limit by editing the file wp-config.php or file .htaccess.

• Open file wp-config.php and add the following line:

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

• Save the file and reload the web page to see if the error is fixed.

4. Turn on Debug Mode

To find out what is causing the white screen error, you can enable Debug mode in WordPress. This will display detailed error messages to help you identify the problem.

• Open file wp-config.php and find the line:

  define('WP_DEBUG', false);

• Change value false wall true:

  define('WP_DEBUG', true);

• Save the file and reload the web page. Errors will be displayed on the screen, helping you figure out what caused the problem.

5. Check Server Memory Limit

If your website is hosted on a shared server, it may be that the server is limited in resources and cannot handle requests from WordPress. Contact your hosting provider to check and increase the resource limit if necessary.

Notes When Fixing Blank Page Errors

When fixing the white screen error on WordPress, you need to keep in mind the following points:

• Data backup: Always backup your website before making any changes to avoid data loss.
• Testing in staging environment: If possible, make changes in a test environment before implementing them on the live site.
• Contact hosting provider: If you cannot fix it yourself, contact your hosting provider for technical support.

Fix WordPress Errors

The white screen of death error in WordPress can be frustrating, but by following the steps above, you can fix the problem and get your site back up and running. If you can’t fix the error yourself, contact your hosting provider or a professional WordPress developer for assistance.