Why Your WordPress Site Shows a White Screen (WSOD) and How to Fix It

Clear the WordPress cache.

In an effort to speed up loading times, some websites utilize browser caching, which involves saving files locally on users’ browsers. However, issues can arise if these cached files become outdated. If you have access to your administrator dashboard and are using a WordPress caching plugin, consider clearing the cache through the designated option within your chosen plugin. 

Disable your plugins.

As a seasoned Website & Software Company situated in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), we recognize the significance of maintaining a robust online presence. When faced with the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), a commonly encountered challenge, a pragmatic approach is to deactivate all plugins. This method is frequently employed, especially when issues arise due to problematic plugin updates, and it aligns with the expertise we offer as a leading Website & Software Company.

If you can still access your admin area, navigate to the “Plugins” section in the dashboard, select all plugins, and then choose “Deactivate” from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu. This swift action effectively deactivates all your plugins, allowing you to troubleshoot the issue.

If this deactivation resolves the WSoD, the next step is crucial – identifying the problematic plugin. Trust in our Website & Software Company expertise as you systematically reactivate each plugin one by one, refreshing your site after each activation. The unresponsive state of your website’s frontend will guide you to pinpoint the troublesome plugin, ensuring a seamless and optimized online experience for your users.

As a seasoned Website & Software Company situated in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), we recognize the significance of maintaining a robust online presence. When faced with the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), a commonly encountered challenge, a pragmatic approach is to deactivate all plugins. This method is frequently employed, especially when issues arise due to problematic plugin updates, and it aligns with the expertise we offer as a leading Website & Software Company.

If you can still access your admin area, navigate to the “Plugins” section in the dashboard, select all plugins, and then choose “Deactivate” from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu. This swift action effectively deactivates all your plugins, allowing you to troubleshoot the issue.

If this deactivation resolves the WSoD, the next step is crucial – identifying the problematic plugin. Trust in our Website & Software Company expertise as you systematically reactivate each plugin one by one, refreshing your site after each activation. The unresponsive state of your website’s frontend will guide you to pinpoint the troublesome plugin, ensuring a seamless and optimized online experience for your users.

As a seasoned Website & Software Company situated in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), we recognize the significance of maintaining a robust online presence. When faced with the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), a commonly encountered challenge, a pragmatic approach is to deactivate all plugins. This method is frequently employed, especially when issues arise due to problematic plugin updates, and it aligns with the expertise we offer as a leading Website & Software Company.

If you can still access your admin area, navigate to the “Plugins” section in the dashboard, select all plugins, and then choose “Deactivate” from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu. This swift action effectively deactivates all your plugins, allowing you to troubleshoot the issue.

If this deactivation resolves the WSoD, the next step is crucial – identifying the problematic plugin. Trust in our Website & Software Company expertise as you systematically reactivate each plugin one by one, refreshing your site after each activation. The unresponsive state of your website’s frontend will guide you to pinpoint the troublesome plugin, ensuring a seamless and optimized online experience for your users.

As a seasoned Website & Software Company situated in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), we recognize the significance of maintaining a robust online presence. When faced with the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), a commonly encountered challenge, a pragmatic approach is to deactivate all plugins. This method is frequently employed, especially when issues arise due to problematic plugin updates, and it aligns with the expertise we offer as a leading Website & Software Company.

If you can still access your admin area, navigate to the “Plugins” section in the dashboard, select all plugins, and then choose “Deactivate” from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu. This swift action effectively deactivates all your plugins, allowing you to troubleshoot the issue.

If this deactivation resolves the WSoD, the next step is crucial – identifying the problematic plugin. Trust in our Website & Software Company expertise as you systematically reactivate each plugin one by one, refreshing your site after each activation. The unresponsive state of your website’s frontend will guide you to pinpoint the troublesome plugin, ensuring a seamless and optimized online experience for your users.

Disable your currently active theme.

Much like plugins, your WordPress theme can become outdated or clash with a plugin. There are instances when themes are not installed correctly due to corrupted files. To address this problem, begin by temporarily substituting your current theme with a default WordPress theme.

If you have access to administrator controls, you can follow these steps:

• Navigate to the WordPress dashboard and click on ‘Appearance’ > ‘Themes.’ 
• Activate any default WordPress theme, like Twenty Nineteen.
• Examine your website to check if the white screen of death issue persists.

Change your memory limit.

When you install a plugin, it initiates a series of scripts on your WordPress website. Each time these scripts run, they consume a portion of your server’s memory. To prevent these scripts from causing your website to slow down, WordPress sets memory limits for plugins. However, there are instances when a script requires more memory, leading to the white screen of death issue.

The good news is that you can instruct WordPress to allocate more memory to your plugins by following these steps:

1. Log in to your server using SFTP.
2. Navigate to the ‘public_html’ folder and locate the ‘wp-config.php’ file.
3. Right-click on ‘wp-config.php’ and select the ‘View/Edit’ option.
4. Scroll to the bottom of the file and insert the following line of code:

define( ‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’64M’ );

This directive instructs WordPress to allocate up to 64 megabytes of memory for your scripts.

      5. Visit your website to verify if it’s functioning correctly.

Switch on Debugging Mode

If you are still encountering the WordPress White Screen of Death, experiencing issues with the admin area, or wish to conduct a more in-depth investigation, you can activate debugging mode. This mode will display any errors that may be occurring on your website.

To enable debugging, you will need to access the ‘wp-config.php’ file in your WordPress installation. Within this file, you should locate the following line:

define( ‘WP_DEBUG’, false );

You will need to modify this line to activate debugging.

Increase Your Memory Limit

If you continue to encounter the troublesome White Screen of Death (WSoD), even after attempting the previously mentioned solutions, or if you receive error messages related to memory limits or exhausted memory, it becomes necessary to allocate additional memory to your WordPress application.

This can be accomplished through the ‘wp-config.php’ file in many WordPress installations. Open this file and insert the following code:

define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ’64M’);

If this approach doesn’t resolve the issue, you have a couple of alternatives. In a standard environment, you can utilize your ‘.htaccess’ file to increase the memory limit. Simply include the following line:

php_value memory_limit 64M

If you are unable to access your ‘.htaccess’ file, you can adjust the memory limit using your ‘php.ini’ file. To do this, connect to your server via FTP, locate the ‘php.ini’ file in the root directory of your site, and then insert the following line anywhere inside the file:

memory_limit = 64M

If you find that you are still experiencing memory issues and require even more memory allocation, it’s possible that an aspect of your application, such as your theme or one of your plugins, is consuming an excessive amount of resources.

Check File Permission Issues

 Another potential culprit behind the White Screen of Death (WSoD) is permission and ownership issues within your WordPress installation. While it’s feasible to resolve this problem independently, we strongly advise against it unless you possess a deep understanding of the intricacies involved, as making incorrect adjustments can inadvertently create security vulnerabilities that attackers may exploit.

 When it comes to WordPress permissions, adhering to three straightforward rules is essential:

1. Files should be configured with permissions set to either 664 or 644.

2. Folders should have permissions set to either 775 or 755.

3. The ‘wp-config.php’ file should be assigned permissions of 660, 600, or 644.

If you have SSH access to your server, you can enforce these rules using the following command, executed from the root WordPress directory:

 sudo find . -type f -exec chmod 664 {} +

sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 775 {} +

sudo chmod 660 wp-config.php

 However, if you are unsure about how to perform this or feel apprehensive, it is recommended to seek assistance from your web hosting provider.”

Check for Failed Auto-Update Issues

At times, WordPress encounters issues during updates, such as server timeouts. Typically, these problems resolve themselves automatically. However, in rare instances, they may result in the WordPress White Screen of Death.

The initial step is to check your WordPress root directory for the presence of a ‘.maintenance’ file (the file’s name may also be abbreviated). If you find this file, consider deleting it and then attempt to access your website once more. 

If the update was successful but WordPress failed to remove this file automatically, your website should return to its normal state.

If the update was not completed, it might be restarted automatically, and your site should return to normal as well.

 If none of these steps resolve the issue, it’s advisable to follow the recommended manual update procedure for WordPress, which typically resolves the problem once and for all.

Resolve Syntax Errors or Restore a Backup

As a leading Website & Software Company based in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), we understand the critical aspects of maintaining a flawless online presence. One common challenge faced by WordPress users is the White Screen of Death (WSoD), often triggered during code edits on your WordPress site, leading to errors or incorrect syntax.

A single misplacement of a character can potentially render your entire website inaccessible. Hence, it is strongly recommended for website owners, especially those in need of reliable Website & Software Company services, to refrain from editing code directly on their live production site.

However, there’s no need to panic if the White Screen of Death occurs. As a Website & Software Company with expertise in addressing such issues, you can always establish an FTP connection to your site and manually undo the changes that caused the problem. If uncertainty persists about the specific modification leading to the issue, having WordPress backups in place becomes incredibly valuable in these situations. Trust our experienced team to guide you through any technical challenges, ensuring the seamless operation of your website.

Increase the PHP Text Processing Capability
 

At this point, if the issue of the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD) persists, you can attempt an additional solution. In rare instances, this problem may arise due to an exceptionally long page or post.

 If this is indeed the case, you can try adjusting the PHP text processing capability on your website by increasing the backtrack and recursion limits. To implement this, insert the following code into your ‘wp-config.php’ file:

/* Trick for long posts */

ini_set(‘pcre.recursion_limit’, 20000000);

ini_set(‘pcre.backtrack_limit’, 10000000);

After adding this code, save your changes and then refresh your website to see if it now functions as expected.

Check WordPress Core Files

An incorrect line of code or a missing essential file can damage a website. Therefore, the first step is to examine the core files of your WordPress website. To accomplish this, ensure that you can access the File Manager. 

If you are using Hostinger, head to hPanel → File Manager.

When the File Manager opens in a new tab, go to the ‘public_html’ folder. Check if you see two files named ‘wp-config.php’ and ‘.htaccess.’ If you can’t find them, download a fresh WordPress installation file and add these two missing files to the File Manager. 

Next, let’s look for damaged core files. If you recently modified these core files, undo those changes first. After that, reload the page to see if the WordPress white screen issue is still there. If it’s gone, those changes were the problem. In that case, replace the damaged file with a fresh one from the WordPress installation file.

Fixing White Screen Error with WordPress Recovery Mode

If the white screen error is due to a WordPress plugin or theme, WordPress might be able to detect it. In WordPress version 5.2 and newer, there’s a feature called ‘fatal error protection’ that can sometimes identify the problem. So, instead of a white screen, you might see a message saying the site is experiencing technical issues.

you will also get an email sent to your admin email address with the subject ‘Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Problem.

The email will tell you which plugin is causing the problem and provide a special link. You can use this link to log in to WordPress recovery mode and turn off the problematic plugin.

Check WordPress Error Logs

If the previous solutions didn’t solve the white screen problem, you can check your WordPress error log file. Turning on the WP_DEBUG function will show you where PHP errors are happening. Here’s how to do it:

• 1. Go to the wp-config.php file in the public_html folder.
• 2. Look for this line of code: /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */
• 3. Add this line of code above it: define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);

If you already have a WP_DEBUG line in the wp-config.php file, change the value from false to true.”

Click the Save button to finish, then refresh your site. After that, the WordPress white screen will display warnings, errors, and notices that can help you figure out what’s causing the problem.

The screen will provide instructions on how to resolve the issues. Remember to change the WP_DEBUG line back to ‘false’ once you’ve fixed the problem.

Pro Tip: You can also use an FTP client like FileZilla to perform the methods mentioned above.

If you don’t see any errors when turning on WordPress debugging mode, consider checking the PHP error logs. But to do this, you’ll need to enable PHP error logging for your website. To check if it’s enabled, go to the PHP Info section and look for the ‘log_errors’ value. It should be set to ‘On.

If ‘log_errors’ is set to ‘On,’ go to the File Manager and find an ‘error_log’ file. Click on it to view the PHP error that occurred. This will help you find where the problem is coming from.

How We Can Support You?

With our roots firmly in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi) and with over 12 years of experience, we have established ourselves as a leading force in the IT industry, providing tailored services that are both advanced and reliable. Whether you’re initiating a new project, require assistance with existing systems, or need expert IT consultation, we’re your dedicated collaborators in achieving success. As a prominent Website & Software Company in Kochi, our services extend beyond development; we are your partners in progress. Our solutions are tailored to align with your unique objectives, and we work closely with you to transform your vision into reality.

Contact us for all your IT-related needs, be it Website Development, Software Development, Mobile App Development, or expert consultation. Together, we can harness technology’s potential to reach greater heights. Choose the expertise of a trusted Website & Software Company in Kakkanadu, Ernakulam (Kochi), and propel your projects towards unparalleled success.