Troubleshooting the White Screen of Death (WSOD) in WordPress
What is the White Screen of Death?
The WordPress "White Screen of Death" (WSOD) occurs when, instead of displaying the website on the frontend or backend (wp-admin area), a blank white screen appears without any information or error message. This is one of the most common issues in WordPress, and depending on the cause, it can affect the entire site or just specific parts. Common causes include:
- Plugin incompatibility
- Theme conflicts
- Missing theme files
- PHP memory exhaustion
- Server timeouts
Procedure
In order to solve the White Screen of Death error, follow the step outlined below:
- Log into your WHC account and access cPanel.
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Click File Manager under Popular Tools.
- Navigate to your website's directory. If the website is your main domain, the directory will be public_html. For other domains, the directory will have the same name as the domain.
- Find and click on the wp-config.php file.
- Click Edit to open wp-config.php.
- Locate and change the line define('WP_DEBUG', false); to ('WP_DEBUG', true);.
- Click Save Changes.
- Visit your website to see detailed error messages that indicate the cause of the WSOD.
- Read the error messages to find which plugin or theme is causing the issue. For example, if the error message mentions a path like /wp-content/plugins/breeze/..., it indicates that the "Breeze" plugin is causing the issue. Similarly, if it mentions /wp-content/themes/twentytwentyone/..., it points to a problem with the "Twenty Twenty-One" theme.
- Note the name of the problematic plugin or theme.
- Go back to the File Manager.
- Navigate to "wp-content/plugins/".
- Find the folder of the problematic plugin. The folder should have the same name as the plugin.
- Rename the folder by adding "-bad" to its name (e.g., breeze-bad). This action deactivates the plugin without deleting it.
Note: The same steps can be reproduced if the identified error in the previous step is related to a theme, but you have to navigate to the wp-content/themes folder instead.
- Refresh your website to see if it loads properly.
- If the site is still down, repeat steps 6 and 7 for other potential plugins or themes.
- Once the issue is resolved, open wp-config.php again.
- Change define('WP_DEBUG', true); back to ('WP_DEBUG', false);.
- Click Save Changes.
Note: If the doesn't get resolved, reach out to our support team for further assistance.
- Delete or rename problematic plugins if necessary.
- Consider reinstalling or replacing them once your website is stable.
Tips for Prevention
- Regularly Update Plugins and Themes: Keep everything up-to-date to prevent compatibility issues.
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Keep WordPress Core Updated: Regularly update your WordPress installation to ensure you have the latest security patches and bug fixes.
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Monitor Plugin and Theme Compatibility: Before updating plugins or themes, check their compatibility with your current WordPress version and other installed plugins/themes.
