Zip is worse than browsing to your WordPress site and suddenly being met with the White Screen of Death (WSoD). This error makes your website inaccessible to both administrators and visitors.

The WSoD can also be incredibly frustrating, due to the lack of information pointing to a possible cause or solution. However, it is too one of the most common WordPress errors. So while concerning, in most cases it'south resolvable.

In this post, nosotros'll explicate what the WordPress WSoD is and what its common causes are. Most importantly, we'll walk yous through ix potential solutions for getting your site back up and running every bit fast as possible.

Let'due south get started!

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What's the WordPress White Screen of Decease?

Truthful to its proper name, the WordPress White Screen of Death (also known every bit "WSoD") occurs when, instead of the spider web folio you're trying to access, you're faced with a blank white screen in its identify.

Depending on the browser you're using, you could get different error messages. Below is an example in Google Chrome, which includes an HTTP 500 fault warning "This folio isn't working and is unable to handle the request":

wordpress wsod chrome
The WordPress White Screen of Death in Google Chrome

At present let's take a look at the White Screen of Death in Mozilla Firefox:

wordpress wsod firefox
The WordPress WSoD in Mozilla Firefox

As you can see, it's just a obviously white screen. It doesn't incorporate whatever useful errors or warning messages.

The WordPress White Screen of Death is well-nigh ever caused past PHP lawmaking errors or memory limit exhaustion.

Some other possible cause is a faulty theme or plugin. The latter is likely the issue if the frontend of the website is down, but your WordPress admin area is upward. To quickly check whether the dashboard on your site is working, simply navigate to yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

So, how do y'all fix WSoD? Glad you asked!

The WordPress White Screen of Death is frustrating, confusing, but ultimately, fixable! 😅 Here are 9 easy solutions for you to try ⬇ Click to Tweet

How to Fix WordPress White Screen of Death (9 Methods)

When you experience the WordPress White Screen of Death, your priority will exist to set up it as quickly as possible. With that in mind, allow'due south take a look at nine possible solutions you can utilise to resolve it.

ane. Disable Your WordPress Plugins

1 of the easiest and most common ways to fix the WordPress WSoD is to merely disable all of your plugins. Often, a site goes downwardly due to a bad plugin update.

If yous tin can still admission your admin surface area, a quick way to practice this is to navigate to Plugins from the dashboard, select all plugins, so click on Deactivate from the Bulk Actions dropdown carte:

WSOD: Deactivate all WordPress Plugins setting
The Deactivate all WordPress Plugins setting

This will disable all of your plugins.

If that fixes the upshot, y'all'll need to find the culprit. To practise this, you lot can starting time activating the plugins ane by i, reloading the site after each activation. When your frontend goes down, you lot've plant the misbehaving plugin.

You can so accomplish out to the plugin'southward developer for assist or post a back up ticket in the WordPress Plugin Directory.

If you can't login to WordPress admin, y'all can use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) client to access your site's files directory.

Under the wp-content folder of your root directory, locate the plugins binder. Rename it to something along the lines of "plugins_old":

WSoD: Rename your plugins folder
Rename your plugins folder

Then, check your site again on the frontend. If this works, you volition need to test each plugin one by i. Rename your plugin folder dorsum to "plugins", and then individually rename each plugin folder inside of it until yous locate the faulty one.

2. Switch to a Default WordPress Theme

If the problem isn't a plugin, your WordPress theme may exist the cause of the White Screen of Decease. To see if this is the issue, you can replace your theme by switching to a default i.

If you lot can admission your admin area, go to Appearance > Themes in your dashboard. Locate and activate a default WordPress theme such equally Twenty Twenty:

WSOD: switch to a default theme
The Twenty Xx WordPress theme.

Then, exam your site once more. If information technology works, y'all'll know the problem lies with your theme.

If you tin can't access your dashboard, the process is the same as information technology is with plugins.

Use FTP to access your site's files, and rename your wp-content/themes folder to something else:

WSoD: theme folder
Rename your themes folder

WordPress will and then revert to the latest default theme, which is nearly likely Twenty 20. If y'all don't take any other themes, you can download one from the WordPress Theme Directory and so upload it to your themes folder.

After that, go ahead and check your site again. If it works, perhaps your theme has had a conflict or a bad update. If this is the instance, you might demand to reach out to the developer for help or consider switching themes.

three. Clear Browser and WordPress Plugin Cache

If you have access to the backend of your WordPress site but are still seeing the WSoD on the frontend, information technology might be due to an outcome with your enshroud.

To gear up it, try clearing your web browser's enshroud and your WordPress caching plugin (assuming y'all accept one installed).

If you have a caching plugin installed on your WordPress site, such as WP Rocket or WP Super Cache, most offer a quick way to articulate the cache via the plugin's settings folio.

Using WP Super Cache as an example, in your WordPress dashboard you would navigate to Settings > WP Super Cache > Delete Enshroud:

delete plugin cache
The WP Super Cache plugin settings page

How to Articulate Your Cache from MyKinsta

If y'all're a Kinsta user, in that location's also an easy way for yous to clear your cache using MyKinsta. To do this, log in to your account. Click on Tools, followed by Clear cache nether the Site Cache section:

kinsta site cache
The Clear cache option in MyKinsta

Once you empty the cache, salvage your changes. And then revisit your site to come across whether that corrected the issue. If not, it's time to move on to another solution.

four. Switch on Debugging Way

If you lot are nonetheless seeing the WordPress White Screen of Decease, the admin area isn't working, or you think you've found the problem only want to dig deeper, you lot can enable debugging mode. This will show any errors that are occurring on your website.

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To enable debugging, you lot'll need to open the wp-config.php file of your WordPress install. Inside it you should find the following line:

          define( 'WP_DEBUG', simulated );        

Change "false" to "truthful", and and then reload your site. If this line doesn't exist, you can add information technology to the top of the file.

Instead of the white screen, yous'll get a white screen and some error messages. This isn't a huge improvement, just information technology's only a showtime. The WSoD error bulletin should country which file the problem originated in, like this:

          Cannot redeclare get_posts() (previously declared in  /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-includes/post.php:1874) in  /var/www/html/wordpress/wp-content/plugins/my-exam-plugin/my-test-plugin.php on line 38        

You can see at the end of this example message that the problem is in line 38 of a plugin called my-test-plugin. Therefore, disabling that plugin should resolve the issue.

If yous don't see whatsoever errors at all later on enabling debug manner, yous might demand to attain out to your spider web host. Information technology's possible debugging isn't correctly configured on your server.

Kinsta customers accept the pick to use a congenital-in debugging tool. From the MyKinsta dashboard, click on your website's proper noun followed by Tools. Under WordPress debugging, select Enable:

kinsta debugging tool
How to enable WordPress debugging way in MyKinsta

You tin can so access your mistake log under the Logs section of your MyKinsta dashboard, and explore them to larn more about the trouble.

Keep in mind that having the debugging manner turned on can expose some of your website's information to unapproved users. Therefore, make sure to ever turn the style off when y'all're done using information technology.

5. Increase Your Memory Limit

If yous nonetheless see the dreaded WSoD empty page afterwards trying some of the above solutions, or you go an mistake lament well-nigh memory limits or wearied memory, y'all'll need to assign more retentivity to the awarding.

This can be done through the wp-config.php file on many WordPress installs. Open the file and add together the post-obit lawmaking:

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

If this doesn't seem to work, y'all have a few options. In a regular environs, you can use your .htaccess file to increment the retentivity limit. Simply add the following line:

          php_value memory_limit 64M        

If you tin can't admission your .htaccess file, you lot can use your php.ini file to increment the retentivity limit instead.

To exercise that, connect to your server via FTP. In the root directory of your site, await for the php.ini file. In one case you lot locate it, add the post-obit line anywhere inside the file:

          memory_limit = 64M        

If you're still out of memory and need to assign more than, there may be an issue within your awarding. Peradventure your theme or one of your plugins is using an inordinate amount of resources.

At this bespeak, you may desire to hire a programmer to take a look. Even your host may exist able to assist, by showing you the SQL logs and other resources stats for your site.

6. Check File Permission Issues

Another potential cause of the WSoD is permission and ownership issues. It is possible to fix this problem yourself. However, unless you really know what you're doing, we would suggest against information technology as you can inadvertently create vulnerabilities that attackers tin can exploit.

When it comes to WordPress permissions, there are three uncomplicated rules to follow:

  • Files should be set up to 664 or 644.
  • Folders should be prepare to 775 or 755.
  • The wp-config.php file should be prepare to 660, 600, or 644.

If yous have SSH access to your server, you tin utilize the advisable rules with the post-obit command, running it from the root WordPress directory:

          sudo find . -blazon f -exec chmod 664 {} + sudo find . -type d -exec chmod 775 {} + sudo chmod 660 wp-config.php        

If you are unsure how to practice this or are a bit intimidated, get alee and ask your spider web host for aid.

7. Check for Failed Machine-Update Issues

Sometimes WordPress runs into an issue with updates, such as when the server times out. More often than not, this problem resolves itself automatically. Yet, in some rare cases, it may lead to the WordPress White Screen of Death.

The showtime matter you should practise is become into your WordPress root directory and see if there's a .maintenance file there (the file's proper noun may be abbreviated as well).

What you'd want to practice is try deleting that file and loading upward your site once again.

If the update was successful, but WordPress failed to remove this file automatically, everything should go back to normal.

If the update was not completed, it may be restarted automatically, in which case things should go back to normal just the same.

If all else fails, follow the recommended manual update procedure for WordPress, which should resolve the issue once and for all.

8. Resolve Syntax Errors or Restore a Backup

Another mutual cause for the WordPress WSoD is when y'all're editing the lawmaking on your WordPress site and accidentally mistype something or utilize the wrong syntax.

I character in the wrong place could take downward your entire site, which is why you lot should never edit code on your live product site.

Not to worry, though. You can e'er connect to your site via FTP and revert the modify you lot fabricated manually. If you don't know what change caused the problem, this is where having WordPress backups in identify comes in handy.

Hither at Kinsta, yous can restore your site to an earlier point in fourth dimension with a single click. To do this, log in to your MyKinsta dashboard and navigate to Backups:

The backup feature in MyKinsta
The backup feature in MyKinsta

Keep in mind that if y'all enabled debug mode in WordPress earlier, there might also be an fault message indicating a parse syntax fault. If this is the instance, it should tell you exactly where to find the problem code.

9. Increase the PHP Text Processing Capability

At this betoken, if the WSoD has not still been resolved, there's ane boosted trick yous tin can try. On rare occasions, this problem might occur because of a page or post is particularly long.

If this is the case, yous can try adjusting the PHP text processing capability on your site, by increasing the backtrack and recursion limits. To do then, paste the following code within your wp-config.php file:

          /* Trick for long posts / ini_set('pcre.recursion_limit',20000000); ini_set('pcre.backtrack_limit',10000000);        

In one case you add together this lawmaking, salvage your changes. Then refresh your site to encounter if it's now working.

Faced with the dreaded WordPress White Screen of Death? 😭 Don't worry... these ix fixes will get your site back up & running in a flash! 💥 Click to Tweet

Summary

The WordPress White Screen of Death can be incredibly frustrating, fifty-fifty frightening. There are a number of things that can go wrong, but thankfully the state of affairs is usually non every bit bad as information technology seems.

A elementary plugin and/or theme check should set the WSoD issue in most cases. Getting more familiar with WordPress debug mode volition definitely shed more light on the trouble and guide yous.

If you've encountered whatsoever other WordPress White Screen of Death situations, let us know and so nosotros can larn from it and share the feel!


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