Fixing the WordPress White Screen of Death

What Causes the White Screen

The WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD) is usually caused by a PHP error, memory limit exceeded, or a plugin/theme conflict. It can affect your entire site or just the admin area. Don't panic — it's almost always fixable and your content is safe. The key is systematic troubleshooting.

Quick Fixes to Try First

Clear your browser cache and try loading your site in an incognito/private window. If you can access wp-admin, go to Plugins and deactivate all plugins, then reactivate them one by one. If you can't access wp-admin, use FTP to rename the /wp-content/plugins/ folder to /plugins-disabled/. If the site loads, rename it back and deactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit.

If the Quick Fixes Don't Work

Enable WordPress debugging by adding define('WP_DEBUG', true); to your wp-config.php file via FTP. This will show the actual error message instead of a white screen. The error message usually tells you exactly which file and line is causing the problem. Increase your PHP memory limit by adding define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); to wp-config.php. If all else fails, contact your hosting provider — their support team can check server error logs.