How to Fix the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD): A 9-Step Troubleshooting Guide (2026)

Has your WordPress website suddenly gone blank, showing only a stark white screen? This alarming issue, known as the White Screen of Death (WSoD), effectively renders your site inaccessible to both you and your visitors. Often appearing without any error messages, it can feel like an invisible killer for your site. However, it is also one of the most common WordPress errors and, in the vast majority of cases, can be resolved by following a systematic approach.

This comprehensive guide will explain what causes the WordPress White Screen of Death and walk you through nine proven, step-by-step solutions to get your website back online as quickly as possible.

What Is the WordPress White Screen of Death?
As the name suggests, the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD) is a critical error that results in a completely blank, white screen being displayed when you try to access your website or its admin area. You might see a generic “HTTP 500 Internal Server Error” in browsers like Chrome, while others like Firefox may show nothing but pure white.

This error is typically caused by a fatal PHP error, an exhausted PHP memory limit, or a severe conflict between plugins or your theme. It occurs when something breaks the WordPress execution process before any content can be sent to your browser.

How to Fix WordPress White Screen of Death: 9 Effective Methods
Follow these troubleshooting methods in order, starting with the simplest and most common fixes.

1. Disable All WordPress Plugins
A faulty or conflicting plugin is the most frequent cause of WSoD. The goal is to disable all plugins to see if the error disappears.

• If You Can Access /wp-admin: Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Select all plugins, choose Deactivate from the Bulk Actions dropdown, and click Apply. If your site loads, reactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit.

• If You CANNOT Access /wp-admin: Use FTP or your hosting file manager. Navigate to /wp-content/ and rename the plugins folder to plugins_old. This disables all plugins. If the site works, rename the folder back to plugins and then rename individual plugin folders one by one to find the problematic one.

2. Switch to a Default WordPress Theme
If plugins aren’t the issue, your active theme might be. You can force WordPress to use a default theme.

• Via FTP or file manager, navigate to /wp-content/themes/. Rename the folder of your currently active theme (e.g., change my-theme to my-theme_old). WordPress will automatically load a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Six. If this fixes the WSoD, your theme is the source.

3. Clear Browser and Site Cache
A cached version of the corrupted page might be serving the blank screen.

• Clear your web browser’s cache and perform a hard refresh (Ctrl+F5 or Cmd+Shift+R).

• If you use a caching plugin (e.g., WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache), clear its cache from your hosting panel or via FTP by temporarily renaming its folder.

• Clear server-level caches (like OPcache) from your hosting control panel or contact your host.

4. Enable WordPress Debug Mode
This is a crucial step to reveal the hidden PHP error causing the white screen.

1. Access your site’s root directory via FTP.

2. Edit the wp-config.php file.

3. Find the line define( 'WP_DEBUG', false ); and change it to define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );.

4. (Optional) To log errors safely without displaying them, also add:
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true ); // Creates /wp-content/debug.log
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

5. Save the file and reload your site. You should now see specific error messages pointing to the faulty file and line of code.

6. Crucial: After diagnosing the issue, turn debug mode off by setting WP_DEBUG back to false.

5. Increase the PHP Memory Limit
Your theme or a plugin may require more memory than your server currently allows.

• In the wp-config.php file, add this line above /* That's all, stop editing! */:
  define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );

• Alternative methods include editing the php.ini file (memory_limit = 256M) or the .htaccess file (php_value memory_limit 256M).

6. Check File and Folder Permissions
Incorrect permissions can prevent WordPress from reading essential files.

• Recommended permissions:

  • Files: 644

  • Folders: 755

  • wp-config.php: 600 or 644

• You can correct them via SSH (use with caution):

  bash

   

  find /path/to/wordpress -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;
  find /path/to/wordpress -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
  chmod 600 /path/to/wordpress/wp-config.php

  If unsure, contact your hosting support for assistance.

7. Check for a Stalled Update (.maintenance File)
A failed automatic WordPress update can leave a .maintenance file, causing a temporary WSoD.

• Via FTP, go to your WordPress root directory. Look for a file named .maintenance. If it exists, delete it and refresh your site.

8. Review Recent Changes and Restore from Backup
Consider what you changed just before the crash.

• Revert Changes: Undo any recent edits to theme files (like functions.php), plugins, or core files.

• Restore from Backup: This is the safest and most effective solution. Use a recent backup from before the error occurred. Rely on your hosting provider’s backups or a WordPress backup plugin like UpdraftPlus.

9. Increase PHP Limits for Long Posts/Pages
Extremely long content can sometimes overwhelm PHP’s processing limits.

• In your wp-config.php file, add these lines:

  php

   

  @ini_set( 'pcre.recursion_limit', '2000000' );
  @ini_set( 'pcre.backtrack_limit', '1000000' );

Diagnostic Flowchart: Fixing the WordPress White Screen of Death