{"id":451,"date":"2024-06-14T18:51:17","date_gmt":"2024-06-14T18:51:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/?p=451"},"modified":"2024-06-14T18:51:17","modified_gmt":"2024-06-14T18:51:17","slug":"white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html","title":{"rendered":"White Screen of Death (WSOD) in WordPress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The White Screen of Death (WSOD) is one of the most common errors that occur in WordPress. It is a common issue that can occur for a variety of reasons, including plugin conflicts, theme issues, insufficient memory limits, and server-side problems.<\/p>\n<p>The WSOD can also occur when there are errors in the code, such as PHP syntax errors, which prevent the website from loading correctly. When the WSOD occurs, it can be difficult to determine the cause of the issue, as there are no error messages or other information displayed on the screen.<\/p>\n<p>However, by following a series of troubleshooting steps, it is possible to diagnose and resolve the problem.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some steps you can follow to try to fix WordPress blank page (white screen):<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note<\/strong>: It&#8217;s always recommended to take a backup of your WordPress site before making any changes.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Increase_Memory_Limit\" >Increase Memory Limit<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Disable_Plugins\" >Disable Plugins<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Switch_to_the_Default_Theme\" >Switch to the Default Theme<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Check_for_Error_Messages\" >Check for Error Messages<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Enable_WP_DEBUG_mode\" >Enable WP_DEBUG mode<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Switch_PHP_Versions\" >Switch PHP Versions<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/white-screen-of-death-wsod-in-wordpress.html\/#Contact_your_hosting_provider\" >Contact your hosting provider<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Increase_Memory_Limit\"><\/span><strong>Increase Memory Limit<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>This error happens because a script has exhausted the memory limit. To fix this, you need to increase the PHP memory available. You can do this by adding the following line of code to your <strong>wp-config.php<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>define(&#8216;WP_MEMORY_LIMIT&#8217;, &#8216;256M&#8217;);<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Or follow the detailed instructions in our knowledge base article on <a href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/how-to-increase-wordpress-memory-limit.html\">how to increase PHP memory in WordPress<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Disable_Plugins\"><\/span><strong>Disable Plugins<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If increasing the memory limit doesn\u2019t solve the problem or the memory limit is already 256M or 512M, the next step is to disable all plugins. You can do this by renaming the plugins folder in your WordPress installation to plugins.bk or From your WordPress admin area<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Go to the Plugins \u00bb Installed Plugins page.<\/li>\n<li>Select all the installed plugins and then select \u2018Deactivate\u2019 under \u2018Bulk Actions\u2019 drop-down.<\/li>\n<li>This will prevent all plugins from being loaded and will allow you to determine if a plugin is causing the issue.<\/li>\n<li>If this fixes the issue, then enable one plugin at a time to know the plugin causing the issue.<\/li>\n<li>Once you find the plugin causing the issue, you can uninstall and reinstall it or report the issue to the plugin developers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Switch_to_the_Default_Theme\"><\/span><strong>Switch to the Default Theme<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If disabling plugins doesn\u2019t solve the problem, you can try switching to the default WordPress theme. This will help you determine if a theme conflict is causing the WSOD. A poorly coded function in your theme\u2019s functions.php file can also cause the white screen of death error. Consider downloading a fresh copy of your theme from its source and then installing it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First, connect to your website using an FTP client and go to the \/wp-content\/themes\/ folder. It contains all installed themes on your website.<\/li>\n<li>Download the current theme as a backup by right-clicking to select, then proceed to download it to your computer.<\/li>\n<li>Proceed to delete the theme folder by selecting \u2018Delete\u2019<\/li>\n<li>Take a look at your theme\u2019s functions.php file. If there are extra spaces at the bottom of the file, then you need to remove those, and sometimes that should fix the issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Check_for_Error_Messages\"><\/span><strong>Check for Error Messages<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If none of the above steps solves the problem, you should check your error logs for any error messages that might be related to the WSOD. The error logs can be found in the root folder of your website(public_html folder) in your hosting control panel or by using a plugin such as WP Debug.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Enable_WP_DEBUG_mode\"><\/span><strong>Enable WP_DEBUG mode<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>You can also use the WordPress debug function to see what type of errors are being outputted.<br \/>\nLocate the wp-config.php file in the root folder(public_html folder) of your website<br \/>\nEnable the WP_DEBUG mode by adding\/editing the code below in <strong>wp-config.php<\/strong> file.<\/p>\n<div class=\"CodeTabs CodeTabs_initial theme-light\">\n<blockquote>\n<div class=\"CodeTabs-toolbar\" role=\"tablist\">define( &#8216;WP_DEBUG&#8217;, true);<\/div>\n<div class=\"CodeTabs-toolbar\" role=\"tablist\">define( &#8216;WP_DEBUG_LOG&#8217;, true );<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div role=\"tablist\">\n<p>Once you add this, the blank screen will now have errors, warnings, and notices. These may be able to help you determine the root cause.<\/p>\n<p>If you don\u2019t see any errors, you may still want to check the debug log. Simply visit the wp-content folder on your website using an FTP client. There you will find a new debug.log file containing a log of all errors, notices, and warnings.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Switch_PHP_Versions\"><\/span><strong>Switch PHP Versions<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The blank page can also be caused by an incorrect PHP version. You can try switching PHP versions to check it.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Contact_your_hosting_provider\"><\/span><strong>Contact your hosting provider<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you are still unable to resolve the issue, you should contact your hosting provider for assistance. They will be able to help you diagnose and resolve any server-side issues that may be causing the WSOD.<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes, you may have access to the backend, but the front end of the site has the white screen of death. This can happen because of a caching plugin. Simply empty your cache.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gdfxq69f23ad40a76a\" >If you enjoyed this article, then you\u2019ll love Zalvis's Cloud Hosting platform. Turbocharge your website and get 24\/7 support from our veteran team. Our world-class hosting infrastructure focuses on auto-scaling, performance, and security. Let us show you the Zalvis difference! <a href=\"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/\">Check out our services.<\/a><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.gdfxq69f23ad40a76a {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.gdfxq69f23ad40a76a {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.gdfxq69f23ad40a76a {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.gdfxq69f23ad40a76a {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.gdfxq69f23ad40a76a {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The White Screen of Death (WSOD) is one of the most common errors that occur in WordPress. It is a common issue that can occur for a variety of reasons, including plugin conflicts, theme issues, insufficient memory limits, and server-side problems. The WSOD can also occur when there are errors in the code, such as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=451"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/451\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=451"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=451"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalvis.com\/docs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=451"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}