WordPress White Screen of Death: How to Fix a Blank Page

You load your WordPress site and get nothing: a completely blank white page. No error, no message, sometimes not even in wp-admin. This is the famous WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD).

It looks alarming, but the white screen is almost always caused by a PHP error that is being hidden, a plugin or theme problem, or PHP running out of memory. Your content is still in the database. Here is how to find the cause and bring the site back.

White screen or critical error?

On modern WordPress versions, most fatal PHP errors show the message “There has been a critical error on this website” instead of a blank page. If you see that message, follow our guide to fixing the WordPress critical error. A true white screen usually means the error happens before WordPress can show its error page, output is being cut off, or a caching layer is serving an empty page.

Step 1: Clear caches and check in a private window

Before changing anything, rule out a cached blank page:

• Open the site in a private or incognito window.
• Clear your caching plugin’s cache. If you cannot reach wp-admin, most hosts with LiteSpeed or similar caching have a “purge cache” button in the control panel.
• If you use Cloudflare or another CDN, purge its cache too.

If the site appears after purging, the cache stored a broken page during an earlier error. Check the steps below anyway to find what caused that error.

Step 2: Check whether wp-admin also shows a white screen

• Only the front end is white: the active theme is the most likely cause.
• Both the front end and wp-admin are white: a plugin, a PHP memory limit, or a core file problem is more likely.
• Only one page is white: look at what is unique on that page, such as a shortcode, a page builder widget, or a very long post.

Step 3: Turn on the debug log

The white screen hides the real error. Make WordPress write it to a log by editing wp-config.php (via your host’s File Manager or FTP). Replace define( 'WP_DEBUG', false ); with:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );

Reload the white page, then open wp-content/debug.log. The last PHP Fatal error line shows which file failed. If the folder after /plugins/ or /themes/ is named, you have found the culprit.

Also check your hosting control panel’s error log. Some errors happen before WordPress can write its own log.

Step 4: Disable plugins without wp-admin

1. Go to wp-content/plugins/ in File Manager or FTP.
2. Rename the folder named in the debug log, for example slider-plugin to slider-plugin-off.
3. If the log did not name one, rename the whole plugins folder to plugins-off. If the site returns, rename it back and disable plugins one by one until the white screen comes back.

Step 5: Switch to a default theme

If only the front end is white, rename your active theme’s folder in wp-content/themes/. WordPress falls back to a default theme such as Twenty Twenty-Four if one is installed. If the site loads, the problem is in your theme or in custom code added to its functions.php.

Step 6: Raise the PHP memory limit

A white screen often means PHP ran out of memory, especially on large pages, page builders, and WooCommerce stores. Add this to wp-config.php above “That’s all, stop editing”:

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );

If your host caps memory lower, ask them to raise PHP’s memory_limit. If you need more and more memory over time, a plugin may be leaking memory and should be investigated.

Step 7: Look for syntax errors in recently edited files

Did you or someone else recently paste code into functions.php or a snippet plugin? A single missing semicolon or bracket can produce a white screen. Undo the last edit, or restore that one file from a backup.

Also check for stray spaces or blank lines before <?php or after the last line of wp-config.php. They can cause “headers already sent” problems that look like a blank page.

Step 8: Re-upload WordPress core files

If nothing above helps, core files may be damaged by a failed update. Download the same WordPress version from WordPress.org and re-upload only the wp-admin and wp-includes folders. Never overwrite wp-content or wp-config.php.

After the site is back

• Set WP_DEBUG back to false and delete wp-content/debug.log.
• Update or replace the plugin or theme that caused the problem.
• Test your important pages and forms.
• Make sure automatic backups are running.

Frequently asked questions

Is the white screen of death caused by hackers?

Rarely. It is usually a plugin, theme, or memory problem. If the debug log points to files you do not recognize, read our guide on what to do if your WordPress site is hacked.

Why does the white screen only happen sometimes?

Intermittent white screens usually point to memory limits or server resources. The page works when the server is quiet and fails when it is busy or when a heavy page is loaded.

Will fixing the white screen delete my content?

No. Disabling plugins, switching themes, and re-uploading core files do not touch the posts and pages stored in your database.