White screen of death WordPress

Imagine this: you’re working hard on your WordPress site, making important changes and updates, when suddenly, the screen goes blank and white. You try to refresh the page, but it still doesn’t work. You’ve just encountered the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD).

Don’t worry, this frustrating issue can happen to anyone, but fortunately, it’s not the end of the world for your website. In this article, we’ll provide you with simple and easy-to-understand troubleshooting steps to help you fix the WSOD and get your website up and running again.

What is the WordPress White Screen of Death?

Before we dive into solutions, let’s take a closer look at the WSOD and what causes it. When you see a blank white screen instead of your website, it’s usually an indication that something has gone wrong behind the scenes.

Why WordPress White Screen of Death Appears

#1: Plugin and Theme Conflicts

One of the most common reasons for the WSOD is conflicts between plugins and themes. This can happen when a new plugin or theme is installed that is not compatible with the current setup.

#2: PHP Errors

Another cause of the WSOD is PHP errors. PHP is a programming language used by WordPress, and if there is an error in the code, it can cause the site to crash.

#3: Memory Limits

WordPress has memory limits that are set by default. If your site requires more memory than is available, it can cause the WSOD.

If you’re not sure what’s causing your WSOD, don’t worry. We’ll walk you through how to diagnose and fix the issue step by step.

How to fix White screen of death WordPress?

Now that you know what causes the WordPress White Screen of Death, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Here are some steps you can take to fix the issue:

Step 1: Check for Plugin Conflicts

Plugins are one of the most common causes of the WSOD. If you’ve recently installed or updated a plugin, it’s possible that it’s causing a conflict with another plugin or with your theme.

To check for plugin conflicts, you can:

• Deactivate all of your plugins: Go to the Plugins page in your WordPress dashboard and select all of your plugins. Choose Deactivate from the Bulk Actions dropdown menu and click Apply. This will turn off all of your plugins at once.
• Reactivate your plugins one by one: Start by activating one plugin and then refreshing your website. Repeat this process for each plugin until you find the one that’s causing the conflict.

If you find a problematic plugin, you can either deactivate it permanently or contact the plugin’s developer for support.

Step 2: Test Your Theme

If you’ve ruled out plugins as the cause of the WSOD, the next step is to test your theme. It’s possible that there’s an error in your theme’s code that’s preventing your website from loading properly.

To test your theme, you can:

• Switch to a default WordPress theme: Go to the Appearance page in your WordPress dashboard and choose a default theme like Twenty Twenty-One. This will temporarily deactivate your current theme.
• Refresh your website: Check to see if your website is loading properly with the default theme. If it is, you know that there’s an issue with your original theme.

If you’ve determined that your theme is causing the issue, you can either contact the theme’s developer for support or switch to a different theme.

Step 3: Check for PHP Errors

If your website is still showing the WordPress White Screen of Death after checking for plugin and theme conflicts, the next step is to check for PHP errors. These errors can occur when your website’s PHP code is not functioning correctly.

To check for PHP errors, you can:

• Enable debugging mode: Open your wp-config.php file and add the following lines of code:

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

These lines of code will enable debugging mode and save any errors to a debug log file.

• Check the debug log: After refreshing your website, check the debug log file for any errors. This will give you an idea of what’s causing the issue. If you’re not comfortable editing your wp-config.php file, you can also install a debugging plugin like WP Debugging. This plugin will do the same thing as the above steps without requiring you to modify any code.

Step 4: Increase Memory Limits

If your website is still showing the WSOD after checking for PHP errors, the next step is to increase your memory limits. If your website is using too much memory, it can cause the WSOD to occur.

To increase your memory limits, you can:

• Edit your wp-config.php file: Add the following line of code to your wp-config.php file
• define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); //This will increase your memory limit to 256MB.
• Contact your web host: If you’re not comfortable editing your wp-config.php file, you can also contact your web host for assistance with increasing your memory limits.

Step 5: Reinstall WordPress

If all else fails, you can try reinstalling WordPress. This will replace all of your WordPress files with fresh copies, which can sometimes fix the WordPress White Screen of Death.

To reinstall WordPress, you can:

• Download a fresh copy of WordPress: Go to wordpress.org and download the latest version of WordPress
• Replace your WordPress files: Using an FTP client, replace all of the WordPress files on your server with the new files you just downloaded.
• Refresh your website: Check to see if your website is now loading properly.

Conclusion

The WordPress White Screen of Death can be a frustrating issue, but it’s not the end of the world for your website. By following the troubleshooting steps outlined in this article, you can diagnose and fix the issue in no time. Remember to always keep your plugins and themes up to date, monitor your website’s memory usage, and have a backup plan in place in case something goes wrong. With these tips, you’ll be able to breathe life back into your WordPress site and get back to business.

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