WordPress White Screen of Death: Causes and How to Fix It

WordPress White Screen of Death: Causes and How to Fix It

The WordPress “white screen of death” is a blank white page with no error message. Sometimes it hits the whole site, sometimes only the admin or a single page. Behind it is almost always a PHP error that WordPress isn’t showing you: a broken plugin or theme, a PHP memory limit that was reached, or code that doesn’t work with your PHP version. Since WordPress 5.2 you’ll often see “There has been a critical error on this website” instead of a blank page, which is the same problem with a friendlier message.

Quick answer: check your admin email for a “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue” message with a recovery-mode link. If there isn’t one, turn on debugging to see the real error, then disable plugins by renaming the plugins folder.

Step 1: Use WordPress Recovery Mode

When WordPress catches a fatal error, it emails the site’s admin address a link to log in to recovery mode. The email names the plugin or theme that caused the error. Click the link, log in, and deactivate or update the culprit from the admin, which still works in recovery mode.

If no email arrived, the site may not be able to send mail, or the error happens too early for WordPress to catch it. Move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Turn On Debugging to See the Real Error

Open wp-config.php in your file manager or over SFTP and set these lines above “That’s all, stop editing!”:

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 tells you the file and line that failed, and the path shows which plugin or theme it belongs to, for example wp-content/plugins/some-plugin/....

Set WP_DEBUG back to false when you’re done; a public debug log can reveal file paths.

Step 3: Disable All Plugins

Plugins cause most white screens, especially right after an update. If you can’t reach the admin:

1. In wp-content, rename the plugins folder to plugins-off. WordPress deactivates every plugin.

2. Load the site. If it works, a plugin was the cause.

3. Rename the folder back to plugins. The plugins stay deactivated.

4. Reactivate them one at a time from the admin until the white screen returns. The last one you activated is the problem.

With WP-CLI it’s one command: wp plugin deactivate --all, then wp plugin activate plugin-name one by one.

Step 4: Switch to a Default Theme

If plugins weren’t the cause, test the theme. Rename your active theme’s folder in wp-content/themes; WordPress falls back to a default theme such as Twenty Twenty-Five if one is installed. With WP-CLI: wp theme activate twentytwentyfive. If the site comes back, the theme (or a recent edit to its functions.php) is the cause.

Step 5: Raise the PHP Memory Limit

“Allowed memory size of … bytes exhausted” in the log means PHP ran out of memory. Raise WordPress’s limit in wp-config.php:

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

WordPress can’t go above the server’s own PHP memory_limit, so you may need to raise that in your hosting dashboard’s PHP settings too. If memory keeps running out, find the heavy plugin rather than raising the limit forever.

Step 6: Check Your PHP Version

Old plugins and themes can break on newer PHP versions, and new ones can require a recent version. If the white screen started after a PHP upgrade, the debug log usually shows errors like “Call to undefined function” or deprecated syntax. Update the plugin or theme; switch PHP back only as a temporary fix.

Step 7: Other Causes

• Only the admin is white: often a plugin that only runs in the dashboard, or a memory limit hit by heavy admin pages.

• Only one page or post is white: a shortcode or block from a plugin failing on that page, or a very long page hitting memory or time limits.

• Stuck in maintenance mode after an update: delete the .maintenance file in the site root.

• Caching: clear your caching plugin’s cache and any server cache after fixing the cause, or you may keep seeing the old blank page.

• File permissions: after a migration, wrong ownership can stop PHP reading files. Directories are normally 755 and files 644.

How to Prevent It

• Test plugin, theme and PHP updates on a staging copy before updating the live site.

• Keep daily backups you can restore with one click.

• Make sure your site can send email, so recovery-mode messages reach you.

• Remove plugins you don’t use.

Frequently Asked Questions

What causes the WordPress white screen of death?
A PHP error WordPress doesn’t display: usually a faulty or incompatible plugin or theme, an exhausted PHP memory limit, or code that doesn’t support your PHP version.

How do I fix a white screen if I can’t log in?
Use the recovery-mode link WordPress emails to the admin, or rename the wp-content/plugins folder over SFTP or your file manager to deactivate all plugins.

Is “There has been a critical error on this website” the same thing?
Yes. It’s the message WordPress 5.2 and later show for a fatal PHP error instead of a blank page. The fixes are the same.

Will I lose content by renaming the plugins folder?
No. Plugins are deactivated, not deleted, and posts and pages live in the database. Some plugin settings may need to be checked after you reactivate.

Why is only my WordPress admin blank?
A plugin that runs only in the dashboard is failing, or admin pages are hitting the memory limit. Check the debug log for the exact error.

Fix Problems Before They Reach Visitors

RackUp Cloud WordPress hosting includes 1-click staging with push/pull sync, so you can test updates first, and automated daily offsite backups with one-click rollback when something breaks. PHP 8.2 to 8.5 is a dashboard setting. Plans start at $2.49 a month. See plans.