Fixing the Deadest White Screen of Death in WordPress

In WordPress, PHP Memory Exhaustion results in a white screen of death. A WSoD scene occurs when a WordPress site fails to process users’ requests and returns a white screen with no error statement, as its name suggests.

White screen issues in WordPress have different causes. This article will teach you how to fix white screen errors in a WordPress website.

Various culprits, such as plugins, script executions, or memory limits, could create white screen problems in WordPress. Fixing routines may involve probing different infrastructures, including WordPress plugins or third-party scripts.

Introduction to White Screen of Death in WordPress

WordPress’s white screen of death occurs when a script, process, or third-party app exhausts a site’s memory limit.

In such scenarios, in the form of a white screen, a process in WordPress leaves no tracks behind.

How to Fix White Screen of Death in WordPress?

Check other sites on the same Web Server

If your hosting plan includes multiple sites, check if other sites on the same server are experiencing a white screen of death.

To get started, you can repeat similar actions, processes, or routines on other sites – causing them to reveal errors, dead screens, or logs – helping you track error statements for white screens. Installing a poorly designed WordPress plugin is an example of a process that triggers similar scenarios.

Management of WordPress Plugins

WordPress plugins contain scripts, CSS files, and JavaScript handlers to help users achieve WordPress functionalities.

When tracking the white screen of death issues in WordPress, plugin management could provide a lead, such as installation, deactivation, or removal.

To get started, log into the WordPress dashboard and disable plugins individually. Here, you need to see if managing a specific plugin solves white screen issues in WordPress.

Clear WordPress Cache

Unlike other reasons, Cache rarely causes the white screen of death issues in WordPress. However, clearing the cache sometimes helps users fix white screen issues in WordPress.

Here is how to clear the cache on a WordPress website.

It would be best to look for an option in Settings for a web browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, and Opera. The process is not technical, but point-and-click is easily achievable in minutes. Read this tutorial for more information on clearing the cache in WordPress.

If you need to clear the server’s cache, look for an appropriate option in the Hosting cPanel options. You can also ask for assistance from Hosting Support Representatives.

Plugins Auto-updating routines in WordPress

In WordPress – you can let WordPress update plugins automatically.

Once you’ve logged into the WordPress dashboard, the Plugins page helps you see if a specific plugin is enabled for auto-updates.

Here, you can change options to auto-update a plugin. To find out if a plugin is causing a white screen of death issue in WordPress, you must stop plugins from auto-updating.

Change plugin settings one by one – and see if changing a specific plugin helps you fix the white screen of death issues in WordPress.

Poorly-developed WordPress Themes

Like plugins in WordPress, themes may cause a white screen of death in WordPress.

To get started, you must change your site’s current theme and see if a default WordPress theme fixes white screen issues.

In this case, you can activate WordPress’ default theme. If, for example, you’ve removed default themes from your site, you can reinstall one from the WordPress official directory.

File Permission in WordPress

Sometimes – improper file permissions in WordPress cause a white screen of death issue in WordPress.

As WSoD problems leave no tracks behind, you need to see if file permissions in WordPress are set correctly. However, changes in permissions don’t usually occur, though they occur when third-party scripts, plugins, or app integrations are performed.

Here is how to check and correct file permission issues in WordPress.

Log into Hosting cPanel and navigate to Hosting -> cPanel options -> File Manager. You can see each file with permissions, as shown in the screenshot below.

Here – you need to change file permissions for directories, files, and the wp-config.php file – 775 or 755, 664 or 644, and 660, 600, or 644 – respectively.

WordPress Debug Mode

Debug Mode in WordPress helps users see error statements when something goes wrong in WordPress, such as – poorly-designed WordPress plugins may exhaust PHP memory limit and output error statements on screen.

First, you must change the wp-config.php file in the WordPress root directory.

Head over to cPanel options -> File Manager and locate the wp-config.php file. The Hosting interface helps you edit files; you can choose the file and click Edit to proceed.

Next, add the following code to the content and save changes at the end.

define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);

define(‘WP_DEBUG_LOG’, true);

The above lines of code enable the Debug Mode in WordPress. If, for example, you cannot see errors on white screens, you need to look for the (debug.log) file in the cPanel’s File Manager.

To this line, you should have learned how to find the root cause of the WordPress white screen of death with the Debug Mode error statements.

Increase your site’s PHP Memory Limit

In the case of processing complex codes, specific source code scripts may trigger exhausting PHP memory limit errors in WordPress, causing a white screen of death in WordPress – too.

You must change wp-config.php and increase the PHP memory limit to solve such issues.

Please add the following code to the wp-config.php file in Hosting cPanel -> File Manager. Remember to add the code before the line that says, “That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging.”

define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);

Increasing the PHP memory limit should solve WordPress’s white screen of death issues. If you need a lead, you can ask for your Hosting representatives’ support for help.

Professional Tips

• To fix the white screen of death issue in WordPress, follow a fix that doesn’t require expertise, such as checking other sites on the same web server.
• In WordPress, avoiding automation can quickly solve WSoD problems, such as auto-updating plugins, automating WordPress performance tweaks, and backup restoration routines.
• WordPress needs access to scripts, directories, and sensitive files for processing, which refers to file permissions. If a site requires access levels, processing specific scripts can trigger a white screen of death in WordPress.
• If nothing worked to fix the white screen of death issues in WordPress, you could proceed with enabling WordPress Debug Mode, helping you see error statements on the screen when something unusual happens.
• In the end, increasing PHP memory limits may help solve WSoD problems in WordPress – helping you run complex scripts in WordPress and avoid timeouts.

Over to You

Fixing the white screen of death issues in WordPress needs probing various aspects, such as WordPress updating routines, PHP memory limits, and default scripts.

You can start by changing PHP memory limits, which will help you quickly determine whether to proceed with other measures.

Hence, the root cause of the white screen issues in WordPress is undefined. You may need to change various aspects of the WordPress dashboard, take measures at the server level, or ask for Hosting representative support for assistance.

If, for example – you lack WordPress maintenance knowledge and prefer WordPress Support services for assistance – don’t forget to check our WordPress support plans for WordPress users, including one-time fixes, monthly maintenance, and custom plans for premium users.