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Fixing the white screen error in WordPress shouldn't be that complex. While browsing your Wordpress website, did you ever come across the WHITE SCREEN? The bug that makes it inaccessible to both the public and administrators?
Well, let me assure you that you are not alone. All of us who have used WordPress have experienced the legendary WHITE SCREEN OF DEATH at least once.
It may seem like a difficult problem, but it is usually very easy to fix. In this article, we will explore some very common causes behind this white screen and discuss the solutions. So without further ado, let's get started!
1. Recovery Mode
Since Wordpress 5.2 there is a new feature for fatal error protection. So if the white screen of death is being caused by a WordPress theme or plugin, you can find it with this functionality. If the FEP feature detects this error, you will receive a message, instead of the blank screen, that the site is experiencing technical difficulties.
You will also receive an email redirecting to the relevant plugin/theme causing the error. You can simply follow the link and disable the faulty theme/plugin. In case the email is not received, you need to manually check the plugins/themes and fix the error by performing several tests.
2. Clear Cache
You may be able to access the backend but still face the white screen of death. A web hosting provider usually offers their own caching solutions, so you may not need to install a plugin. But if you do have one, as it is great for improving the overall user experience, it can be very helpful to clear the cache.
In such scenarios, it is essential to clear the Wordpress cache.
Simply go to the WordPress admin, select the caching plugin you are using and flush the cache.
It is also important to check if your browser is causing the problem. Therefore, it is better to go to your browser settings and locate your browsing data. This page allows users to clear history and save files, so from here you can clear data. Once the process is complete, close and reopen the browser.
3. Increase memory limit
The white screen of death can also appear in case the script has run out of memory and thus stopped in the middle. By default, the PHP script comes with 64MB. However, this space may not be enough for some website features to work. So, to fix this, you will be prompted to increase the available PHP memory in Wordpress. To do so, follow these steps:
? Edit the wp-config.php file from the root folder of your website
? Paste this code "define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');" just before the last line.
? Save the changes and reupload the file to the WordPress root folder
4. Disable Plugins
If recovery mode or increasing the memory limit doesn't help, it's likely that one of your plugins is having problems.
Therefore, you can start by disabling all plugins by going to Administrator -> Plugins -> Installed plugins. Select all and click Deactivate. Now revisit the website activating each plugin one by one until you find the faulty plugin.
Once the problem is found, you can replace that plugin, reinstall or update it.
5. Enable debug mode
In case other methods fail, you can enable debugging in WordPress to see what kind of error is generated. To do so, add this code to your wp-config.php file:
define ('WP_DEBUG', true);
define ('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
Once you're done, save the archive. Your blank screen will now give you notices, warnings, and errors that can help you determine the root cause.
6. Change the theme
Let's consider that disabling the plugins does not solve the problem. You're already desperate, right?
The next method is to try and replace your current theme with a default theme. To do this, connect to your website using an FTP client and browse to the wp-content -> folder. themes. This folder usually contains all the installed themes for your website.
In this step, right click to select your current WordPress theme and select the option to rename the folder. This step will deactivate your current theme. Once you're done, use one of the default themes fromWordPress.
You may need to reinstall your theme, or update it.
Conclusion
Although it may seem like a very frustrating error, using the solutions presented, it is quite easy to control. In general, the solution is mainly to troubleshoot your website and check the root of the error to avoid it.
