There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions. If you continue to have problems, please try the support forums.
The white screen of death is one of the most common WordPress errors. In this case, the web browser is only showing a blank white screen without any error message, making it difficult to know the cause behind this error. In addition, this error is especially hard to detect when it affects only specific web pages.
Luckily, there are ways to fix the white screen error. This article will share the most common reasons behind the WordPress white screen of death issue.
Once you know the specific cause behind this error, we will explain seven methods to fix it. Then, we will share some tips to prevent this WordPress blank page issue from happening again.
Why Do You Get the WordPress White Screen of Death Error?
Some of the most common reasons behind a WordPress white screen of death error are:
- No space left. The website’s PHP scripts have exceeded the memory limit or the maximum execution time.
- Incompatible plugins. Poorly coded or outdated WordPress plugins often show this white screen of death on visitors’ browsers.
- Wrong themes. The active theme is not suitable for the WordPress website’s version.
- Corrupted files. Mistakes in coding for core files, such as functions.php, wp-config.php, and .htaccess, can corrupt a site and make it unresponsive.
7 Methods to Fix the WordPress White Screen of Death Issue
To fix the white screen of death error, you need to find the source of the problem first. Some of the most common methods to locate the problem include:
- Retrace steps. Look back at the recent changes made on your website before it had started showing a blank screen, including installing third-party features or changing themes.
- Check the admin email. See if you have received an error notification from WordPress to your wp-admin email.
- Inspect element tool. Use the inspect element feature on your web browser to access the developer tools. This technique helps with debugging a web page.
After trying out a method, reload the website from a visitor’s browser to check whether it is successful.
Before starting troubleshooting, don’t forget to check if the website is down for everybody. Sometimes, it can be down in just several locations. In case your site is up for everybody, make sure to clear the browser cache to show the newest version of the site.
However, if the website is still experiencing the issue, try applying the following methods to fix this white screen of death error:
1. Check WordPress Core Files
A wrong line of code or a missing core file can corrupt a website. So, the first method is to check your WordPress website’s core files. To do so, make sure you have access to the File Manager.
If you are using Hostinger, head to hPanel → File Manager.
When the File Manager opens on a new tab, click on the public_html folder. Then, make sure that there are wp-config.php and .htaccess files. If you cannot locate them, download a new WordPress installation file and add these two files to the File Manager.
Another step is to check for corrupt core files. If you have recently made changes to the core files, revert the changes first. Then, refresh your page to see if the WordPress white screen of death is still affecting the web page. If not – those changes were causing the problem.
If that is the case, exchange the corrupted file with a new one using the WordPress installation file.
2. Increase WordPress Memory Limit
Another reason for WordPress showing the white screen of death is insufficient memory. WordPress will set the limit to 128 MB by default. However, it is possible to increase it if your website contains plenty of media content and runs large scripts.
When you are about to exceed the memory limit of your website, WordPress will display these error messages while editing:
Fatal error: Allowed memory size of XXX bytes exhausted.
Fatal error: Out of memory.
There are two ways to increase the limit: using an FTP client or the File Manager. The steps of both are similar, with the largest difference being the way you access the files.
To increase the limit using the File Manager, find and double-click on the wp-config.php file in your WordPress website’s public_html folder.
Click on the Save button and reload your website. Then, check if this has fixed the WordPress white screen of death error.
Additionally, you can check whether your web host has set a low limit on the server-side using the phpinfo function. To do so on Hostinger, head to hPanel and click on the PHP Info button. Under the Core section, find the memory limit and make sure that it is bigger than the limit on WordPress.
3. Check Plugins
The WordPress plugin directory can include poorly coded plugins since it is an open-source platform – every plugin developer can add their own. These plugins can also cause the white screen of death.
First, check if you have a caching plugin installed. A clear indication of whether a plugin causes this error is if the white screen of death is only visible from visitors’ browsers. To fix it, clear the WordPress cache to show the newest version of the site.
The steps to clear the WordPress cache depend on the plugin you are using.
If the white screen of death is still showing, disable all your plugins first. To do so, navigate to the wp-content folder on the File Manager. Right-click on the plugins folder and rename it to plugins-disabled.
This step will disable plugins by tricking WordPress into assuming that the plugins folder does not exist. Thus, plugin files will not load on the site. If it fixes the WordPress white screen of death issue, it means that there is a faulty plugin.
To identify which WordPress plugin causes this issue, disable the newest plugin first. If it is not the source of the problem, disable all of your WordPress plugins one by one. Do so by renaming each plugin folder and reloading your site to check.
With Hostinger, the most straightforward way to do this is by heading to the WordPress → Security section.
It will show a list of all of your installed plugins. If the button on the right shows a purple color, it means that the plugin is activated. If it shows grey, the WordPress plugins are deactivated. So, to disable them one by one, toggle the purple button to the left and reload your site to check.
Once you have found the culprit, delete it in the WordPress admin dashboard or remove its folder from the File Manager. If doing so fixes the website, try reinstalling the plugin or replacing it with a different one that offers similar functionality.
To avoid this issue from happening again, check the plugin reviews to avoid using any poorly-coded plugins. Furthermore, always make sure that the plugin version is suitable for your WordPress site.
4. Check Themes
Using an incompatible theme can also be the reason for a WordPress site showing a white screen. If you started using the new theme before the error occurred, switch to the default WordPress theme.
Even though you can switch themes on your WordPress dashboard, changing your WordPress theme on phpMyAdmin will also help disable the current theme file.
To do so on Hostinger, follow the steps below:
- Access your hPanel, head over to Databases → phpMyAdmin, and open your database.
- Click on the wp_options table and find the template and stylesheet values.
- You will see your current theme name under the option_value column. Double-tap both values and change the name to the default theme name. In this example, it’s twentytwentythree.
Reload the site to check if the error persists. If this method fixes the issue, use a different theme or delete and reinstall the corrupted one.
To avoid this issue from happening again, always check whether the theme is suitable for your WordPress version. In addition, use a child theme for modification to avoid the white screen of death issue.