Why is my WordPress site showing a white screen?

A blank page with no error message is one of the most confusing problems a site owner can face. The WordPress white screen, often called the white screen of death, means a PHP error stopped WordPress before it could show anything. The page is empty because WordPress hides error details from visitors for security.

The fix is to find which code failed. Work through the steps below in order.

Step 1: check your email for recovery mode

Since version 5.2, WordPress detects many fatal errors and emails the site admin a recovery mode link. The email names the plugin or theme that failed. Open the link, log in and deactivate the faulty item. If the admin email is not monitored, this message is easy to miss.

Step 2: is it the whole site or one page?

Step 3: disable plugins without the dashboard

If you cannot reach the admin, use your host’s file manager or FTP. Go to wp-content and rename the plugins folder to plugins-off. This turns all plugins off. If the WordPress white screen disappears, rename the folder back and activate plugins one at a time until the screen goes blank again. That plugin is the cause.

Step 4: switch to a default theme

If plugins are not the cause, rename your active theme’s folder. WordPress falls back to a default theme if one is installed. If the site loads, the problem is in your theme or child theme, often a recent edit to functions.php.

Step 5: turn on error logging

Enable debug logging in wp-config.php to record the exact error in a log file. The WordPress debugging guide shows the settings. Keep the log private and turn debugging off after you fix the issue. The log usually names the file and line that failed.

Step 6: raise the memory limit

A message like “allowed memory size exhausted” in the log means PHP ran out of memory. Your host can raise the limit. If memory keeps running out, a plugin may be using too much, so investigate it rather than raising the limit again and again.

How to prevent a WordPress white screen

1. Test plugin, theme and PHP updates on a staging site first.
2. Keep daily backups so you can roll back quickly.
3. Avoid editing theme files directly on the live site.
4. Make sure the admin email address is monitored for recovery mode emails.
5. Remove plugins you no longer use.

Our guide to a WordPress site not loading covers other outage causes, such as DNS and SSL.

Example: a WordPress white screen after a PHP upgrade

A host upgraded PHP overnight, and in the morning the site showed a WordPress white screen. The recovery mode email named an old slider plugin that was not compatible with the new PHP version. Deactivating it brought the site back, and a modern replacement was installed later that day. When you see a WordPress white screen after a server change, outdated plugins are the first suspect. If the WordPress white screen appears after you edited code yourself, undo that edit first, because a single missing character in functions.php is enough to cause it.