The WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD) means your website shows a completely blank white page with no error message. This usually happens due to a PHP fatal error, a broken plugin, or exhausted memory. This guide walks you through the most common fixes.

### Fix 1: Enable Debug Mode to See the Error

1. Open **cPanel → File Manager**.
2. Navigate to `public_html` and edit the `wp-config.php` file.
3. Find the line: `define( 'WP_DEBUG', false );`
4. Replace it with:

   ```
   define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
   define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
   ```
5. Save the file and reload your website.
6. If the white screen persists, check the debug log at `wp-content/debug.log` — this file will contain the actual error message.

### Fix 2: Disable All Plugins

A broken plugin is the most common cause of WSOD:

1. In **cPanel → File Manager**, navigate to `wp-content/plugins/`.
2. Rename the `plugins` folder to `plugins-off`.
3. Reload your website. If it loads, a plugin was the cause.
4. Rename the folder back to `plugins`.
5. Inside the plugins folder, rename each plugin folder one at a time (add `-off` to the name) until you find the one causing the issue.
6. Delete or update the problematic plugin.

### Fix 3: Switch to a Default Theme

1. Go to **cPanel → File Manager → wp-content/themes/**.
2. Ensure the default theme folder exists (usually `twentytwentyfour` or similar).
3. Rename your active theme folder by adding `-off` to its name.
4. WordPress will automatically fall back to the default theme.
5. If your site loads, the theme was the issue. Update it or contact the theme developer.

### Fix 4: Increase PHP Memory Limit

1. Edit `wp-config.php` in File Manager.
2. Add this line above the `/* That's all, stop editing! */` line:

   ```
   define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );
   ```
3. Save and reload your site.
4. If this fixes the issue but you have a managed hosting plan, you may need to contact support to permanently increase the PHP memory limit.

### Fix 5: Replace Core Files

1. Download the latest WordPress zip from [wordpress.org](https://wordpress.org/download/).
2. Extract it and upload the `wp-admin` and `wp-includes` folders to your server via File Manager or FTP, overwriting the existing folders.
3. This replaces all WordPress core files without affecting your themes, plugins, or uploads.

### Important Notes

- Always **back up your site** before making changes to core files.
- WSOD is almost never a hosting issue — it is almost always a plugin, theme, or code problem.
- After fixing WSOD, set `WP_DEBUG` back to `false` in wp-config.php to prevent error messages from showing to visitors.
- If you recently installed or updated something before WSOD appeared, that is almost certainly the cause.

### Troubleshooting

- **WSOD only on specific pages, not the whole site:** A plugin or theme function specific to that page is failing. Check the debug log for the error and search for it online with the plugin/theme name.
- **WSOD appears only in WordPress admin, not the frontend:** A plugin that runs only in the admin area is causing the error. Disable plugins as described in Fix 2.
- **WSOD after a WordPress update:** A plugin may not be compatible with the new WordPress version. Disable all plugins and re-enable them one by one. Update each plugin to the latest version before re-enabling.
- **WSOD and "allowed memory size exhausted" in debug.log:** Your PHP memory limit is too low. Increase it as shown in Fix 4, or contact support to raise the server-side limit.
- **Nothing works and debug.log is empty:** The error may be at the server level. Check if your PHP version is compatible with WordPress. [Contact support](https://www.allanuxweb.com/submitticket.php) with your cPanel username for a server-side investigation.

Need help? [Contact our support team](https://www.allanuxweb.com/submitticket.php).