How to fix the WordPress white screen of death

What this problem looks like

The white screen of death (WSOD) means PHP hit a fatal error and display_errors is turned off on your server. Visitors see nothing. You may still have hosting file access even when wp-admin is dead.

The fix is almost always a plugin, theme, or PHP version conflict. You need the real error message first, then you isolate the code that triggers it through FTP, file manager, or SSH.

Step 1: Turn on debug logging in wp-config.php

Connect via SFTP or hosting File Manager and open wp-config.php in your site root. Paste these lines above the line that says stop editing. On a live site, log to file only and never print errors to visitors.

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false );
@ini_set( 'display_errors', 0 );

Step 2: Read debug.log and hosting error logs

Reload the broken page once, then open wp-content/debug.log. The last lines usually name the plugin file and line number. If debug.log stays empty, check your host PHP error log in cPanel, Plesk, or Site Tools.

• Look for fatal error, memory exhausted, or undefined function messages.
• Note the full file path, especially anything inside wp-content/plugins/.
• Check if the error started after a plugin update or PHP version change.

Step 3: Deactivate plugins at the file level

When wp-admin will not load, rename the plugins directory so WordPress cannot load any plugin PHP. This is the fastest way to prove a plugin conflict.

1. Go to wp-content/ in File Manager or SFTP.
2. Rename plugins to plugins.disabled.
3. Reload the site and wp-admin.
4. If the site works, move plugin folders back one at a time.

Step 4: Rule out the active theme

If disabling plugins does not help, switch themes at the file level. WordPress falls back to a default theme when the active theme folder is missing.

1. Open wp-content/themes/.
2. Rename your active theme folder, for example mytheme to mytheme.off.
3. Ensure twentytwentyfour or another default theme folder exists.
4. Reload the site.

Step 5: Check PHP version and memory limits

UK hosts often migrate PHP versions without warning. Legacy plugins break on PHP 8.x. Temporarily switch PHP 8.2 to 8.1 in hosting only as a short test, not a permanent fix.

If logs mention memory exhausted, raise limits in wp-config.php:

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' );
define( 'WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M' );

When to stop DIY and hire help

If the white screen persists after plugin and theme isolation, or the error log points at WordPress core files you did not change, stop guessing on a live shop. BugShield quotes white screen fixes at a confirmed price with a BugShield developer and secure Vault access.