Introduction

A WordPress white screen of death is exactly what it sounds like: the site or wp-admin loads as a blank page with no obvious explanation. In most cases WordPress is still there, but a fatal PHP error, memory problem, or broken extension stops output before the page can render.

Symptoms

  • The homepage or admin area loads as a blank white page
  • Some URLs work while others stay empty
  • You recently updated a plugin, theme, or PHP version
  • Error logs show fatal errors even though the browser shows nothing
  • The issue started after a migration, restore, or code edit

Common Causes

  • A plugin triggers a fatal PHP error during boot
  • The active theme contains incompatible or broken code
  • PHP memory runs out before WordPress finishes rendering
  • A custom snippet in functions.php or a must-use plugin crashes early
  • File corruption or partial deployment left core files incomplete

Step-by-Step Fix

  1. Turn on WP_DEBUG and WP_DEBUG_LOG in wp-config.php so WordPress writes fatal errors to a log instead of failing silently.
  2. Check the latest entries in the PHP error log or wp-content/debug.log and identify the exact plugin, theme file, or function that failed.
  3. Rename the plugins directory temporarily or disable the last changed plugin through hosting file access to see whether the site renders again.
  4. If plugins are not the cause, switch to a default WordPress theme by renaming the active theme folder or changing the theme in the database if needed.
  5. Raise the PHP memory limit if the logs mention exhausted memory or the failure happens during heavier page loads.
  6. Re-upload clean copies of WordPress core files except wp-content and wp-config.php if you suspect an incomplete update or corrupted files.
  7. Review custom snippets, functions.php, mu-plugins, and recent deploy changes for syntax errors or functions removed in the current PHP version.
  8. Test both the front end and wp-admin after each change so you know exactly which rollback or fix restored output.
  9. Once the site is stable, remove temporary debug settings on production and update or replace the component that caused the fatal error.