Encountering a white screen on your WordPress site can be quite frustrating. This issue can have various causes, such as conflicts between themes or plugins, reaching the PHP memory limit, or problems with the WordPress core files.
Step 1: Disable All Plugins
A common cause of the white screen is conflicts between plugins. To resolve this, disable all plugins:
- WordPress Dashboard: Go to 'Plugins' > 'Installed Plugins'. Select all plugins, choose 'Deactivate' from the 'Bulk Actions' dropdown menu, and click 'Apply'.
- FTP: If you cannot access WordPress, use FTP. Navigate to the
/wp-content/directory and rename thepluginsdirectory to something else, e.g.,plugins_disabled. This will deactivate all plugins. Refresh the website to see if the issue is resolved. If the site works normally again, there was likely a conflict between the plugins. Then, activate them one by one to identify the culprit.
Step 2: Switch to a Default Theme
If disabling plugins does not resolve the issue, try switching your current theme to a default WordPress theme such as Twenty Twenty-One:
- WordPress Dashboard: Go to 'Appearance' > 'Themes' and activate a default theme.
- FTP: Navigate to the
/wp-content/themes/directory and rename your current theme's directory. WordPress will automatically activate one of the default themes. Check your website again after activating a default theme to see if the issue is resolved.
Step 3: Check for Corrupted Files
Corrupted WordPress core files can also cause a white screen. To resolve this:
- Download a fresh copy of WordPress from WordPress.org.
- Extract the file and upload the new
wp-adminandwp-includesdirectories to your server using FTP, overwriting the existing directories.
Step 4: Increase the PHP Memory Limit
Exceeding the PHP memory limit can also result in a white screen. Check the PHP settings of your web hosting package.