How to fix the WordPress white screen of death

This guide explains how to find and fix the cause when your WordPress site, or its dashboard, shows a blank white page. Newer versions of WordPress may show “There has been a critical error on this website” instead. The fixes are the same.

Check your email first

When WordPress hits a fatal error, it often emails the site admin a link to recovery mode. This lets you log in and deactivate the plugin or theme that caused the problem. Check the inbox and spam folder of the admin email address before trying the steps below.

Turn off all plugins

A faulty or clashing plugin is the most common cause, especially right after an update.

1. Log in to cPanel and open File Manager.
2. Go to your WordPress folder (usually public_html), then into wp-content.
3. Right-click the plugins folder, choose Rename and call it plugins-off.
4. Reload your site. If it now works, a plugin was the cause.
5. Rename the folder back to plugins. WordPress will have deactivated all plugins.
6. Log in to WordPress, go to Plugins and activate them one at a time, checking the site after each. When the white screen comes back, you’ve found the problem plugin. Rename just that plugin’s folder to turn it off again, then update it, replace it or contact its developer.

Switch to a default theme

If plugins weren’t the cause, try the theme.

1. In File Manager, go to wp-content/themes.
2. Check that at least one default WordPress theme, such as twentytwentyfive, is in the folder.
3. Rename your active theme’s folder, for example add -off to the end. WordPress will fall back to a default theme.
4. Reload the site. If it works, the theme is the problem.

Turn on debugging

Debugging shows the actual error message.

1. In File Manager, right-click wp-config.php and choose Edit.
2. Find the line define( 'WP_DEBUG', false ); and change false to true. If the line isn’t there, add it above the line that says “That’s all, stop editing!”.
3. Save the file and reload your site. The error message should show the file and line causing the problem.
4. Change it back to false when you’ve finished, so visitors don’t see error details.

Check PHP version and memory

• PHP version. An old plugin may not work on a newer PHP version, or a new plugin may need a newer one. Try a different version. See how to change your PHP version.
• Memory limit. If the error mentions “Allowed memory size exhausted”, raise memory_limit in the PHP options for your site. In cPanel this is usually under Select PHP Version, then Options, though the wording may differ.

If it doesn’t work

• You can’t find which file is wrong. Restore a backup from before the problem started. See how to restore a backup with JetBackup.
• You see code or strange links you didn’t add. The site may be hacked. See how to scan your site for malware.
• The error mentions the database. See how to fix “Error establishing a database connection”.

Still stuck? Open a support ticket and we’ll help.