Tag: WSoD

Understanding and Resolving the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD): A Comprehensive Guide Guide by ZEROPHOID

if you’ve ever encountered the dreaded WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), you know how frustrating it can be. One moment, your website is running smoothly, and the next, you’re staring at a blank, white screen with no hints about what went wrong. This issue can affect both the front-end and back-end of your site, making it completely inaccessible and leaving you in the dark about how to fix it. But don’t worry – understanding what causes the WSoD and how to troubleshoot it can help you get your site back up and running in no time.

At ZEROPHOID, the owner of WordPressUpdates.eu, we understand the challenges that come with maintaining a WordPress site. The White Screen of Death can be caused by a variety of issues, such as conflicts between plugins or themes, running out of memory, or errors in your site’s code. Sometimes, a plugin or theme isn’t compatible with your version of WordPress, or it’s not coded properly, leading to the WSoD. Other times, your site might hit its PHP memory limit, causing the server to give up and show a blank screen instead. Coding errors, like typos or missing files, can also be culprits. Thankfully, there are several steps you can take to diagnose and fix the problem, so you can get your WordPress site back on track quickly.

To diagnose the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSoD), you can follow these steps:

Increase Memory Limit:

Sometimes the WSoD occurs due to the site exceeding its PHP memory limit. You can try increasing the memory limit by adding the following line to your ‘wp-config.php‘ file:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '64M');

Disable All Plugins:

A conflicting or faulty plugin can cause the WSoD. To check if this is the case, disable all your plugins. If the site comes back, enable each plugin one by one to identify the culprit.

You can disable plugins by renaming the ‘plugins‘ folder in ‘wp-content‘ directory via FTP.

Switch to a Default Theme:

A theme-related issue might be causing the WSoD. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme (like Twenty Twenty-One) to see if the problem resolves. This can be done via the WordPress admin dashboard or by renaming the current theme folder in ‘wp-content/themes‘.

Enable Debugging Mode:

Enabling WordPress debugging can provide more information about the error. Add the following lines to your ‘wp-config.php‘ file:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

This will create a ‘debug.log‘ file in the ‘wp-content‘ directory, which can help pinpoint the issue.

Check for Corrupted Files:

Sometimes, corrupted WordPress core files can cause the WSoD. Re-upload fresh copies of WordPress core files via FTP, excluding the ‘wp-content‘ directory to avoid overwriting your themes and plugins.

Increase PHP Text Processing Capability:

Large posts or pages can cause issues. Increase the PHP ‘pcre.backtrack_limit‘ and ‘pcre.recursion_limit‘ by adding the following to your ‘.htaccess‘ file:

php_value pcre.backtrack_limit 1000000
php_value pcre.recursion_limit 1000000

Clear Browser and Server Cache:

Sometimes, the WSoD can be caused by caching issues. Clear your browser cache and any server-side cache (like Varnish or caching plugins).

Check File Permissions:

Incorrect file permissions can cause the WSoD. Ensure your WordPress files and folders have the correct permissions, typically 755 for directories and 644 for files.

Check Error Logs:

Server error logs can provide valuable information about the cause of the WSoD. Check the logs via your hosting control panel or by accessing the error_log file in your WordPress root directory.

Reinstall WordPress:

As a last resort, reinstall WordPress. This can be done via the WordPress dashboard under Updates or by uploading fresh WordPress files (excluding ‘wp-content‘).

By systematically following these steps, you should be able to diagnose and resolve the issue causing the White Screen of Death on your WordPress site.

Get Professional Help from ZEROPHOID

If you need assistance in resolving the issue and ensuring it does not happen again, consider using an expert company like ZEROPHOID. Take advantage of our WordPress Quick Fix Service at just €35 for 1 hour. We’re here to help you maintain a smooth and reliable website experience.