Fixing the White Screen of Death in WordPress

The "white screen of death" is a completely blank page with no error message at all — frustrating precisely because it gives you nothing to work with initially.

Enable Debug Mode First

Turning on WordPress debug mode reveals the actual underlying PHP error that's being silently swallowed by the blank screen.

Deactivate Plugins One by One

If debug mode doesn't immediately reveal the cause, deactivating all plugins (via FTP if needed, since the admin panel may also be blank) and reactivating them one at a time isolates the culprit.

Check for a Theme Conflict

Temporarily switching to a default WordPress theme rules out (or confirms) the active theme as the source of the problem.

Increase PHP Memory as a Last Resort

Occasionally this error stems from hitting a memory limit — worth ruling out if the above steps don't resolve it.

Further Reading

• Contact Support
• Browse the Knowledge Base
• MDN HTTP Status Codes Reference