Troubleshooting the White Screen of Death

What is the White Screen of Death?

The "White Screen of Death" (WSOD) is when your WordPress site displays a blank white page with no error message. It is usually caused by a PHP error, a faulty plugin, or a memory limit issue.

Step 1 — Check the Error Log

Look at your PHP error log for a clue:

• DirectAdmin: Statistics → Error Log
• File path: ~/domains/yourdomain.com/logs/php_errors.log

Step 2 — Disable Plugins

1. Open the File Manager.
2. Rename the folder public_html/wp-content/plugins/ to plugins_old.
3. Reload your site. If it loads, a plugin was the cause.
4. Rename the folder back and then deactivate plugins one at a time to find the culprit.

Step 3 — Switch to a Default Theme

In phpMyAdmin, run this query to switch to the Twenty Twenty-Four theme:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value='twentytwentyfour' WHERE option_name IN ('template','stylesheet');

Step 4 — Increase Memory Limit

Add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); to wp-config.php.