How to Fix the WordPress White Screen of Death

The “White Screen of Death” shows a completely blank white page with no error message, but it’s almost always fixable once you know where to look.

What Causes It #

• A PHP memory limit that’s been exhausted by a plugin or theme
• A plugin conflict — often right after installing or updating one
• A theme issue, especially after a theme update
• A PHP error in custom code added to your site

Step 1: Access Your Site via SFTP #

Since the WordPress dashboard itself may be affected, make changes directly to your files using the File Manager in Your Apex Managed Panel, or by connecting with an SFTP client like FileZilla.

Step 2: Deactivate All Plugins #

1. Using SFTP or File Manager, navigate to wp-content/.
2. Find the folder named plugins.
3. Rename it to plugins-disabled.
4. Try loading your site again. If it comes back, a plugin was the cause.
5. Rename the folder back to plugins once you’re ready to identify the culprit.

Step 3: Switch to a Default Theme #

If deactivating plugins didn’t fix it:

1. In wp-content/themes/, locate your currently active theme’s folder.
2. Rename it (add “-old” to the end).
3. WordPress will automatically fall back to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Four. Reload to check.

Step 4: Enable WP_DEBUG to Find the Exact Error #

1. Open the wp-config.php file via SFTP or File Manager.
2. Find define(‘WP_DEBUG’, false); and change it to define(‘WP_DEBUG’, true);.
3. Reload your site — you should now see a specific error message.
4. Switch this back to false once you’ve resolved the issue.

Step 5: Re-Enable Plugins One by One #

Rename your plugins folder back and reactivate plugins one at a time from the WordPress dashboard, checking your site after each one to find the specific conflict.

Need Help? #

If you need further assistance, contact our support team at [email protected] or start a live chat from any page on apexmanagedhosting.com.