How to Fix the White Screen of Death on Your WordPress Site

If you’ve been blogging on WordPress for a while, you’ve probably heard of the dreaded white screen of death. A blank, empty page that appears out of nowhere and sends your heart straight into panic mode.

But don’t worry, this problem is usually easy to fix, and in most cases, you can get your site back online in minutes. Let’s walk through it step by step.

Step 1: Don’t Freak Out

Seriously. This is your most important step.

The white screen looks scary, but it’s rarely permanent damage. Take a deep breath, grab your coffee, and know that this happens to almost every site owner at some point. You’ve got this!

Step 2: Contact Your Hosting Provider (Optional but Recommended)

If diving into files feels overwhelming, start here.

Hosting companies like BigScoots have excellent support and can often pinpoint the cause for you right away. Their team can check your error logs and help resolve things quickly, sometimes before you even have to touch a line of code.

If you want to troubleshoot it yourself, continue below.

Step 3: Enable Debug Mode to Find the Error

Since you can’t access your WordPress dashboard, you’ll need to view the error directly in your site’s files.

1. Log into your hosting account (we recommend BigScoots).
2. Open cPanel → File Manager → go to your public_html folder.
3. Locate and click on the file named wp-config.php (it’s in the main public_html directory).
4. Click Edit in the toolbar.
5. Look for this line of code: define( 'WP_DEBUG', false );
6. Change it to: define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
7. Click Save, then refresh your website in your browser.

Now, instead of a blank white screen, you should see one or more error messages.

⚠️ Important: Once you finish troubleshooting, go back and change this back to false to hide those debug messages again.

Step 4: Read the Error Message Carefully

Your error will usually show a file path and a line number, like this:

/home/username/public_html/wp-content/themes/theme-name/functions.php on line 243

Here’s how to interpret that:

• If you see your theme’s name, the issue is in your theme files.
• If you see a plugin name, the problem is coming from that plugin.
• If you see “deprecated” messages, those aren’t always the culprit. Those are just older bits of code that may need updating, but they won’t usually crash your site. Focus on the fatal errors.

Step 5: If It’s Your Theme

If the error path points to your theme, you’ll want to reinstall a clean version of it.

1. Download a fresh copy of your theme files from your Restored 316 account.
2. In File Manager, go to: public_html > wp-content > themes
3. Delete the folder of your current theme (for example, restored316-limoncella).
4. Upload the new theme folder you just downloaded.
5. Once the upload is complete, refresh your website — it should be back to normal!

If you’d like a refresher on staying protected before issues like this occur, check out our guide on How to Back Up Your WordPress Site.

Step 6: If It’s a Plugin

If your error message includes a plugin name, follow these steps:

1. In File Manager, navigate to: public_html > wp-content > plugins
2. Find the folder for the plugin causing the issue.
3. Rename it by adding something like “-2” at the end — for example, change woocommerce to woocommerce-2.
4. Refresh your site.

If your site loads again, that plugin is the problem. You can either delete it, reinstall it, or contact the plugin developer for help.

Step 7: When in Doubt, Ask for Help

If all of this feels a bit too technical or you just want some reassurance, we’re here for you.

You can always reach out through our support ticket form and we’ll take a look and point you in the right direction.

Final Thoughts

The white screen of death might look intimidating, but it’s usually just one small piece of broken code. By enabling debug mode, checking the error path, and either refreshing your theme or disabling a plugin, you can bring your site back quickly.

And remember: a reliable host like BigScoots and consistent backups are your best protection against future issues.

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