When managing WordPress sites, encountering a blank page, often referred to as the ‘White Screen of Death’ (WSoD), is a common yet challenging issue. This guide aims to assist SEO professionals in effectively diagnosing and resolving the WSoD in WordPress.
Understanding the White Screen of Death in WordPress
This issue usually arises when a script on your website exhausts the memory limit. The result is either the server terminating the script or a timeout, leading to a blank screen. Occasionally, you might see a critical error message, but in essence, it’s the same issue. Causes range from problematic themes or plugins to hosting server issues.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting for the White Screen of Death
Check Other Sites on Your Hosting Account:
Verify if the issue appears on other WordPress sites hosted on the same account.
If multiple sites are affected, it’s likely a hosting service issue. Contact your hosting provider for assistance.
If it’s isolated to one site, the problem is specific to that site.
Use WordPress Recovery Mode:
If a theme or plugin causes the WSoD, WordPress may send an email with a recovery mode link.
Access your site using this link to deactivate the problematic plugin or theme.
Increase the Memory Limit:
Edit your wp-config.php file, typically located in the root directory of your WordPress installation.
Add the following line: define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');.
This increases the PHP memory limit to 256MB, which should be sufficient for most sites.
Deactivate All Plugins:
If you can access the WordPress admin, go to Plugins » Installed Plugins, select all plugins, and choose ‘Deactivate’ from the ‘Bulk actions’ dropdown.
If you cannot access the admin area, use an FTP client to connect to your site. Navigate to the wp-content folder and rename the plugins folder (e.g., to ‘plugins-deactivated’). This deactivates all plugins.
Reactivate plugins one by one to identify the culprit.
Switch to a Default Theme:
Use an FTP client to access your site. Navigate to /wp-content/themes/.
Download your current theme as a backup.
Delete your current theme from your site. If a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Two) is present, WordPress will automatically use it.
If this resolves the issue, check your theme’s functions.php file for extra spaces or errors.
Enable Debug Mode:
Edit your wp-config.php file.
Add these lines:
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
This will display errors that can help identify the issue. Check the wp-content folder for a debug.log file for a log of all errors.
Clear WordPress Cache:
If you have access to the backend but the front end shows the WSoD, clear your cache.
This can often be done within the caching plugin’s settings. If not, manual cache clearing may be required.
Addressing Long Articles:
For the WSoD on long posts or pages, increase PHP’s text processing capability.
Add these lines to your wp-config.php file:
ini_set('pcre.recursion_limit', 20000000); ini_set('pcre.backtrack_limit', 10000000);
This increases the limits for PHP’s regular expression functions, which can resolve issues with long content.
By following these detailed steps, SEO agencies can effectively diagnose and address the WordPress White Screen of Death, ensuring minimal disruption to site performance and user experience.