How to fix blank pages in WordPress
In this article, you will learn how to fix blank pages in WordPress. This can happen when a plugin or theme has been updated and it breaks a page, login area, or the entire WordPress site. The most common issue is usually a plugin that is causing it.
How to find the issue
To find the issue we need to disable all plugins and themes then activate them manually so we know the exact issue, We will be doing this through cPanel as most users find they’re unable to access the WordPress dashboard. If you’re able to login to the WordPress dashboard you can also enable debugging in the WP-Config.php file.
Disabling all plugins
Blank pages are often due to a conflicting plugin so we will start by disabling plugins, To do this please follow these steps:
If you cannot log in to the Administration Screen, however, you must disable plugins manually. To do this, follow these steps:
- Log in to cPanel.
- Search for File Manager then click it.
- Navigate to public_html/wp-content/plugins
-
Click the folder located in the top-left.
- Give it a name such as Plugins backup then press create a new folder
- Select your plugin folder and drag them into the newly created folder
- Refresh your WordPress site and see if the issue has been resolved.
- If your issue has been resolved the cause is the plugin you last dragged into the folder
- If the white screen is still there repeat steps 6 & 7 until the blank screen is fixed.
- Go back to your newly created folder and delete the plugin which was causing the issue then move the plugins back to their original directory
If the white screen is still happening with all plugins deactivated it could be a theme issue.
Changing the theme
If you’re still having a blank screen after disabling all your plugins it could be a theme issue, Follow these steps:
- Log in to cPanel.
- Search for file manager then click it
- Navigate to public_html/wp-content/themes directory and check you have the twentytwentyone theme folder
If you don’t have the folder you can download the twentytwentyone theme then upload and extract the folder - Go back to your cPanel dashboard
- Search for phpMyAdmin and click it
- On the left side select your WordPress database
If you have multiple WordPress installations you can find the database name in your install directory > WP-Config.php - Click the wp_options table.
- Change the number of rows from 25 to 500 in the dropdown menu
- In the filter rows type template then change the option_value to twentytwentyone
- Press enter to save
- In the filter, rows type stylesheet then change the option_value to twentytwentyone
- Press enter to save
- Refresh your WordPress website and check if the issue has been fixed.
You will now be using the default theme
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