The white screen (or, since WordPress 5.2, the "There has been a critical error on this website" page) is the most common emergency we fix for clients abroad, and the most panicked. It is almost never data loss. It is one thing failing to load, and WordPress refusing to continue. Here is the order that finds it fastest.
Step 0: Do not reinstall anything yet
Reinstalling WordPress or restoring an old backup before you know the cause often loses content and keeps the problem. Find it first.
Step 1: Check your email for "recovery mode"
Modern WordPress emails the admin address a link to log in with the broken plugin or theme paused. That email names the culprit. Click it, deactivate the named plugin, and you are usually back in two minutes. No email? Check spam, then move on.
Step 2: Confirm it is a plugin
Open your hosting control panel (cPanel, Plesk, CloudPanel, the host's file manager) and go to wp-content. Rename the plugins folder to plugins-off. Reload the site. If it comes back, a plugin did it. Rename the folder back, then rename plugins one at a time inside it until you find the one — start with whatever updated last.
Step 3: Then the theme
If plugins were not it, rename your active theme's folder. WordPress falls back to a default theme. Site back? The theme update or a custom edit broke it. Roll the theme back or restore the functions.php you changed.
Step 4: PHP memory and PHP version
A site that grew gets "Allowed memory size exhausted". In wp-config.php add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');. If the host just moved you to a newer PHP version, an old plugin may not survive it — switch PHP back one version in the control panel to test, then replace the plugin.
Step 5: Read the actual error
In wp-config.php set define('WP_DEBUG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);, reload, then open wp-content/debug.log. The last "Fatal error" line names the file and the line number. That file's folder is the plugin or theme at fault. Turn debug off afterwards.
Step 6: Hacked, not broken?
If the white screen came with a redirect to another site, strange admin users, or files you do not recognise, it is a compromise, not a bug. Do not just delete the obvious file — the backdoor is elsewhere. That is a cleanup job: files and database scanned, the entry point closed, everything updated, keys rotated.
- Updates on a staging copy first, or at least one plugin at a time with a backup before each.
- Daily off-site backups you have actually restored once.
- Fewer plugins: every one is a thing that can break.
- A maintenance plan if you would rather someone else did all of the above.
Not sure which step you're on? Book a growth call — fifteen minutes with Lee, no pressure, no obligation. You leave with the step, the first fix and the price.
Frequently asked
What causes the WordPress white screen of death?
A plugin or theme that fails to load (often after an update), PHP memory exhausted, a PHP version change, or a corrupted core file. Recovery mode email and the debug log name the cause.
Will I lose my content?
No — the white screen is a loading failure, not data loss. Your posts and pages are in the database untouched. Only a careless reinstall or restore loses content.
How much does it cost to fix?
Most white-screen fixes are US$30–60 and done the same day. A hack cleanup is US$100–150.
Can you fix it if I cannot log in?
Yes — with hosting access (control panel or FTP) we fix it from the files, then restore your login.