Summary
Wordpress is one of the most versatile applications around. However, due to 3rd party scripts, plugins, and themes, WordPress can occasionally have problems. These problems usually break the php process and a white page is shown with no error. While the causes of this error vary; there are typically two fixes that will resolve the issue. The following article we will demonstrate how to disable all the plugins and reset the theme.
It is recommended that you attempt to reset both the Theme and Plugins back to default to resolve a WSOD error.
Disabling WordPress Plugins
You can use WordPress tools inside the cPanel to disable plugins when you are unable to access your WordPress dashboard.
- Click on the "WordPress Tools" tab at the top of the account.
- Click the "Plugins" link on the left side of the page.
- Using the "Select WordPress" dropdown choose the WordPress install that is having the issue.
- Under "Installed Plugins" click each toggle that says on. Each plugin toggle should say off.
Now check your site and see if it’s working again. If so, you will know a plugin was the cause of the issue. Your next step will be to go back and enable the plugins one at a time. Check your website after enabling each individual plugin and see if it goes down again. If your website goes down after enabling a certain plugin, check with the developer of that plugin for assistance.
If this does not bring your WordPress site back online, try changing your theme as well.
Changing The WordPress Theme
You can also use WordPress tools to change the theme when you are unable to access the WordPress dashboard.
- Click on the "WordPress Tools" tab at the top of the account.
- Click the "Themes" link on the left side of the page.
- Using the "Select WordPress" dropdown, choose the WordPress install that is having the issue.
- Under "Theme Library", click the toggle for the theme you would like to use. This should deactivate the current theme and use the theme you chose instead.
- Note: It is highly recommended that you use one of the default themes, such as Twenty Fourteen, Twenty Thirteen, Twenty Twelve, etc...
Check if your site again to see if it is working. If so, then the likely culprit of the issue was an error caused by your theme. Check with the developer of that theme for assistance.
If these steps do not bring the site online you may need to contact a developer to troubleshoot your site.
