The "white screen of death" is a blank page with no error message, on the front end, in the dashboard or both. It means PHP stopped with a fatal error and error display is turned off. The fix is to find that error, which almost always points at a plugin, the theme or a resource limit.
Before you start
- Access to cPanel through MdmHost dashboard → Services → Login to cPanel.
- Check your inbox: WordPress often emails the admin address a "Your site is experiencing a technical issue" message with a recovery mode link. If you have it, use it first.
Find the error
- In cPanel → Files → File Manager, open the site folder and look for a file called
error_log. Open it and scroll to the bottom. - Also check cPanel → Metrics → Errors.
- If neither shows anything recent, enable
WP_DEBUG_LOGinwp-config.phpand reload the page to createwp-content/debug.log.
The last PHP Fatal error line names a file. If the path contains wp-content/plugins/name/, that plugin is the cause.
Disable plugins without the dashboard
- In File Manager open
wp-content. - Rename
pluginstoplugins-off. WordPress now loads with every plugin deactivated. - If the site loads, rename the folder back to
plugins. All plugins appear inactive in Plugins → Installed Plugins. - Activate them one at a time, reloading the site after each, until the white screen returns. That plugin is the problem.
If the log already names a plugin, just rename that plugin's folder instead.
Switch to a default theme
If plugins are not the cause, rename the active theme's folder in wp-content/themes. WordPress falls back to a default theme such as Twenty Twenty-Five if one is installed. If none is, upload one from wordpress.org first.
Raise the memory limit
An error like Allowed memory size of 134217728 bytes exhausted means PHP ran out of memory. Increase memory_limit in cPanel → Software → Select PHP Version → Options (or MultiPHP INI Editor) to 256M, and add define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M' ); to wp-config.php.
Check the PHP version
Old plugins can crash on new PHP versions, and new plugins can crash on old ones. If the white screen started after a PHP change, switch back in cPanel → Software → Select PHP Version to confirm, then update the offending code before moving forward again.
Only the dashboard is white
- Clear your browser cache and try a private window.
- Disable admin-only plugins such as dashboard widgets or editors.
- Add
define( 'CONCATENATE_SCRIPTS', false );towp-config.phpif the dashboard loads without styles or scripts.
Restore as a last resort
If you cannot find the cause quickly and the site must be online, restore files and database from a JetBackup restore point in cPanel → JetBackup taken before the problem started. Then repeat the change that caused it on a staging copy.
Prevent it next time
- Update plugins a few at a time instead of all at once.
- Test major updates and PHP version changes on staging.
- Keep a default theme installed as a safety net.