WordPress White Screen of Death After an Update: Step-by-Step Recovery

The WordPress white screen of death (WSOD) is a blank white page on the frontend, wp-admin, or both — with no error message. It almost always follows a plugin, theme, or core update, and is usually PHP memory exhaustion or a fatal conflict that never gets printed to the browser.

What causes a white screen after an update

PHP memory limit too low for the updated plugin or theme
A fatal PHP error that is not displayed (display_errors off)
Plugin-to-plugin or plugin-to-theme conflicts after an update
A partially failed update that left broken files

Step 1: Raise the WordPress memory limit

Open wp-config.php in the site root via FTP or your host file manager. Above the line /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */, add:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');

Reload the site. If the white screen clears, you were out of memory. If not, continue.

On some managed hosts these constants are ignored — raise memory_limit in the hosting panel or open a support ticket.

Step 2: Disable all plugins via FTP

Go to /wp-content/.
Rename the plugins folder to plugins_old.
Reload the site. If it comes back, a plugin was the cause.
Rename plugins_old back to plugins.
Inside plugins, rename each plugin folder one at a time (add -off to the name), reload, and restore until you find the one that breaks the site.

Step 3: Switch to a default theme

If the site is still white with plugins disabled, the active theme may be broken:

Go to /wp-content/themes/.
Rename the active theme folder (e.g. my-theme → my-theme-off).
WordPress will fall back to a default theme such as Twenty Twenty-Four if it is installed.
Reload. If the site works, update or replace the broken theme.

Step 4: Enable WP_DEBUG to see the hidden error

Still white? Force WordPress to log the fatal error. In wp-config.php above the “stop editing” line:

define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', false);

Reload once, then open /wp-content/debug.log. The last fatal error line names the file and plugin or theme to fix or remove. Turn debugging off when you are done.

Quick checklist

Raise WP_MEMORY_LIMIT to 256M (and max admin memory to 512M)
Rename plugins → plugins_old, then isolate the culprit
Rename the active theme to force a default theme
Enable WP_DEBUG_LOG and read debug.log