WordPress White Screen During Setup | Fixtoday.com

 1. Introduction: 

Encountering a blank white screen during WordPress installation, sometimes termed the "White Screen of Death" (WSOD), is a frequent yet unsettling encounter. This catastrophic issue halts the setup process altogether, leaving no error notice to aid you. It often signifies a PHP fatal error that is being hidden. While unpleasant, this problem is nearly always solved by thoroughly reviewing server parameters, permissions, and core files. This article will educate you with the specific methods to diagnose and eradicate the WSOD, putting your installation back on track.

2. Primary Cause: Enabling Debug Mode to Reveal the Hidden Error

The white screen is deceptive—an error is happening, but your server is set not to reveal it. Your first and most critical step is to compel WordPress to expose the real issue. Before the installation starts, you must explicitly activate debugging. Access your server via FTP or file manager, find the wp-config.php file (or create it from wp-config-sample.php), and enter the following lines immediately before the "That's all, stop editing!" remark. This will disclose the fatal fault producing the blank screen.

3. Insufficient PHP Memory Limit: 

The single most common reason for a white screen during setup is your server's PHP memory limit being too low for WordPress to perform its installation scripts. When PHP exhausts its allotted memory, it simply stops—resulting in a blank page. The remedy is to raise this limit. You may achieve this by adding the code define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); to your wp-config.php file, before the debug lines. Alternatively, contact your host or utilize their control panel to raise the PHP memory limit worldwide to at least 128MB.

Fix WordPress White Screen

4. Incorrect File Permissions and Ownership Conflicts

WordPress needs the ability to write files during installation. If your wp-content directory, or other core directories, have inappropriate permissions or are owned by the wrong system user, the installation procedure cannot produce essential files and fails quietly. Using your FTP client, verify all directories are set to 755 and files are set to 644. For a manual check, temporarily change the permissions of the whole WordPress directory to 755 recursively. Also, ensure that your web server user (e.g., www-data, nobody) has ownership of the files.

5. Conflicts with a Corrupted .htaccess File or URL Rewrites

Even after a new setup, a pre-existing or malformed .htaccess file in your root directory might create rewrite rule conflicts that display as a white screen. Similarly, wrong site URLs specified in an existing database might induce disastrous redirects. To rule this out, connect via FTP and change any existing .htaccess file to .htaccess_backup. If you are reinstalling over an existing site, also check your database wp_options table (if it exists) has proper URL values or consider beginning with a totally new, empty database.

6. Missing or Disabled Required PHP Extensions

WordPress core functionality relies on various PHP extensions like mysqli (for database connectivity), openssl, and curl. If your server's PHP installation is missing or has deactivated them, the installation will fail with a white screen. You may examine your PHP setup by generating a simple phpinfo.php file in your root directory. If extensions are missing, you must activate them using your hosting control panel's PHP selector or by contacting your hosting provider's support team for help.

7. Plugin or Theme Code in an Existing Installation

If you are trying to reinstall WordPress over a partly existing site (e.g., after a failed first attempt), leftover plugin or theme files in the wp-content folder might load during the setup and generate a fatal error due to incompatibility. The answer is to start clean. Rename the wp-content/plugins folder to plugins_old and the active theme folder (within wp-content/themes) to deactivate them. If the white screen vanishes, you know the reason was faulty or conflicting code from a prior installation effort.

8. Step-by-Step Immediate Fix: Enable Debugging & Check Limits

• FTP In: Access your server files using FTP/File Manager.
• Edit wp-config.php: Add these lines: define('WP_DEBUG', true); define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true); define('WP_DEBUG_LOG', true); define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
• Refresh: Reload the installation page. A particular error notice should now show.
• Act on Error: The exposed error will drive your next step—whether it's a memory, syntactic, or database problem.

9. Step-by-Step Nuclear Option: Clean Manual Reinstallation

When everything else fails, a totally clean install is guaranteed to operate if your server satisfies criteria.

1. Destroy Everything: Remove all files from your site root and destroy the linked database totally.
2. Fresh Start: Create a fresh database and user using your hosting panel.
3. Manual Config: Download WordPress fresh from WordPress.org. Upload files. Create wp-config.php manually using the example file, filling your new database information accurately.
4. Run Install: Navigate to your domain. The installation should now begin without the white screen on a clean environment.

10. FAQs: Solving the WordPress White Screen

 

  Q1: I activated debug mode, but the screen is still blank. What now?

A1: This suggests the issue is happening before WordPress loads, possibly at the PHP server level. Check your server's PHP error log, which you can obtain via your hosting control panel or by contacting support. This log will record the fatal error not seen in the browser.

Q2: Could a faulty theme or plugin generate a white screen on a new install?
A2: Typically, no, since a new install utilizes preset themes. However, if you are uploading a premium theme's files before executing the famed 5-minute install, a syntax issue in that theme's code might trigger a WSOD. Always install WordPress successfully first using default themes before adding custom files.

Q3: Is the white screen always an issue with my files, or might it be my host?
A3: It is very typically a hosting setup problem (low PHP limitations, outdated PHP version, missing extensions). If you complete all instructions and the issue remains on a clean install, the reason is almost probably your hosting setup. Contact support or try moving to a WordPress-optimized server recognized for correct setting.