White Screen of Death Recovery

Overview

The "White Screen of Death" (WSOD) is a blank white page with no error messages, usually caused by PHP fatal errors. This guide helps recover when Attributes User Access or another plugin causes WSOD.

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Understanding WSOD

What Causes It

Common causes:

✗ PHP memory limit exhausted
✗ PHP fatal error in plugin
✗ Plugin conflict
✗ Theme incompatibility
✗ Corrupt plugin files
✗ PHP version incompatibility
✗ .htaccess issues

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Why White Screen?

No error displayed because:

- PHP error reporting disabled
- Fatal error occurs before WordPress loads error handler
- Display errors set to off (production default)

Solution: Enable error display temporarily

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Immediate Recovery Steps

Method 1: Deactivate Plugin via FTP

Fastest method - No admin access needed:

Step 1: Connect via FTP

Use FileZilla, WinSCP, or cPanel File Manager

Step 2: Navigate to plugins folder

/wp-content/plugins/

Step 3: Rename plugin folder

From: attributes-user-access-pro
To:   attributes-user-access-pro-disabled

WordPress will automatically deactivate the plugin

Step 4: Test site

Visit your site
Should load normally now

Step 5: Investigate and fix

Check error logs
Fix the issue
Rename folder back
Reactivate plugin

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Method 2: Deactivate via Database

Via phpMyAdmin or MySQL command line:

Step 1: Access database

cPanel → phpMyAdmin
Or: SSH + mysql -u username -p

Step 2: Run query

-- Find active plugins
SELECT option_value
FROM wp_options
WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins';

-- Result looks like:
-- a:2:{i:0;s:43:"attributes-user-access-pro/main.php";i:1;s:19:"other-plugin/main.php";}

Step 3: Deactivate all plugins

UPDATE wp_options
SET option_value = 'a:0:{}'
WHERE option_name = 'active_plugins';

Step 4: Test site

Visit your site
Should work now with all plugins deactivated

Step 5: Reactivate one by one

Go to wp-admin/plugins.php
Activate plugins one at a time
Find which causes WSOD

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Method 3: Enable Error Display

See the actual error message:

Edit wp-config.php via FTP:

// Add these lines at the TOP (before anything else)
ini_set('display_errors', 1);
ini_set('display_startup_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);

// Or WordPress debug constants
define('WP_DEBUG', true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true);
@ini_set('display_errors', 1);

Refresh site - You'll see error message now

Common error messages:

Memory exhausted:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 67108864 bytes exhausted
(tried to allocate 2097152 bytes)

Solution: Increase memory limit

Undefined function:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function attrua_pro_init()

Solution: Plugin file missing or corrupt. Reinstall.

Parse error:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected 'string' (T_STRING)
in /wp-content/plugins/attributes-user-access-pro/file.php on line 42

Solution: File corrupted during upload. Re-upload.

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Specific Recovery Scenarios

Scenario 1: Memory Limit Exceeded

Error in debug.log:

PHP Fatal error: Allowed memory size exhausted

Solution: Increase memory limit

Option 1: wp-config.php

// Add before "That's all, stop editing!"
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');

Option 2: .htaccess

php_value memory_limit 256M

Option 3: php.ini

memory_limit = 256M

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Scenario 2: PHP Version Incompatibility

Error:

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '?'

This indicates:

Plugin requires PHP 7.4+
Server running older version (5.6, 7.0, etc.)

Solution:

1. Deactivate plugin via FTP (Method 1)
2. Contact hosting to upgrade PHP
3. Recommended: PHP 8.0+
4. Minimum: PHP 7.4
5. Reactivate after PHP upgrade

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Scenario 3: Plugin Conflict

Multiple plugins causing conflict:

Identify culprit:

1. Deactivate ALL plugins (Method 2: Database)
2. Site works? Conflict confirmed
3. Reactivate plugins one by one
4. When WSOD returns, you found the culprit
5. Keep that plugin deactivated
6. Contact both plugin authors about conflict

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Scenario 4: Corrupt Files

Error:

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare function
OR
Include failed: File not found

Solution:

1. Deactivate via FTP (rename folder)
2. Delete plugin folder entirely
3. Download fresh copy from your account
4. Upload new copy via FTP
5. Activate

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Scenario 5: Theme Conflict

Site works in wp-admin but white screen on frontend:

Switch to default theme:

Via database:

-- Switch to Twenty Twenty-Four theme
UPDATE wp_options
SET option_value = 'twentytwentyfour'
WHERE option_name = 'template';

UPDATE wp_options
SET option_value = 'twentytwentyfour'
WHERE option_name = 'stylesheet';

Test frontend. If works:

Theme compatibility issue
Contact theme developer
Use different theme
Or keep default theme

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Preventing WSOD

Before Activation

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During Troubleshooting

Best practices:

✓ Always test on staging first
✓ Activate new plugins one at a time
✓ Test after each activation
✓ Keep debug.log enabled temporarily
✓ Monitor error logs
✓ Have recovery plan ready

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Advanced Recovery

WP-CLI Method

If you have SSH access:

# Deactivate all plugins
wp plugin deactivate --all

# Or specific plugin
wp plugin deactivate attributes-user-access-pro

# List all plugins and status
wp plugin list

# Reactivate after fixing
wp plugin activate attributes-user-access-pro

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Restore from Backup

If nothing else works:

1. Access hosting control panel
2. Restore from most recent backup
3. Site works now, but you lost recent changes
4. Identify what caused WSOD
5. Fix issue before trying again

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Emergency Mode

Create emergency access file:

File: wp-content/mu-plugins/emergency.php

<?php
/**
 * Emergency: Deactivate all plugins
 * Delete this file when done!
 */

// Deactivate all plugins
update_option('active_plugins', array());

// Show message
add_action('admin_notices', function() {
    echo '<div className="notice notice-warning">';
    echo '<p><strong>EMERGENCY MODE:</strong> All plugins deactivated.</p>';
    echo '<p>Delete /wp-content/mu-plugins/emergency.php to restore normal operation.</p>';
    echo '</div>';
});

Upload via FTP to /wp-content/mu-plugins/ This auto-deactivates all plugins Delete file after recovery

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Getting Help

Information to Collect

Before contacting support:

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Best Practices

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articleRelated articles

• Debug Mode Instructions
• Emergency Admin Access
• Common Installation Issues
• Plugin Conflict Resolution