How do I fix the PHP White Screen of Death (Blank Page Error) in cPanel & hPanel?

This is a very common issue when you upload your website to a live server (cPanel or hPanel hosting). I faced the same experience when I was a beginner in coding and programming. I also faced this issue when I uploaded one of my PHP website projects from localhost XAMPP to cPanel hosting (or HPanel hosting). The project was working perfectly on XAMPP and WAMP, but after uploading it to the live server, the browser only showed a completely blank white page. There was no error message, no warning, and no output. It was showing a super clean blank page without any symbol, error or comma.

At first, I thought my website had crashed, but after debugging it, I found that the website wasn't actually broken because it was working on the local server without any issues. The real problem was that the live server was hiding all PHP errors. This is called the PHP White Screen of Death (WSOD) or the Blank Page Error.

After facing this problem on several projects, these are the methods that helped me find and fix the issue. Many beginners and developers face the same issue during the project deployment process. Let’s discuss how you can fix this PHP White Screen of Death (WSOD) or the Blank Page Error.  

Method 1: Enable Display Errors from cPanel or hPanel (Simple Method)

If your hosting provides cPanel, you can enable PHP error messages without writing any code.

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Search for Select PHP Version.
3. Open the Options tab.
4. Find display_errors.
5. Change it from Off to On.

Now refresh your website.

If you are using Hottinger hpanel, you can enable the PHP display error feature by following these steps:-

1. Go to your website hpanel
2. From the left sidebar, select (Scroll down  or search PHP) Advanced -> PHP Configuration
3. Click on PHP Configuration
4. Now, you will see three options: PHP version extensions, PHP options.
5. Click on PHP options and check Display Errors.
6. Now check for the errorReporting option by scrolling down in the same PHP options.
7. Select E_ALL and save.

Now, instead of a blank white page, you'll see the actual PHP error along with the file name and line number where the problem exists. Once you fix that error, your website should start working again.

Method 2: Use MultiPHP INI Editor

Some hosting providers don't have the Select PHP Version option. Instead, they provide MultiPHP INI Editor.

1. Open MultiPHP INI Editor in cPanel.
2. Select your domain.
3. Enable display_errors.

If your website is processing large files, increase the memory_limit from 128M to 256M or 512M.

Save the changes.

After refreshing the website, you'll usually see the actual PHP error instead of the blank page.

Method 3: Check the error_log File

If you don't want to enable error display on your live website, you can check the PHP error log.

Open File Manager in cPanel.

1. Go to the public_html folder.
2. Look for the error_log file.

If you don't see it, enable Show Hidden Files from the File Manager settings.

Open the file and scroll to the bottom.

In most cases, you'll find the latest PHP error with the file name and line number.

For example:

PHP Fatal error: Call to undefined function...

in /public_html/index.php on line 45

This tells you exactly where the problem is.

Method 4: Enable PHP Errors Using Code

If you don't have access to cPanel and you're uploading files using FTP or FileZilla, you can enable error reporting directly in PHP.

Open your index.php or config.php file and add the following code immediately after the <?php tag:

ini_set('display_errors', 1);

ini_set('display_startup_errors', 1);

error_reporting(E_ALL);

Save the file and refresh your website.

The hidden PHP error will now appear on the screen instead of the blank white page.

Bonus Tip for WordPress Users

If you're using WordPress and suddenly get a White Screen of Death, the problem is often caused by a plugin.

Go to:

1. public_html → wp-content
2. Rename the plugins folder to plugins_old.
3. Now refresh your website.

If the website starts working, one of your plugins is causing the issue.

Rename the folder back to plugins, then activate each plugin one by one from the WordPress dashboard until you find the faulty plugin.

Method 5 – Check PHP version in localhost and live server hosting (cPanel & hPanel) –

This is a very common method by which we check that the PHP version on localhost should be the same as the PHP version on the cPanel or hPanel of the live hosting. Suppose the PHP version on your local server is 7.1, but the PHP version on the cPanel or Hpanel of the live server is 8.2, then you will also see a blank page.

To solve this, we will have to set the same PHP version.

In cPanel hosting –

Log in to your cPanel.

• Search for PHP Version.
• Check for the same version that you’ve used on localhost.

For example –

• Localhost PHP version = 7.4
• Live cPanel hosting PHP version = 8.2
• Change cPanel hosting PHP Version to 7.4 version

Execute your website.

In hPanel Hosting –

1.  Go to your hPanel hosting dashboard
2. From the left sidebar, select (Scroll down or search PHP advanced.
3. Click on PHP Configuration

Now, you will see three options: PHP version, extensions, PHP options.

Click on PHP version and check the PHP version. If the PHP version is different from the localhost server PHP version, then change it to the same localhost server PHP version 7.4.

If you don’t find any select PHP version option in your hosting, then check for Use MultiPHP INI Editor and select the PHP version to change.

From my experience, the White Screen of Death is usually caused by hidden PHP errors, syntax errors, fatal errors, incorrect file paths, missing files, plugin conflicts, a different PHP version on the localhost and live server, or insufficient PHP memory.

The first thing I always do is enable display_errors or check the error_log file. Once the actual error becomes visible, fixing the problem becomes much easier.

One important thing to remember is that after fixing your website, you should disable display_errors again. Showing PHP errors on a live website is not recommended because it can expose sensitive information about your application.