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My site is displaying a blank white page or HTTP Error 500! Print

  • There has been a critical error on this website., WordPress, 500, Internal Server Error
  • 17

Generally a blank white page when you expect content is a PHP error.  As we offer production servers and not development servers we have "display_errors" off by default which is why you would get a blank white page instead of an error message.

If you're running WordPress.

For WordPress the first suggestion is to edit your "wp-config.php" file and change the setting for "wp_debug" from "false" to "true".  Additionally we suggest adding a line to turn on "wp_debug_display" as well. More details can be found in the WordPress Codex on Debugging.

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


You can now also enable debugging mode via Softaculous. From cPanel, scroll all the way to the bottom and select "Softaculous Apps Installer", or use the search bar at the top. Once inside Softaculous, select the "Wordpress Manager" option from the top right. From there, select the down arrow to the right of the domain you are working on, then "Enable" under "Debug Mode". It is recommended you disable this option when you are done working on your site. 


For everything else - and when "wp_debug" doesn't work in WordPress:

You can turn on "display_errors" by adding the following line to a file called ".htaccess" in the same folder as the script having issues:

php_value display_errors on


If the file ".htaccess" does not exist, you are welcome to create one for this purpose.  If you're using the cPanel File Manager you may need to go into the settings and enable displaying hidden files.

For further details on changing PHP Environment Variables please see this knowledebase article:
http://www.mddhosting.com/support/knowledgebase/88/PHP-Environment-Variables.html


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