Why Your Website Is Not Loading and Stuck on a White Screen: How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: Why Your Website Is Not Loading and Stuck on a White Screen: How to Fix a 500 Internal Server Error. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Encountering a blank white screen or a 500 Internal Server Error when visiting your website can be stressful, especially for small business owners relying on their online presence. A 500 error indicates that something has gone wrong on the web server, but the server cannot specify exactly what the problem is. This guide will help you identify common causes and apply fixes to get your site back online.

Quick Fix Steps

Before diving into technical configurations, try these immediate actions to rule out temporary glitches:

1. Refresh your browser page by pressing Ctrl + F5 on Windows or Cmd + Shift + R on macOS.
2. Clear your browser cache and cookies to ensure you are not viewing a cached error page.
3. Wait a few minutes and try accessing the site again, as the server may be undergoing a temporary restart or update.

Detailed Instructions

Check and Rename the .htaccess File

A corrupted .htaccess file is one of the most common causes of a 500 error. This file controls how your server handles requests, and a single syntax error can crash the site.

1. Log into your hosting control panel (such as cPanel or Plesk).
2. Open the File Manager.
3. Navigate to your website's root directory (usually public_html).
4. Locate the file named .htaccess. If you do not see it, ensure "Show Hidden Files" is enabled in the File Manager settings.
5. Right-click the file and select Rename. Change the name to .htaccess_old.
6. Refresh your website in the browser. If the site loads, the .htaccess file was the cause.
7. Go back to the File Manager and regenerate a new .htaccess file through your CMS settings (e.g., in WordPress, go to Settings > Permalinks and click Save Changes).

Warning: Always download a backup copy of your .htaccess file to your local computer before renaming or deleting it.

Increase the PHP Memory Limit

If your website exceeds the allocated memory limit, the server may return a 500 error. This often happens after installing a new plugin or uploading large media files.

1. Access your site files via File Manager or an FTP client.
2. Locate and open the wp-config.php file (for WordPress) or your site's main configuration file.
3. Add the following line of code before the line that says /* That's all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */:

4. Save the file and refresh your website.

Deactivate Problematic Plugins or Themes

A conflict between a plugin, theme, and your server's PHP version can trigger a white screen.

1. Open the File Manager and navigate to the wp-content folder.
2. Find the plugins folder and rename it to plugins_old.
3. Try loading your website. If it works, a plugin is causing the conflict.
4. Rename the folder back to plugins and rename individual plugin folders one by one to identify the culprit.
5. If the issue persists, repeat this process for the themes folder.

Troubleshooting

Review Server Error Logs

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, the server error logs will provide the specific reason for the failure.

1. Log into your hosting control panel.
2. Look for the Metrics or Errors section.
3. Click on Errors to view the most recent error_log entries.
4. Look for entries marked as Fatal error or Internal Server Error occurring at the time you tried to visit the site.

Note: Error logs often specify the exact file and line number where the crash occurred, which is invaluable information when opening a support ticket with your developer.

Check for Resource Bottlenecks

If your site is hosted on a shared or underpowered plan, resource throttling can cause intermittent 500 errors. Signs of infrastructure limitations include:

• The site loads slowly during peak business hours.
• Errors occur only when performing heavy tasks, such as importing large CSV files or running backups.
• The site is unstable despite no recent changes to plugins or code.

If your organization has outgrown its current hosting environment, you may need to upgrade to a plan with higher CPU and RAM allocations to ensure stability for your domestic traffic.

If you host with us, you don't need to do this yourself — just Open a Ticket and our Brisbane team will get it sorted.

If you have tried these steps and your website is still displaying a white screen or 500 error, please Open a Ticket with our support team for further assistance.

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