After update to WP 5.3 I get a blank white screen when editing a post/page

  • I upgraded a website that I am developing to WP 5.3. Everything had been working fine before this. Following the update, when I go to edit or add a page or post I get a blank white screen, enabled debug in WP config and there were no errors shown. Also no errors in server logs. I tried these steps:

    1. disable all plugins
    2. switch theme to Twentytwenty
    3. try different browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) & clear browser cache
    4. Reinstall WP 5.3

    Still I was getting blank white screen on edit post/page. Then I installed Classic editor and when I edited a post it worked! I disabled Classic editor and it was back to blank screen on edit. I then installed the Gutenberg plugin (7.0.0) and it worked! If I disable Gutenberg plugin it’s back to blank screen. But I shouldn’t have to install Gutenberg plugin for it work. Any ideas what the problem is here?

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
  • Moderator t-p

    (@t-p)

    – A blank white page means that PHP is crashing. This problem can be caused by a variety of issues, including:
    (1) Bad theme
    (2) Bad plugin
    (3) Bad install/upgrade
    (4) you exhausted the memory limit
    (5) It could also mean that there is an issue with your web hosting server.
    – 1 and 2 are more common (typically due to a function conflict introduced by a plugin or theme).
    – Since the problem can be caused by any number of things, check the error logs on your server for a more specific error message. If you need help locating them, ask your hosting provider to help you with that.
    – If you cannot find error logs or if you don’t find any helpful info in them, try Enabling debugging
    – Also, try reviewing this useful article: https://www.ads-software.com/support/article/common-wordpress-errors/#the-white-screen-of-death.

    To catch the error your server needs to enable errors, consult your manual this is an example when php was installed via apache module, now it is set via php.ini and obviously the syntax changes a bit but those are the variables necessary.

    # enable PHP error logging
php_flag  log_errors on
php_value error_log  /home/path/public_html/domain/PHP_errors.log
    # supress php errors
php_flag display_startup_errors off
php_flag display_errors off
php_flag html_errors off

    https://perishablepress.com/how-to-enable-php-error-logging-via-htaccess/

    In your wp-config.php write this syntax.

    define('WP_DEBUG',true);
define('WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY',false);
define('WP_DEBUG_LOG',true);
// If error is true, it create wp-content/debug.log file

    Debug JavaScript , CSS and other https://developers.google.com/web/tools/chrome-devtools.

    Thread Starter acurran

    (@acurran)

    @t-p, @autotutorial,
    It seems both of you replied without reading my post because your suggestions are basically repeating all of the things that I’ve already tried.

    @acurran https://make.www.ads-software.com/core/2019/10/17/wordpress-5-3-field-guide/
    WordPress 5.3 use Gutenberng 6.5 build
    Download subversion from 6.6 https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/gutenberg/advanced/ or later, see with which version the problem is solved and open a bug on core.track.www.ads-software.com

    I considered the white screen a server configuration error.

    Thread Starter acurran

    (@acurran)

    @autotutorial
    I downloaded and installed Gutenberg 6.5 and it works. Also Gutenberg 6.6 works. So it looks like perhaps the built in Gutenberg is contaminated in my install? Yet, as I mentioned previously, I did a WordPress reinstall (using the ‘Re-install now’ button on Updates admin page) but it did not solve the issue. It’s not a biggie since I have it working by adding Gutenberg as a plugin, but just a weird one.

    @acurran It has two options, backup your files and database and manually update your files without deleting the wp-content and wp-config.php Upgrading-extended or test Gutenberg 5.3 (WordPress 5.2).
    Does it work for you?

Viewing 6 replies - 1 through 6 (of 6 total)
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