Troubleshooting

Listed below are some of the common issues encountered after installing a new theme or plugin for WordPress.

Stylesheet is Missing (.CSS) Error on my WordPress Theme Installation

This is a WordPress error message that is misleading and it actually means that either the wrong file is being uploaded or the theme files are packaged differently than expected, as some authors may have zipped it for you, others do not.

You may need to compress the theme files. This file is often called the name of the theme within the zip you have downloaded. This file will contain the header.php, .css (stylesheet). Right click this file and choose to compress, then upload only that file.

White screen after theme installation

There are many things that can generate the WordPress white screen error if a couple things are not addressed before installing a new theme or plugin.

Step 1: PHP Version

Make sure your PHP version is correct for your theme or plugin.

Step 2: Turn Off Your Plugins

There are a couple ways to do this.

  • Method 1:
    • Log in to your WordPress admin page.
    • Deactivate your plugins one at a time until the white screen is gone and your site is up.
  • Method 2:
    • Log into your hosting provider's panel.
    • Via the file manager, go to the wp-content folder.
    • Rename the plugins folder by adding .off to the end of the folder name so that WordPress does not recognize the folder.
    • Go back to your site and refresh the page. If your site is loading now then you will know that there was a conflict with one of the plugins. Enable one plugin at a time to see when you encounter the error again.