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Troubleshooting the UpdraftPlus 'Extra Whitespace' Warning

42 threads Oct 1, 2025 Plugin → Updraftplus: wp backup & migration plugin

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If you're using the UpdraftPlus plugin for your WordPress backups, you may have encountered a warning message in your dashboard stating: "Warning: Your WordPress installation has a problem with outputting extra whitespace. This can corrupt backups that you download from here."

This is a common issue reported by users, and while it can be frustrating, it's usually solvable. This guide will explain what causes this warning and walk you through the most effective steps to resolve it.

What Does This Warning Mean?

This warning appears when UpdraftPlus detects that your WordPress site is outputting unwanted blank spaces or characters ("whitespace") before or after the main content of your web pages. This whitespace is problematic because it can become embedded in backup files you download directly from the UpdraftPlus admin interface, potentially corrupting them and making restoration difficult.

It's important to note that this issue does not affect the integrity of the backups stored on your remote storage (like Google Drive or Amazon S3). The primary risk is with downloads initiated from your WordPress dashboard.

Why Does This Happen?

Extra whitespace is almost always caused by an error in a PHP file. A very common source is a file, often your theme's functions.php or a plugin file, that has a blank line—or, more critically, a closing PHP tag (?>)—followed by a line break or space after it. This extra data after the closing tag gets sent to the browser as output.

Based on community reports, this issue has been linked to various sources, including other plugins like WooCommerce, custom code under development, or even the site's wp-config.php file.

How to Find and Fix the Extra Whitespace

Follow these steps to identify and eliminate the source of the extra whitespace.

  1. Deactivate All Other Plugins
    Go to your WordPress admin panel and navigate to Plugins > Installed Plugins. Deactivate every plugin except for UpdraftPlus. After doing this, check if the warning message disappears. If it does, you know the issue is with one of the deactivated plugins.
  2. Reactivate Plugins One by One
    Reactivate your plugins one at a time, checking the UpdraftPlus settings page after activating each one. When the warning reappears, you have found the conflicting plugin. You can then contact that plugin's support team for assistance or look for an update that might resolve the issue.
  3. Switch to a Default Theme
    If deactivating plugins doesn't resolve the issue, the problem might be in your theme. Temporarily switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty-Four. If the warning goes away, the issue lies in your main theme's code.
  4. Check Key Files Manually
    If the above steps don't pinpoint the issue, you may need to inspect key files. Using an FTP client or your hosting provider's file manager, check the following:
    • wp-config.php: This file should end with the line require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-settings.php'; and nothing after it. Ensure there are no blank lines or spaces after this line.
    • Theme's functions.php: Open your active theme's functions.php file. Ensure there is no closing ?> tag at the end of the file. It is a WordPress best practice to omit the closing PHP tag in this file to prevent exactly this issue. If the tag is present, remove it and any blank lines that follow.
  5. Check for Plugin-Specific Code
    If you are a plugin developer experiencing this warning during development, the same principle applies. Scour your plugin's PHP files for trailing whitespace or unnecessary closing ?> tags after the final line of code.

By systematically following this process, you can identify the source of the extra whitespace and eliminate the warning, ensuring your downloadable backups remain clean and functional.

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