Why does WordPress keep crashing? 18 Causes and Fixes.

Why does WordPress keep crashing?

If you are wondering why does WordPress keep crashing or what can be done about it, you’re not alone. It has happened to even the best of us. It is a question that comes with no simple answer.

In this post we are going to go over the 18 most common causes why WordPress sites keep crashing issues and as well as some quick possible fixes to them:

18 Causes and Quick Fixes to WordPress crashing issues:

Your web host is inadequate and/or overloaded.

Fix: Either get a new web hosting plan with better performance or find a new host altogether.

Your web plan may be inadequate with the amount of traffic you’re getting, but the server WordPress resides on may also be overloaded.

This can usually be resolved by getting a new hosting plan with more resources. It may also be possible to upgrade to a better server, either with your current web host or within the same price range as your existing one.

You would then have better performance, but your hosting plan may still be inadequate.

A new web host may offer a better service or a different package, allowing for more websites and often including better performance.

You have an outdated version of PHP on your server.

Fix: Upgrade the server software to the latest version of PHP.

WordPress will not run on versions of PHP lower than 5.2, so it may be necessary to update your server if you are running an older version of PHP.

But some Web Hosts may still be running older versions due to slower updates or a lack of maintenance on their own servers.

If your Web Host doesn’t have the latest version or at least the latest and safest recommended version of PHP, find a new Web Host!

Plugins or themes you installed are incompatible with each other or the latest WordPress release.

Fix: Check for plugins or themes that have been known to interfere with the latest WordPress updates.

There could also be an issue of incompatible plugins or themes, whether it’s because they haven’t updated them in accordance to the latest version of WordPress or you’re running multiple incompatible ones simultaneously.

If there are any issues like this, it’s best to remove them from your site until they have been updated to work properly or figure out a solution.

A new plugin did not work as expected and went haywire.

Fix: Just deactivate the plugin that seems to cause the issue.

Another common reason for a WordPress site crashing is due to some sort of malfunction from a plugin you have installed.

Sometimes these malfunctions occur when you upgrade, so it’s best to either wait patiently or look into a possible solution found on the developer’s website before

One of your plugins had a security vulnerability that was exposed by the recent WordPress update.

Fix: Update all your plugins and make sure they are fully compatible with the latest WP release.

Plugins can be a security risk when it comes to keeping WordPress updated, especially if there is a vulnerability or exploit that has been found within the plugin.

This could then mean that you need to update all of them, which will require a redesign to keep them consistent with the latest version of WordPress.

Your hosting server is overloaded and unable to handle the current traffic.

Fix: Take a look at your resource monitor or contact your web host for assistance.

If it’s a full site outage, check out our guide on how to fix a WordPress site from being down.

Your .htaccess is interfering with your ability to upload and/or activate plugins.

Fix: Make sure your web host isn’t blocking access or that there aren’t any conflicting rules. Then make sure you have permission to edit the file in question.

WordPress uses a special PHP script called .htaccess for rewriting URLs and redirecting, caching, and a number of other functions.

If this file is not configured properly or gets corrupted in some way, it could be causing errors when trying to upload or activate certain plugins.

In that case it may need to be reset with FTP software, which is best done with the help of your web host.

Your host’s server is having problems.

Fix: Contact your web host for more information about the issue.

This can be a very frustrating thing when it comes to website management, especially if you have no idea what’s going on or why something isn’t working properly.

It may not all be WordPress related, but if it’s a problem with your hosting server, then it needs to be taken care of ASAP because downtime equals lost money.

Your backup plugin failed and you didn’t have a good fallback option.

Fix: Always try to add another fail-safe such as uploadable backups or something similar.

Sometimes this is just bad luck and the timing couldn’t be worse when it comes to trying out a new plugin or adding an additional layer of back up security.

If you do happen to find yourself in this predicament, then look at your last backup and try to recover the files manually. That way if something happens again you already have a good fallback system in place.

The hard drive storing media including images has reached its capacity limit for storage space.

Fix: Free up space by deleting unwanted media, uploading it to the cloud, or moving files to an external hard drive.

Media is one of the most common reasons why WP sites crash because over time they slowly creep in size and can eventually reach its limits.

If this happens you could either delete old image attachments (the fastest solution) or you can try to reduce the file size by converting them into PNG, JPG, GIF, etc. formats that are better for web usage.

If it’s an external hard drive that needs freeing up then you might need to delete files manually within the WP Dashboard.

Your website’s load time is too high (usually caused by hosting issues).

Fix: Add a caching plugin, reduce your media load size, or increase your server speed.

Slow load times can really have a negative impact on how fast a site ranks with search engines so it’s important to keep this in mind when trying to fix the issue.

This is usually due to hosting issues, which then need to be rectified.  However, you can also try adding a caching plugin to speed things up temporarily, which might help you to get the issue resolved quicker.

Your images are way too large and your bandwidth is too high for hosting limits.

Fix: Reduce the size of your images by using an image compression plugin or reducing their dimensions.

Either you’ve been uploading high resolution images to your site or they have been stolen and are way too large.

In the latter case it’s usually best to contact the original author of the image because if a lot of people start using it, then chances are they aren’t going to be happy about it.

If you did upload it then you can either use an image compression plugin or reduce the resolution using Photoshop (or other image editing software).

Your website is getting hacked.

Fiix: Change your passwords, update your plugins, and monitor traffic for unusual activity.

This is one of the worst problems that can happen to your site because once it’s compromised you’ll have to do a lot of damage control in order to get it back up and running.

This can sometimes be caused by faulty plugins too, which then need to be updated or removed.

The first thing you should do is change all your passwords after backing them up to another location. You should also monitor traffic for unusual activity (bots, etc.) and only give access to the site administrator.

There is a conflict with other plugins and your website won’t load properly.

Fix: Try deactivating other plugins one by one until you find the culprit or try resetting all settings.

Sometimes when you activate a plugin it can clash with other active ones, which then causes your site not to work properly.  The solution here is either to deactivate other plugins, one by one, until you find the offending plugin or you can try resetting all of WordPress’ settings.

There is an error with your database and it isn’t letting you log in.

Fix: Try repairing and/or rebuilding the databases using phpMyAdmin.

If you’re getting an error that says “error establishing a database connection” then the first thing to do is to try repairing and/or rebuilding your databases through phpMyAdmin (if you have access).

Your site’s load speed is slow because it takes a long time for your web host to deliver the PHP/MySQL pages that make up your website.

Fix: Try increasing your web server‘s PHP timeout limit.

Slow load times are the result of taking too long to deliver PHP or MySQL pages, which can have several causes, one being that your host has set the time limit too low.  You can try adjusting it through cPanel but this will vary depending on who you’re with.

Your files aren’t running properly because the .htaccess file is broken or has been deleted.

Fix: Try uploading a fresh copy of your .htaccess file and try setting it up again.

If you find that none of your links are working and you keep getting directory indexing errors then this could also be due to a faulty .htaccess file.

The solution here is again, to try uploading a fresh copy of it and reloading your pages, which should then resolve the issue.

You are unable to login to your site from a different IP address.

Fix: This may be because the IP address you are currently trying to login from may be on your site”s “blacklisted or banned” IP address list.

First, try accessing your site through a VPN.

Then, try removing that blacklisted or banned IP address that is preventing you from being able to login. You can usually do this from your blacklist/ban list through cPanel.

Why does WordPress keep crashing, conclusions.

The “why” does WordPress keep crashing question comes with no simple answer, but if you follow the fixes of the above issues in this post, you will have a better chance at experiencing success when it comes to troubleshooting why your WordPress site keeps crashing and what you can do to fix them.