A 503 Service Unavailable error typically occurs when PHP processes crash while executing a script, resulting in Apache not receiving a valid response from PHP. Here’s how to identify and resolve the issue:
Cause:
This issue is often caused by buggy PHP code, outdated or incompatible WordPress plugins, or scripts that take too long to execute.
Solution:
- Install LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache) plugin to get the full advantage of our LiteSpeed Enterprise web server - https://wordpress.org/plugins/litespeed-cache/ and follow the other recommendations - How to get the full advantage of Managed WordPress Hosting offered by Provider.lk?
- If you do not have access to the Admin area, please use the the management options provided in your control panel - Expand "yourwebsite.com" > WordPress > Plugins> Click the "Install" button > Search for "LiteSpeed Cache" > Click the install button appears next to "LiteSpeed Cache".
- Check the error log for your website from Plesk panel and also PHP error logs produced by your WordPress site. If you're unable to gather enough details from the logs, consult your developer for assistance
- Ensure your script is compatible with the latest PHP version
- Try disabling all plugins and re-enabling them one by one to isolate the problematic plugin - this can be done from your control panel without having access to your WordPress Admin area
- Install a plugin to block intrusive bots and crawlers that could negatively impact your website's performance (https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-simple-firewall/)
- Consider moving resource-intensive sites to their own hosting package. CPU and memory limits are applied per account, so hosting multiple resource-heavy sites on the same account can easily cause performance issues or downtime for all the sites. To prevent this, you can distribute the load by moving some sites to a separate hosting package
Next Steps:
If the steps above don’t resolve the issue, you can purchase an upgrade for the default resources limits - Click here see available upgrade options for CPU/memory resources.
Alternatively, you can reach out to our technical support team with detailed information, including the error logs and any troubleshooting steps you’ve already taken so that we can propose a solution for you.
Tip: Keeping your plugins, themes, and PHP version updated can help prevent such issues in the future.
