WordPress maintenance mode sometimes appears unexpectedly and frequently. Nothing out of the ordinary seems to be happening: the admin panel loads just fine, and logs are empty, yet somehow a website is unavailable.
In many cases, the problem doesn’t originate in WordPress itself; oftentimes, the root cause lies in the hosting solution. Unexpected maintenance mode can appear on a dedicated server or a cheap VPS server Linux, and in most cases this is due to incorrect configurations and limitations of a hosting plan.
In this article, we will look at seven most common hosting mistakes that trigger WP maintenance mode, and some practical ways to avoid them.
1. Limited Server Resources
WordPress updates are usually quick but demanding: they expect the CPU, memory, and storage to be available at the same time, even for a short period of time. On hosting plans with limited resources, which cannot offer simultaneous resource availability, the updates often fail.
Limited server resources can trigger maintenance mode on WordPress websites. If during file, plugin or theme update WordPress doesn’t get enough CPU power, memory or storage capacity, the process will be interrupted. If the process is disrupted due to CPU throttling, memory restrictions, or execution timeouts, WP cannot make changes to the .maintenance file, which then results in a maintenance mode.
How to Avoid
- Choose a hosting plan with sufficient resources or the ability to scale later.
- Monitor resources usage during updates.
- Perform when there’s less traffic.
2. Not Enough Disk Space
WordPress needs some space to download, extract and replace files, often briefly duplicating data. If there’s “not enough” or “just enough” disk space on a server, the update may be able to start but it will fail eventually. And when it does, the system goes into maintenance mode.
How to Avoid
- Regularly ensure to have a decent amount of disk space.
- Remove unnecessary, old logs and backups.
- Plan for extra storage amount for updates.
3. Issues With File Permissions
File permissions are one of the most frustrating triggers for the maintenance mode because they don’t often display problematic behaviour. In some cases, WP is able to overwrite only a part of the update due to permission specifics, not all of it. The partial update is then enough to enter the maintenance mode, but not enough to exit it.
This often occurs when file ownership was manually changed, or deployment tools don’t align with FTP (File Transfer Protocol). The update failure here won’t be consistent, so the system perceives it as a WordPress bug, and goes into maintenance mode.
How to Avoid
- Check if the ownership was manually modified.
- Check the compatibility between the deployment tools and FTP.
4. Execution Limits
When an update is taking more time than the amount set by the execution limit, the process is terminated with no warning. WP thinks that the update is still in progress, while it’s not anymore. All of it causes maintenance mode and the downtime of the website.
Execution limits can trigger the maintenance mode when multiple updates are running at the same time or during periods of higher load.
How to Avoid
- Don’t run multiple updates.
- Don’t update the system during heavy-load periods.
- Ensure there’s no strict PHP execution limit.
5. Network Issues
When downloads and updates are interrupted due to fluctuations in connectivity, the system gets triggered.
Now, the speed of the network is not the issue here; it’s the reliability. Even brief disruptions in connection can interfere with update processes. Therefore, if you’re using an unstable network, the maintenance mode is likely to occur.
How to Avoid
- Make sure that you’re using both stable hosting and reliable network (overall and during updates).
- Don’t proceed with updates if the network is unstable.
6. Sudden Changes to PHP Environment
Changes to the PHP environment can introduce incompatibility. Switching PHP versions, missing extensions, or configuration mismatches can cause updates to fail. And when this happens, WordPress doesn’t always signal a clear error; instead, it can go into the maintenance mode.
How to Avoid
- Make sure to use PHP versions that have officially confirmed compatibility with your WordPress setup.
- Check whether the necessary extensions are installed.
- Test new PHP setups or updates before integrating them.
7. Not Using Backups or Staging Environments
The absence of backups and staging environment can directly cause the updates to fail, even after many retries. And not only that: it puts the whole setup at risk. When updates cannot be tested in a safe environment, the production side of the system is the one left to deal with the risk.
How to Avoid
- Make sure to create a backup of your setup before initiating updates.
- Test any changes you attempt to make to your setup in a staging environment first.
- Integrate updates over time, and not all at once.
Additional Mistake: Avoiding Updates
Websites and their features need to be regularly updated. Updates fix bugs, strengthen security, and improve performance.
In WordPress, key extensions, plugins, or themes have to be updated in order for them to work as they’re meant to.
We can see with our top seven mistakes that trigger the maintenance mode in WordPress that the mechanism of error occurrence is based on update disruption. However, this is not the reason to avoid updating the software; on the contrary, updates are essential for proper functioning of WP. So, it is important to make sure that there are no disruptions to the updating process, and maintenance mode is unlikely to occur.
