“503 Service Unavailable”
Your server couldn't answer, or WP is stuck in maintenance. Get it back by hand first. Then add the free plugin: next time, its chat looks for the cause.
Is your site down right now?
- Wait a few minutes and reload. A 503 from a busy server or a running update often clears by itself.
- Still down? Open your host's file manager or SFTP. In the folder with wp-config.php, delete the file named .maintenance if it's there.
- Still down? In wp-content, rename the plugins folder to plugins-off. If your site now loads, a plugin is the cause.
- Open your host's control panel. Look for a status notice, or a usage chart that hit its limit when the 503 began.
- Still down? Ask your host to check the server and its error log. Tell them when the 503 began and what you changed last.
CMSHands can't be installed into a site that won't load. These steps come first.
A person approves every repair. Install it before anything breaks.
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1 and PHP 8.0 or newer. What it installs
Needs WP 6.3 to 7.1, PHP 8.0 or newer, and an administrator login. One site per install.
The download is a plugin. Turning it on connects your site to cmshands.com and adds 3 small rescue files. Deleting the plugin removes them and everything it stored. What we send
Plugins are installed from a computer. Get the plugin here instead
- No account, no password to share
What it means
“503 Service Unavailable” means your web server got the request but can't answer it right now, so it sends this short page instead of yours.
- An update stopped halfway and left a file called .maintenance in your site's main folder. WP shows a 503 while it's there.
- More visitors or bots at once than your hosting plan can serve.
- A plugin or theme with slow code, so each page takes so long that the server runs out of room for new visits.
- Your hosting account hit its limit for memory or processing, and your host held back new visits.
- Your host is working on the server, or the server itself is down.
- A firewall or CDN in front of your site can't reach your server, so it shows its own 503 page.
What you see
Most often a plain page that says “503 Service Unavailable” or “Service Temporarily Unavailable”. Some servers add “The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems.”
WP has its own 503 page too. It says “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance. Check back in a minute.” WP shows it while an update runs.
A 503 often hits every page, your dashboard too (the screens you log in to at yoursite.com/wp-admin). Your posts and pages are still in your database. The server can't send them right now.
How to find the cause
Read the words on the screen
The page itself is the first clue. “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” comes from WP. An update started and didn't finish.
A bare “Service Unavailable” page comes from your server or your host. It usually means the server ran out of room for new visits, or someone is working on it.
A page with another company's name and logo comes from a service in front of your site. That's a firewall or a CDN (a network that keeps copies of your pages close to visitors). It couldn't reach your server.
Check if it's your host
Look for a status page or a notice in your host's control panel. If they report a problem, it's on their side, and waiting is the fix.
Do you have more than one site with the same host? If they all show a 503, the server is the cause, not WP.
Look at your hosting usage
Most control panels show how much memory and processing your site used. Some call the limit “entry processes” or “PHP workers”. PHP is the language WP runs on, and those workers build each page.
If a chart hit its top line when the 503 began, the server ran out of room. Too many visitors, bots or a slow plugin can do that.
Your host's access log lists each visit. Many visits from one address, or to wp-login.php again and again, point to bots.
Test your plugins and theme
In your host's file manager, open wp-content and rename the plugins folder to plugins-off. WP can't find your plugins, so none of them run.
If the site now loads, a plugin is the cause. Open Plugins › Installed Plugins once, so WP marks them all as off. Then rename the folder back to plugins.
Switch them on one at a time, and reload your site after each, until the 503 comes back. The last one you switched on is the cause.
To test your theme, rename its folder in wp-content/themes. Then log in and open Appearance › Themes. WP switches to its default theme, if that's installed.
How to fix each cause by hand
A stuck maintenance file
Open your host's file manager, or connect with SFTP (a way to reach your site's files with a login from your host). Go to your site's main folder, the one with wp-config.php in it.
Delete the file called .maintenance. Many file managers hide names that start with a dot, so turn on the setting that shows hidden files first.
Reload your site. Then open Dashboard › Updates and run the update that stopped again, so nothing is left half done.
WP normally stops showing its maintenance page 10 minutes after an update began. If yours is still there after that, delete the file by hand.
Too many visitors or bots
Ask your host if your site hit its plan's limits, and when. They can tell you which pages took the load.
A page cache keeps a ready-made copy of each page, so the server builds it less often. Many hosts include one; ask them to switch it on.
If bots keep hitting wp-login.php or xmlrpc.php, your host can block them. If real visitors outgrew your plan, a bigger plan is the fix.
A slow plugin or theme
Once the plugin test finds the cause, leave that plugin off. Check its page in the WP plugin directory for a newer version or a known problem.
If an update made it slow, go back to the version that worked. Or ask its makers, and tell them the date the 503s began.
A problem at your host
If your host reports an outage, it's theirs to fix. Nothing you change in WP will bring the server back.
Ask them to read the server's error log for the time it began. Give them the exact time and what you changed last.
A firewall or CDN
Check that service's own status page first. Then pause it in its dashboard, if it lets you, and load your site again.
If your site loads without it, the problem is between that service and your host. Tell both support teams the time it began.
How to stop it coming back
Update one plugin at a time, and stay on the page until WP says it's done. An update that stops halfway can leave the .maintenance file behind.
Look at your hosting usage once a month. If it's often near the top, move to a bigger plan before a busy day.
Remove plugins you don't use. Every plugin that's on runs on every page, so fewer plugins leave the server more room.
Next time
- On a site we run for tests, it traced a 503 to a stuck .maintenance file. A person at CMSHands approved deleting it. Hosts differ.
- It checks your site once a day on the free plan. A 503 on your home page counts as down.
- We prepare the fix, and a person at CMSHands approves it before it runs. Only on sites that had CMSHands first.
More it does here (2)
- The chat tells you in plain English what broke and what it did. So does an email, once you add your address.
- After that repair, it checked the home page, login page, dashboard and a post. All of them loaded.
Why it won't wreck your site
- A person checks every repair. When your site is down you can't reach the chat, so a person at CMSHands approves the fix before it runs.
- It checks your pages after the fix. It loads your home page, login, dashboard and a post again before it calls the repair done.
What it won't do here
- It can't be installed into a site that is already down.A plugin needs a working dashboard to install. Get your site back with the steps above first, then add it before anything else breaks.
- It can't fix your host's serverA server that's down or out of room, your hosting plan and your PHP version belong to your host. Ask them about those.
- A person approves every repairNothing in a repair runs until a person at CMSHands has checked it. It doesn't fix things alone overnight.
- It may miss a 503 that comes and goesThe free plan checks once a day. A 503 that clears between two checks may not be seen.
Questions
What causes a 503 error in WordPress?
Usually a server that can't keep up, or WP stuck in maintenance. Too many visitors or bots, a slow plugin, or a hosting plan at its limits can fill the server. A leftover .maintenance file from an update that stopped halfway makes WP show a 503 too. So can work at your host, or a firewall that can't reach your server.
How long does a 503 error last?
Often only a few minutes. WP's own maintenance page should go 10 minutes after an update began, and a busy server recovers when visits drop. If your site still shows a 503 after that, look for the cause: the .maintenance file first, then your hosting usage, then your plugins.
Is a 503 error my host's fault?
Sometimes. If the server is down, overloaded by other sites or being worked on, it's your host's to fix. But a slow plugin, a stuck update or a busy day on your own site can cause it too. Your host's usage charts and error log show which it is, so ask them for both.
Can CMSHands fix a 503 on my site right now?
Not if your site is already down without it. A plugin can't be installed into a site that won't load, so get it back with the steps above first. With CMSHands on your site, the check, once a day on the free plan, sees the next 503. A person at CMSHands approves any fix. Tried on our test sites; hosts differ.
Written by CMSHands team.
Be ready for the next one
- A person approves every repair
- No account, no password to share