If you’re a WordPress user, you might have encountered the frustrating “out of memory” error at some point. This error can be a real headache, especially if you’re in the middle of creating or updating your website. Fortunately, you can increase your WordPress memory limit to avoid this issue. In this article, we’ll guide you through the process step by step.
Why Do You Need to Increase the Memory Limit?
WordPress is a powerful content management system, but it requires a certain amount of memory to function correctly. When your website exceeds the allocated memory, you’ll start encountering issues like slow loading times, error messages, or even site crashes. Increasing the memory limit allows your site to handle more complex tasks and plugins without hiccups.
How to Increase WordPress Memory Limit?
Follow the below steps to increase the memory limit on your WordPress site:
Step 1: Check Your Current Memory Limit
Before you start increasing the memory limit, it’s essential to know what you’re working with. To check your current memory limit:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Navigate to the “Tools” tab and click on “Site Health.”
- In the Site Health section, click on the “Info” tab.
- Look for “PHP max memory limit.” This value represents your current memory limit.
Step 2: Backup Your Website
Before making any significant changes to your WordPress site, it’s wise to create a backup. This ensures that if anything goes wrong during the process, you can easily restore your site to its previous state. You can use a plugin like UpdraftPlus or simply export your content to a file.
Step 3: Edit Your wp-config.php File
To increase your memory limit, you’ll need to edit your WordPress configuration file (wp-config.php). Here’s how:
- Access your website’s files through FTP or your hosting control panel.
- Locate the wp-config.php file, usually found in the root directory.
- Download a copy of the file to your computer for backup.
- Open the wp-config.php file with a text editor (like Notepad).
- Add the following line of code just before the line that says, “That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging.”
define(‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’);
Replace ‘256M’ with the amount of memory you want to allocate. Most hosting providers recommend a limit of 256MB or higher.
- Save the file and upload it back to your server, replacing the original file.
Step 4: Verify the Memory Limit Increase
To confirm that the memory limit has been increased successfully, go back to your WordPress dashboard:
- Navigate to the “Tools” tab and click on “Site Health.”
- In the Site Health section, click on the “Info” tab.
- Look for “PHP max memory limit” again. It should now reflect the new value you entered in your wp-config.php file.
Step 5: Test Your Website
After increasing the memory limit, thoroughly test your website to ensure everything is functioning correctly. Check various pages, plugins, and features to make sure there are no issues.
Conclusion
Increasing the memory limit in WordPress is a straightforward process that can significantly improve your website’s performance and prevent frustrating errors. By following these steps and allocating an adequate amount of memory, you can ensure your WordPress site runs smoothly even as it grows and evolves.