Fix: WordPress Memory Exhausted Error – Increase PHP Memory

One of the more common errors we’ve seen WordPress users run into, especially on shared hosting, is the memory exhausted error.

Sometimes it shows up with a technical message like “Allowed memory size exhausted.” Other times, WordPress just displays the generic “There has been a critical error on this website” screen.

This usually means your site needs more PHP memory than the server is currently allowed to use. It can happen when you install resource-heavy plugins, upload large media files, or outgrow your hosting plan.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to safely increase your PHP memory limit in WordPress and fix the error. We’ll also share best practices to prevent it from coming back.

What Is the WordPress Memory Exhausted Error?

The memory exhausted error in WordPress usually happens when your website tries to use more PHP memory than your server allows.

This can cause pages to crash, break plugins, or trigger a full-site error. In many cases, you’ll now see a message saying: “There has been a critical error on this website.”

Behind the scenes, the actual error looks something like this:

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 2348617 bytes)

WordPress is built with PHP, which runs on your server and needs memory to function. If your site pushes past the available memory limit, PHP stops working, and you get this error.

From helping many users fix this, we’ve seen it happen when sites have:

• One or more poorly coded plugins are installed
• Large images or videos that use extra server memory
• Limited hosting resources, especially on shared plans

WordPress does try to increase the memory limit automatically if it’s lower than 64 MB. But in many cases, that’s just not enough, especially for modern plugins and themes.

Why You May Not See the Actual Memory Error

Wondering why you aren’t seeing the actual memory error? This is important to understand before you try fixing it.

In older versions of WordPress, you would often see the full memory exhausted error message directly on your screen.

But in recent versions, WordPress shows a more generic message instead:

“There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.”

This happens because WordPress now hides sensitive error details by default. It’s part of a security feature that prevents visitors from seeing technical information about your site.

However, the real error is still logged in the background. You can view the full message by:

• Looking in the email inbox of your site admin address for instructions.
• Enabling WordPress debug mode in your wp-config.php file.
• Checking your site’s error logs via your hosting control panel.

If you check your email inbox you may find an email with subject line “Your Site is Experiencing a Technical Issue.”

Inside this email, you will find where the error occurred and the exact error message.

For instance, you will see that the error is caused by your WordPress theme or a plugin. At the end of the email, you will see the actual error message.

We recommend enabling debug mode only temporarily while troubleshooting. Once you find the error, don’t forget to turn it off to avoid showing technical details to your visitors.

Now, in the next sections, we’ll show you how to manually increase the PHP memory limit to fix the error and keep your site running smoothly.

Ready? Let’s jump right in!

Option 1: Editing the wp-config.php File

First, you need to edit the wp-config.php file on your WordPress site. This is one of the core WordPress files located in the root directory, usually named public_html.

You will need to use an FTP client like FileZilla or the File Manager in your web hosting control panel.

Next, you need to paste the following line in the wp-config.php file just before the one that says, That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging.

define( 'WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M' );

This line requests WordPress to allocate up to 512MB of PHP memory.

However, the final limit depends on your server’s configuration. If your host enforces a lower cap, this change may not take effect.

For more details, you can see our step-by-step guide on how to find and edit the wp-config.php file.

Once you are done, you need to save your changes and upload your wp-config.php file back to your server.

You can now visit your WordPress site, and the memory exhausted error should have disappeared.

Option 2: Editing the .htaccess File

The next method is to edit the .htaccess file. This file is also located in the WordPress website’s root folder.

Here, you need to paste the following code before the line that says #END WORDPRESS.

php_value memory_limit 512M

Similar to the previous code, it will tell WordPress to increase the PHP memory limit to 512MB.

That said, keep in mind this method only works if your server runs Apache with mod_php. If you’re using PHP-FPM or NGINX, this method may not have any effect.

After that, simply save your changes and upload the file back to your web server. You can now open your WordPress website again to see if the memory limit error has gone.

If you can’t find the .htaccess file, you can check out our guide on why the .htaccess file may be missing and how to find it.

Option 3: Checking Your php.ini File

If the above methods don’t work, you may want to look at your php.ini file.

php.ini is a file that controls your PHP settings, including the PHP version and PHP scripts. It’s not a WordPress core file, as your hosting provider usually manages it.

You can check its code to see your PHP memory usage limit. For more details, you can see our guide on how to find and edit the php.ini file.

However, because this is an advanced method, we recommend contacting your web hosting provider’s support team instead to see if they can increase the WordPress memory limit manually. Otherwise, this can result in further errors.

Plus, some shared hosting plans don’t allow users to access or modify the php.ini file.

You can read our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support for more information.

Option 4: Upgrading Your WordPress Hosting

If you constantly encounter the memory exhausted error, it might be a sign that your website has outgrown its current hosting plan.

As your website attracts more visitors and adds more content, it requires more resources to function smoothly. Upgrading a plan with a higher memory allocation can be a permanent solution.

Consider upgrading your WordPress hosting if:

• You’ve tried the previous solutions, but the error persists.
• Your website has significantly grown in traffic or content.
• You plan to add features or functionality that require more resources.

Bluehost offers affordable and reliable WordPress hosting plans that can scale with your website’s needs. They provide a user-friendly platform specifically optimized for WordPress, making it easy to manage your website.

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How to Avoid Exhausting Your WordPress Memory

Now that you’ve fixed the WordPress memory exhausted error, here are some proactive steps to prevent it from happening again:

• Deactivate unused plugins. Many plugins contribute to memory usage. Regularly review your installed plugins and deactivate any you’re not actively using to free up memory for essential tasks.
• Optimize images. Large images can be memory hogs. Consider using a plugin like EWWW Image Optimizer to automatically compress images before uploading them to your site.
• Use a caching plugin. Caching plugins store website data, reducing the need for WordPress to regenerate it on every visit. This can significantly improve website performance and lower memory usage.

FAQs About the WordPress Memory Exhausted Error

Additional WordPress Error Guides

If you’re troubleshooting other WordPress issues, here are some helpful guides we’ve written to make things easier for you.

• How to Fix WordPress Posts Returning 404 Error (Step by Step)
• How to Fix ‘Cookies Are Blocked Due to Unexpected Output’ Error in WordPress
• How to Fix WordPress Stuck in Maintenance Mode (The Easy Way)
• How to Fix the WordPress Admin Ajax 400 (Bad Request) Error

We hope this article helped you solve the WordPress memory exhausted error by increasing the PHP memory limit. You may also want to see our step-by-step beginner’s guide to troubleshooting WordPress errors and our expert list of the most common WordPress errors.

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