All of us know that WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS). It will enhanced by a wide community of developers.

WordPress will regularly make innovations, address bugs, launch new features, and enhance your experience. If you are running your WordPress site, then you must use its latest version, to ensure high performance and security of your site.
When you are updating WordPress files, your site will go into maintenance mode automatically. Due to this, users see the “Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance” error on their screen. How to get rid of these wordpress issues?

In this guide, we will tell you the reasons behind WordPress maintenance mode, solutions to fix these issues, and tips to prevent these errors to occur again.

Reasons Why website stuck in maintenance mode

If you see the Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance message, it means your WordPress website is in maintenance mode. This maintenance mode will activate during manual updates of software, themes, and plugins. This mode will trigger to ensure that your website will not appear during the update process.

When you start any update of your website, WordPress enables the .maintenance file on the server and activates the maintenance mode.

This file will deleted after the update is complete. It will automatically remove the maintenance message shown on your screen. There are various reasons why your website is stuck in maintenance mode, and results in this error message.

Let us tell you about these common reasons.

• Low Memory:
  On wordpress, every process are handle by PHP scripts, include updates. If your site not have enough storage, then the scripts will be unable to delete the .maintenance file.
• Slow Server Response:
  WordPress has set the time to run scripts. If the server will take a long time to respond, then the script will timeout before turn off the maintenance mode.
• Compatibility Issues:
  If you use an incompatible plugin or theme on WordPress website, then it causes bugs and interrupts the update process.
• Interrupted Updates:
  After you finish the core software updates on WordPress, you should disable maintenance mode. But if you do not complete the update properly, then your website will stuck in maintenance mode. So, you should finish update first before take any other actions.

How to fix WordPress Maintenance Mode Error

It is easy to fix this maintenance error. Here we tell you the best solutions to fix this issues and restore your website to normal functioning.

1. Using File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

It is suggested to use FTP clients to fix this maintenance error. You should connect site with root directory, by using FTP client. Once you connect it, you should go to the public_html folder and find a list of files there. Next, look for the .maintenance file, as given below.

Sometimes, this file may be hidden in the site directory. Here are instructions you should follow to find .maintenance file

1. Open FileZilla and connect it with the server.
2. Go to menu bar on window and click on Server.
3. A dropdown menu appears in front of you. Now choose Force showing hidden files.

In this way, you see hidden files, include the .maintenance file

Once you find this file, right-click on it and delete it from the menu. It will remove the maintenance file and release your website from maintenance mode.

After this, your WordPress website will start working properly, do not encounter the error. If you are using any other FTP client, then you should also follow these steps to delete .maintenance file.

2. Using cPanel

If you are using cPanel, then how you should delete the .maintenance file by following the given method:

Go to cPanel file manager: First, login to cPanel Dashboard and tap on File Manager.

Find .Maintenance file: Open root folder, that is shown as public_html or www. First, you should unhide .maintenance file. Click the Settings button (gear icon) in the top right corner and check the box for Show Hidden Files (dotfiles).

Delete the .maintenance file: Once you find .maintenance file, right-click on it, select Delete from the context menu.

By following these above steps properly, you can resolve the problem of website stuck in maintenance mode. Moreover, you can also use SSH through the command line to resolve this issue.

My WordPress site is still stuck in maintenance mode. What should I do now?

If you have already deleted the .maintenance file, but still your website is stuck in maintenance mode, then you should take some further steps. Don’t worry, we helps you in it.
Here are the steps you should take to stuck out your website:

1. Verify the deletion of the .maintenance file:
   You should cross-check that the .maintenance files are deleted properly. Sometimes, it will appear again and kept your website in maintenance mode, so you have to ensure that it is deleted.
2. Clear Your Browser Cache Again:
   Old cached data may occur in your browser. So, you have to clear the cache and resolve the maintenance error.
3. Temporarily Disable All Plugins:
   The next tip to resolve the maintenance issue of your website is to disable all plugins temporarily. You should use FTP or cPanel, and rename the plugins folder into plugins_disabled. After the maintenance file is deleted, you should re-enable it by renaming the folder again to its original name.
4. Increase the PHP Memory Limit:
   The best way to increase PHP memory limit is by edit the wp-config.php. You should add following line above the line that says, /* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */:

   define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT','256M');

   It increases the memory limit and enables updates successfully. If this line is already present but has a lower limit, then you should increase it to 256M or even 512M if necessary.

5. Check File Permissions:
   Incorrect file permissions can trigger the maintenance issues and interrupts your website functioning. So, you should set file permissions properly.
6. Manually install Updates:
   If you do not complete updates, then your website encounter the maintenance problem. So, if you incomplete any update, then you should complete it manually. You should download the theme or plugin as .zip file from site repository and the install it manually. This method will help you to finish unfinished updates and resolve this issue.

Tips to Avoid WordPress Getting Stuck in Maintenance Mode

If you want to prevent the issue of stucking your site in maintenance mode, then you should follow the given tips.

• Regular Backups:
  You should maintain your site backups properly. If it does not work, then you should restore your website to the previous state.
• Update During Low Traffic:
  Next tip is to schedule your website updates during low traffic. It reduces the chances of interruptions.
• Update One by One:
  You should not update all themes and plugins together. Instead of it, you have to update one at a time to avoid conflicts.
• Use Staging Environments:
  It is suggested to conduct website updates in staging environments. It helps you to determine issues before live with your WordPress website.
• Check File Permissions:
  Ensure that the WordPress file has proper permissions. Incorrect permissions can cause maintenance issues and encounter errors.
• Adequate Server Resources:
  You should check that the server has enough resources, such as disk space and memory. If you run the server on these insufficient resources, then it failed to update and stuck your website in maintenance mode.
• Disable Caching Plugins:
  The caching plugins will interfere with updates and cause maintenance issues. So, You should disable caching plugins temporarily while updating the website.
• Reliable Internet Connection:
  While updating your website, you should check for strong internet connections. It avoids interruptions during the update process and prevents maintenance issues.
• Monitor Site Performance:
  Moreover, it is also recommended to use monitoring tools like New Relic to track your site performance. If any unusual behavior detects, then you should resolve it before finishing the update process.

FAQs

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