How to increase the WordPress PHP memory limit

Match the memory change to the failing task

A failed import or editor request can need more server memory, but the useful starting point is the limit that the website actually receives. Your hosting panel and WordPress can show different requested values. Record the effective value and the requirement for the failing task so the change has a clear purpose and a result you can check.

Confirm that memory is the relevant setting

PHP is the software that runs WordPress on the server. Its memory limit caps the memory available to a single running request; it is not your site's storage allowance or your computer's RAM. An upload-size error or execution-time error needs a different setting.

If you see Allowed memory size exhausted, note the page or action that triggers it. Use the memory-error troubleshooting guide to investigate the cause. Increasing a limit creates room for work; it does not establish that the work is efficient or functioning correctly.

1. Find the current values in Site Health

Open Tools > Site Health > Info. Expand Server and record the PHP memory limit, including a separate admin-only value if shown. Also expand WordPress Constants and note WP_MEMORY_LIMIT and WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT when shown. The latter controls the higher limit WordPress requests for administrative work.

Record these values privately rather than sharing the entire Site Health report, which contains other site details. If the dashboard is inaccessible, ask your host to inspect the effective PHP memory limit for this website's web requests. A command-line PHP setting can differ from the one serving visitors.

Site Health Server panel showing the PHP memory limit among server information — The PHP memory limit appears under Server in Site Health. This official 2021 example shows an older PHP version and demonstration limits; use your host's supported version and the requirement you verified, not these example values. Credit: WordPress Documentation Team, CC0.

2. Change the host's PHP setting first

In the hosting panel, select this website and find PHP settings or PHP options. Some cPanel accounts provide MultiPHP INI Editor; other providers expose the setting in their own site tools. Locate memory_limit and record its existing value.

Choose the value required by the affected plugin and supported by your plan. For example, if the effective limit is 128M and the plugin documents a 256M requirement, select 256M and save. Do not lower an existing larger limit to match that example or choose unlimited memory.

Reload Site Health to check the effective value. If it is unchanged, the field is locked or the option is absent, ask the host: Please confirm the PHP memory limit applied to this domain's web requests and whether the required value is supported. Include the current value and the task that fails.

3. Adjust WordPress's request only if necessary

Use this alternative only if effective PHP memory remains too low and the host confirms WordPress can raise it. A lower WordPress constant does not itself reduce an already higher effective PHP limit. First back up the site and download a private copy of wp-config.php through hosting File Manager. Keep the File Manager open so you can restore that copy if you make a typing error.

Search the file for WP_MEMORY_LIMIT. If already present, change that value rather than adding a duplicate. Otherwise place the following line above the stop-editing comment and before the line loading wp-settings.php. The example requests 256 MB; use it only when that is the supported value you established.

php

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

4. Verify the change and handle a failed test

Save the file, reload the public homepage and reopen Site Health. Repeat the exact failing action once. If the new effective limit is visible and the task completes, record the setting that worked. Administrative tasks also depend on WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT; ask the host to check that value if only dashboard work remains limited.

If editing the file causes a new critical or syntax error, replace only that file with the untouched copy through File Manager. If memory still runs out at the higher limit, stop increasing it repeatedly. Collect a private error log and investigate the plugin or operation involved, or give the host the exact error and timestamp.

Official reference

The WordPress configuration handbook describes WordPress memory settings and their hosting limits.

Get help with the next step

If the editor still fails after a supported increase, ask BugShield to investigate the memory error. The failing task, effective limit and error time help us distinguish a setting problem from a faulty operation.

Questions answered

How to increase the WordPress PHP memory limit FAQs

Does a larger memory limit make every page faster?

No. It allows a request to use more memory before PHP stops it. It does not directly reduce the work required to load a page.

Why did wp-config.php not change the effective limit?

The host can enforce a limit or prevent runtime changes. Duplicate definitions and editing the wrong site's file also cause confusion. Ask the host to inspect the active configuration rather than adding more definitions.

Should WP_MEMORY_LIMIT and WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT match?

They serve different contexts. WordPress can request a higher limit for administrative work. Choose values supported by the host and the operation instead of making them identical without a reason.

Can this fix an upload exceeds maximum size message?

That message concerns upload and request-size settings. Raising memory alone does not change the maximum permitted upload size.

What if I cannot access Site Health?

Ask the host for the effective web PHP memory limit and describe the action that fails. A hosting configuration check does not require the WordPress dashboard to be working.

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