Is WordPress Down Right Now?
WordPress.com (hosted by Automattic) vs. self-hosted WordPress (wordpress.org) have different failure modes. This guide covers both.
Updated May 2026
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How to Check If WordPress Is Down
- 1. WordPress.com: visit automatticstatus.com for official Automattic status
- 2. Self-hosted WordPress: check your hosting provider's status page (cPanel, Kinsta, WP Engine)
- 3. Use downforeveryoneorjustme.com to test if others can reach your site
- 4. Check DownDetector for community reports: DownDetector WordPress
WordPress.com vs. Self-Hosted: Different Failure Modes
WordPress.com (Managed)
- • Automattic manages hosting, uptime, and updates
- • Check automatticstatus.com for incidents
- • 99.9% uptime SLA on paid plans
- • Outages are rare; usually brief and regional
- • You cannot access database or server logs
Self-Hosted WordPress (wordpress.org)
- • Your hosting provider controls uptime
- • You manage updates, plugins, and security
- • Database errors, plugin conflicts common
- • Full server and database log access
- • Most downtime is self-inflicted (plugins, updates)
Know when your WordPress site goes down before your visitors do
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Try Better Stack Free →WordPress Error Reference
Error Establishing a Database Connection
Cause: WordPress cannot reach MySQL/MariaDB — wrong credentials or DB server down
Fix: Check wp-config.php credentials; visit /wp-admin/maint/repair.php; contact host to check MySQL
White Screen of Death (WSOD)
Cause: PHP fatal error hidden when WP_DEBUG is off
Fix: Add define("WP_DEBUG", true) to wp-config.php; disable plugins by renaming the /plugins/ folder
503 Service Unavailable
Cause: PHP worker pool exhausted — heavy plugin, traffic spike, or resource limits
Fix: Disable plugins one-by-one; check hosting resource limits; contact host for server logs
500 Internal Server Error
Cause: PHP error or corrupt .htaccess file
Fix: Rename .htaccess to .htaccess_old; check PHP error logs; disable plugins
Too Many Redirects
Cause: Conflicting redirect rules between WordPress settings and server config
Fix: Check Settings → General for correct site URL; check .htaccess for redirect loops; disable caching plugins
403 Forbidden
Cause: File permissions incorrect or security plugin blocking access
Fix: Set folder permissions to 755 and file permissions to 644; temporarily disable security plugins like Wordfence
Emergency WordPress Recovery: Step by Step
Step 1: Check your host's server status
Log into cPanel, Kinsta, WP Engine, or your hosting dashboard. Look for server alerts or active incidents. If the host is down, all you can do is wait.
Step 2: Disable all plugins via FTP/SSH
Rename your wp-content/plugins folder to plugins_disabled. If the site loads, a plugin is the culprit. Rename back, then enable plugins one by one until you find the bad one.
Step 3: Switch to a default theme
Via phpMyAdmin: update the wp_options table, set template and stylesheet to twentytwentyfour. Theme PHP errors cause WSOD and won't show in the WordPress admin if the admin itself is broken.
Step 4: Check PHP error logs
In cPanel: Logs → Error Log. Via SSH: tail -n 50 /var/log/php-fpm/error.log. The exact error message will tell you which file and line caused the problem.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is WordPress.com down right now?
To check if WordPress.com is down, visit automatticstatus.com (Automattic's official status page — the company behind WordPress.com). Also check DownDetector for WordPress.com community reports. WordPress.com uses Automattic's global infrastructure; regional outages can affect some users while others are unaffected. Note: if you run a self-hosted WordPress site (wordpress.org), your uptime depends on your hosting provider, not WordPress.com.
Why is my WordPress site showing "Error Establishing a Database Connection"?
"Error Establishing a Database Connection" in WordPress means WordPress cannot connect to your MySQL/MariaDB database. Common causes: (1) Database server is down — contact your host, (2) Wrong database credentials in wp-config.php — check DB_HOST, DB_NAME, DB_USER, DB_PASSWORD, (3) Database is corrupt — run repair by visiting yourdomain.com/wp-admin/maint/repair.php, (4) MySQL server exceeded connection limit — your host may need to increase max_connections, (5) Corrupted wp-config.php file — replace with a clean backup. This is the #1 WordPress error and is almost always a hosting issue, not WordPress itself.
Why is my WordPress site showing a 503 Service Unavailable error?
WordPress 503 errors usually indicate server resource exhaustion. Causes: (1) A plugin running a heavy background task (WooCommerce updates, image regeneration) is consuming all PHP workers, (2) A Jetpack or WooCommerce sync overwhelming the server, (3) DDoS or traffic spike — your server hit resource limits, (4) PHP-FPM or Apache/Nginx worker pool exhausted. Fix: disable plugins one by one (rename plugins folder via FTP/SSH to /plugins_disabled), then re-enable one at a time to find the culprit. If the issue persists, contact your host to check server resource logs.
What causes the WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD)?
The WordPress White Screen of Death (WSOD) — a blank white page with no error — is caused by a PHP fatal error that WordPress is hiding (when WP_DEBUG is off). Common causes: (1) Plugin conflict or broken plugin update, (2) Theme PHP error, (3) Memory limit exceeded — add define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M') to wp-config.php, (4) Corrupted .htaccess file — rename it and let WordPress regenerate. To diagnose: enable WP_DEBUG by adding define('WP_DEBUG', true) to wp-config.php, then reproduce the issue to see the actual PHP error.
How do I monitor my WordPress site for downtime?
To monitor your WordPress site for downtime: (1) Use an uptime monitoring service like Better Stack, UptimeRobot, or APIStatusCheck's Alert Pro — these check your site every 30–60 seconds and notify you via email, Slack, or SMS when it goes down, (2) Set up WordPress health alerts via the Health Check & Troubleshooting plugin, (3) Monitor your hosting control panel for resource alerts. Most managed WordPress hosts (WP Engine, Kinsta, Flywheel) include uptime monitoring — check your dashboard. External monitoring is essential because if your hosting server is down, your own WordPress alerts obviously won't fire.