How to fix WordPress Memory Exhausted Error

The most reliable way to increase the WordPress memory limit is to add a single line to your wp-config.php file, which sits in the root of your WordPress installation.

Via FTP (FileZilla or similar):

1. Log into your server via FTP using your host credentials — these are different from your WordPress admin login.
2. Navigate to the root WordPress folder (usually public_html or www).
3. Find wp-config.php, right-click, and open it in a text editor.
4. Find the line that reads: /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */
5. Add the following line immediately before that line:

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

6. Save the file and re-upload it, overwriting the original.

Via hosting file manager (no FTP needed): Most hosts (cPanel, Plesk, Cloudways) include a file manager in their control panel. Open it, navigate to your WordPress root folder, and edit wp-config.php directly in the browser-based editor — same change, no FTP client required.

After saving, clear your browser cache and reload the page that was showing the error.

If editing wp-config.php didn’t work — or if your host’s server configuration overrides it — you can try setting the PHP memory limit in your .htaccess file instead.

1. Connect via FTP or your hosting file manager and navigate to the WordPress root folder.
2. Find the .htaccess file. (If you don’t see it, make sure hidden files are visible — in FileZilla, go to Server → Force showing hidden files.)
3. Open .htaccess in a text editor and add the following line:

   php_value memory_limit 256M

4. Save and re-upload the file.

Note: this method only works on Apache servers. If you get a 500 error after saving, your server doesn’t support PHP directives in .htaccess — remove the line you added and try Method 3 instead.

Some hosts — particularly those running Nginx or with strict Apache configurations — won’t allow PHP settings in .htaccess. In that case, create or edit a php.ini file in your WordPress root.

1. In your FTP client or file manager, look for a file called php.ini in the WordPress root folder. If it doesn’t exist, create a new blank file with that name.
2. Add the following line:

   memory_limit = 256M

3. Save and upload the file.

If your host uses a control panel like cPanel, there may also be a “PHP Configuration” or “MultiPHP INI Editor” option that lets you change memory_limit directly from the hosting panel without editing files manually.

After applying any of the methods above, confirm the memory limit actually increased before assuming the problem is solved:

1. Clear your browser cache fully (Ctrl+Shift+Del on Windows / Cmd+Shift+Delete on Mac).
2. Reload the page that was producing the error.
3. To confirm the new limit took effect, create a temporary file: add a new file called phpinfo.php to your WordPress root with this content:

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

   Visit yoursite.com/phpinfo.php and search the page for memory_limit — it should now show 256M. Delete the file immediately after checking.

If the value still shows the old limit (e.g., 64M), your host may be enforcing a server-level cap that overrides your configuration files. In that case, move to Step 5.

If you’ve tried all three methods and the memory limit won’t increase — or the error keeps appearing even after the limit is raised — there are a few more things to check:

Identify the problem plugin: A single poorly coded plugin can consume far more memory than normal. To find it:

1. Go to Plugins in your WordPress admin and deactivate all plugins.
2. Check if the error is gone.
3. Reactivate plugins one at a time, checking after each. When the error returns, you’ve found the culprit.
4. Deactivate or replace that plugin.

If you can’t access the WordPress admin due to the error, use FTP or your file manager to rename the /wp-content/plugins/ folder to /wp-content/plugins_disabled/. This deactivates all plugins at once, restoring admin access so you can reactivate them individually.

Switch to a default theme temporarily: In rare cases a memory-intensive theme is the cause. Switch to a default WordPress theme (Twenty Twenty-Four) and see if the error stops.

Contact your host: Some hosts set a hard server-side memory cap that can’t be overridden by config files. If your phpinfo.php check shows the limit didn’t change, contact your host and ask them to increase the PHP memory limit for your account.