Error 508 Resource Limit is Reached

WebHostingAdvices Team | 🕒 Last Update: May 10, 2023

Are you seeing the 508 error upon visiting your website? Do you want to know what it is and how to get rid of it? You’re at the right place!

The error 508 resource limit is reached occurs when you have exhausted the resources (CPU, RAM, bandwidth, etc.).

This is a complete guide where we will see why error 508 occurs, how to fix error 508, and we will also see some of the ways to prevent this error.

Let’s begin with the error overview and understanding what it is.

What is an Error 508 resource limit is reached?

When you see the 508 resource limit reached error, it simply means that your account is constantly exceeding the allocated resources. Typically, these resources include CPU usage, RAM utilization, or the number of concurrent processes running on your account.

You will see all these details on the side of your cPanel. If your account exceeds one or more of these resources, your website will start showing the 508 Resource Limit reached error.

Along with this, you might also see an additional text saying. “The website is temporarily unable to service your request as it exceeded the resource limit. Please try again later“.

As the text suggests, your server was unable to serve the request. Therefore, you will have to wait till the resource usage is reduced. Thereafter, your website will run again.

resource limit is reached

But wait, should you wait, and will it fix automatically? Let’s first understand what are some of the reasons for error 508, and then, we will see how you can fix it.

What are the main causes for this Error?

There are many reasons why your resources might exceed the allocated limits, and your website starts showing the 508 error. Here, we have mentioned a few of the most common reasons for the same.

The reasons are sorted from the most common reasons to the least common. So, in most cases, your problem will be from the first few.

High traffic Spikes

The most common reason why resources are exhausted is the overload of traffic. Your website might have received a huge amount of traffic (hits or visits). There are many reasons for the same.

For instance, your post might have gone viral on social media, or your website was featured in a big magazine. In that case, your website will show the error until the traffic decreases or is mitigated.

Your website will start to work again if you increase the resources allocated for the website/account.

The bandwidth limit could exhaust if you were already consuming a significant amount of bandwidth. Your traffic gradually increases. So, it’s important to have more resources for your account.

If you have only exhausted bandwidth, you will also see another similar error saying bandwidth is exceeded.

high traffic error

DDoS attacks or Hacked site

A DDoS attack sends an unusual amount of traffic to your website, causing your resource limit to exhaust. There could also be some other attack instead of DDoS. Either way, if your website was hacked, you can simply install Wordfence and run a scan.

wordfence dashboard

You might have unknowingly installed some malicious files which are causing the issues. The Wordfence scan will fix all the issues. Thereafter, you can connect your website to Cloudflare CDN, providing an additional layer of security.

Poorly Written Code

If a page is taking more than usual time to load, there could be code issues. It increases the page requests as the user agent (browser) will keep requesting the page until it’s loaded.

If there are issues with the code, the page will take more time to load.

Once the request limit exhausts, your website will show the 508 Resource Limited is Reached error.

Backend Operations

Backend operations include cron jobs, import/export, backups, scanning, etc. There are also database operations, such as the execution of complex queries. These operations take a lot of your resources.

So, if you are exporting or importing a huge amount of data on your website, the resource limit might be exhausted. Once the operation is completed, the website will be back, or you can also consider terminating them.

WebCrawler Requests

Webcrawler requests issue is very rare. When the number of crawl requests per second increases, you will see a resource limit error.

Usually, the requests only increase if you have submitted your website to all the search engines and directories using a bulk submission tool.

Spam in the comments section

Always make sure you have some kind of spam filter on. Spam in comment sections will also use your resource limit.

Also, if you have unfiltered contact forms, spammers use them to send massive spam submissions. So, always filter your spam to avoid this. You can use the Akismet plugin for this.

akismet spam protection

Third-party applications

If you are using WordPress or any other CMS, you should always use plugins from a reliable developer. A poorly coded plugin is like a timebomb, which can cause issues anytime.

For example, when WordPress releases a new version of a third-party app that is incompatible with it. It will start misbehaving (malfunction or it gets on a loop), causing issues to your website and resources.

Sometimes, even other pieces of software running on your server will be using the outdated plugin. So, make sure you check the compatibility before you update any software/plugin/code.

You can find the script or app that is “resource intensive” and disable it. We will talk more about it in the next section.

How to Fix 508 Resource Limit Reached Error?

Now that you know the possible causes of the issues, let’s see how to fix the 508 resource limit error.

One might argue that you can simply wait until the resources cool down. However, that’s not always the best solution. In the majority of cases, the error comes due to an ongoing issue.

For instance, if there is a spike in traffic, you can’t simply wait for it to solve. Instead, you need to take some steps to either decrease the page size or increase the bandwidth.

Therefore, you will have to take action to fix error 508 on WordPress or any other website.

Check Resource usage

To begin solving any issue, you need to analyze it first. So you can check the resource usage.

In cPanel, there is a direct option called “Resouce usage” in the metrics section. You can click on it and see the overview of the usage.

In the dashboard tab, it will show if the resource limit was reached or not. You can click on details to view the chart and the exact timing when the resource limit was reached.

resource usage dashboard

In some panels, you can head to Analysis & Log Files >> Resource Usage Overview. You can also see if there are any warnings.

You will have a rough idea of which resource is exceeding.

Disable all Plugins and Activate Them One by One

Disabling all the plugins and reactivating them is the best way to solve any error, including Error 508 resource limit is reached.

It will quickly solve all the issues, and your website will work again. There are many ways you can disable all the plugins. The simplest way would be to go to the file manager and rename all the folders or the main folder.

disable all the plugins

Some CMS have many plugins installed to extend the functionality. Some of these outdated plugins might use intense resources. So, it’s better to deactivate them or find better alternatives.

Check Log Files

Clean log files cPanel file manager
Log files play a very important role when you are debugging an issue. To view the error log, you can head over to the file manager and open the root of your website.

You will find a log file named “error_log”. Open the file and check recent entries to find the possible cause of the 508 error.

Keep everything updated

install wordpress plugins
Most users are using a CMS system. In that case, you should always keep everything updated. Before you hit the update button and update everything simultaneously, you must check the compatibility.

Plugins and scripts from reliable providers are usually compatible with all the versions. However, this is not the case with the plugins from small developers teams or individual developers.

For instance, if you update WordPress core, popular plugins like Wordfence or MonsterInsights will have no issues. However, small plugins might misbehave. So, you should keep that in mind.

Database optimization

Database optimization is a crucial part of optimizing your website. If your website uses MySQL, you can optimize your database using phpMyAdmin.

NOTE: you should take the backup of your database before doing this as it might cause issues if not done right.

Select the database you want to optimize, select all the tables from the bottom of the page, and select optimize from the options.

database optimization to fix error

Contact Support

If nothing works, you can contact your hosting support. They have more capabilities than you.

They can provide more information or even fix error 508 for you.

Preventative Measures

When your website goes down due to error 508, it leaves a bad impression among your users. So, here are some of the ways to prevent the error from happening in the future.

resource monitoring from cpanel

  • Always monitor your resources. Keeping an on the resource usage will give you enough time to prevent the website from going down.
  • Make sure your website has clean code and is error-free. Keeping plugins, themes, and core files updated is one of the ways to ensure a safe environment.
  • Along with this, you should try to optimize the resources which are constantly exhausted. For instance, if you are running out of bandwidth, try optimizing images and page size.
  • If you constantly run out of resources, you should try shifting from shared hosting to a VPS or a cloud server. In the same way, if you are using VPS, try going with a dedicated server.

Conclusion

Getting an error 508 resource limit reached is a common issue faced in shared hosting. It simply means that you have exhausted the resource limit.

To get your website working again, you can try freeing up the resources by disabling the plugins/site or upgrading your plan.

In shared hosting, the resources are not only limited but also shared. So, running out of resources is quite common.

If you tried everything mentioned above and still have no success, you can try upgrading your plan or shifting to a VPS. There are many affordable VPS that are priced as low as shared hosting.

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