You may also receive an email from your WordPress website telling you what happened. Other messages with ‘Learn more about debugging in WordPress’ or something similar may also provide a clue Error messages with file names beside them can help identify the cause. Other instances of the error will also give you a clue. This gives us a clue as to what’s causing it. In the image above, you can see the error occurs during the plugin update process. Sometimes, WordPress will tell you what’s causing the problem. Identifying the Cause of Fatal Error Max Execution Time Exceeded Then we can work out any remedial actions afterwards. We’ll outline a few of them below.įirst, we need to know what’s causing the error and stop it. There are a few things you can do to fix the error. It isn’t the most user friendly error you’ll ever see, so it’s important to understand that while it says ‘Fatal Error’, it is referring to that particular process and not your website! How to Fix the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error If a script, plugin or theme is poorly coded or has been subjected to malware, it may exceed this time limit and produce the error. Most web hosts will place a PHP time limit of between 30 to 60 seconds to enable websites to use plugins, themes and scripts but also to keep things working. A PHP time limit is one way to achieve that. Web hosts need to maintain efficiency while allowing every website on each server access to shared resources.

As WordPress is built on PHP, it’s a common target for hackers and malware but also uses up server resources that might be required for other functions. Most web hosts enforce PHP limits to preserve server resources. Why Does the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error Occur? If the script doesn’t complete in time, PHP will terminate it so it can move on to another and keep your website functioning. To that end, WordPress has a time limit set so PHP can execute a script and complete it. The idea is to allow enough time for a function to complete but not give it so long that it hangs and freezes the entire site. WordPress has a time limit of 30 seconds built into it for each PHP script to execute and complete. While WordPress will display the friendly version of the error, the actual syntax for this error is ‘max_execution_time’ rather than Fatal Error Max Execution Time Exceeded.įatal Error Max Execution Time Exceeded is caused by a script within your website that didn’t complete within the PHP time limit. The PHP Time Limit in WordPress What Is the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error?.How to Prevent the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error.How to Fix the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error.Why Does the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error Occur?.What Is the WordPress max_execution_time Fatal Error?.

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