Server Is Slow or Sites Are Timing Out

Summary: If sites on your reseller VPS load slowly or time out, use these steps to check server load, find the accounts using the most resources, tune PHP and caching, and decide whether it's time to upgrade.

Step 1: Check the server's load

1. In WHM, go to Server Status » Server Information. Look at the load averages, memory use, and disk space.
2. Go to Server Status » Service Status and confirm that the web server, database server, and other services are running.

If you're comfortable with SSH, you can check the same things as root:

uptime        # load averages for 1, 5, and 15 minutes
free -m       # memory and swap use
df -h         # disk space
top           # live view of busy processes (press q to quit)

How to read load

As a rule of thumb, compare the load average to your plan's vCPU count:

Short spikes are normal. Worry when high load lasts for many minutes, or when memory is full and the server is using a lot of swap. A full disk can also cause errors and timeouts, so if df -h shows 100% used, fix that first.

Step 2: Find the busiest accounts

• WHM » Server Status » Daily Process Log shows which accounts used the most CPU, memory, and database time today.
• WHM » System Health » Show Current Running Processes shows what's running right now.
• WHM » Account Information » View Bandwidth Usage helps you spot a site with a sudden jump in traffic.

Often a single account causes most of the load. Common reasons include:

• Bots or aggressive crawlers hitting the site
• A heavy plugin, a runaway scheduled task, or WordPress's wp-cron running on every page load
• A compromised site sending spam or running malware. Run an Imunify360 scan (see Security with Imunify360).
• Large imports, backups, or reports running during business hours

Step 3: Tune PHP

1. Go to WHM » Software » MultiPHP Manager.
2. Make sure sites use a current, supported PHP version that their CMS and plugins support. Newer PHP versions are usually faster.
3. For busy sites, consider turning on PHP-FPM for the domain in MultiPHP Manager. It usually handles traffic more efficiently.
4. Adjust per-version PHP settings, such as memory_limit and max_execution_time, in WHM » Software » MultiPHP INI Editor. Raising limits can hide a problem instead of fixing it, so change them carefully.

Test each site after changing its PHP version or handler.

Step 4: Add caching

• Page caching: For WordPress and similar CMSs, a good page caching plugin can cut server work dramatically.
• Trim plugins: Remove plugins the site doesn't use, and replace slow ones.
• A CDN: A content delivery network can serve images and static files from its own servers. If you use Cloudflare, see AutoSSL Certificate Won't Issue for SSL settings.
• Real cron jobs: Replace wp-cron page-load triggers with a scheduled cron job in cPanel.

Step 5: Decide whether to upgrade

Consider a larger plan when:

• Load or memory stays high even after you've fixed problem accounts and added caching
• Your client base, or their traffic, has grown steadily
• Disk usage is approaching your plan's NVMe allowance

See Upgrading or Downgrading Your Reseller Plan.

When to open a ticket

If you can't find the cause, or the server itself seems unhealthy, open a ticket. These details help us investigate quickly:

• The dates and times of the slowness, with your time zone
• The affected domains and example URLs
• What visitors saw: slow loading, timeouts, or a specific error such as 500, 503, or 504
• What you've checked and changed so far

Still stuck? Open a ticket

Our U.S.-based support team is available 24/7. Open a support ticket from the Liberation Client Area and include the times, affected domains, and any error messages. Tickets are private, so they are the safe place to share server details. Never post passwords in public forums or chats.