How to recover a site stuck in maintenance mode

A site can remain unavailable after an update if the maintenance state was never cleared correctly.

Overview

What this guide covers

Resolve the common case where a failed update leaves the site unavailable to visitors.

Quick checks

Before you make changes

Confirm there is no separate SSL or DNS failure masking the issue.
Review whether any plugin update failed before completion.
Make sure disk quota is not preventing WordPress from writing files.

Steps

Recommended process

Confirm the issue started during or immediately after a WordPress update.
Check whether the frontend and wp-admin both show maintenance messaging.
Clear the maintenance state and verify the site loads normally again.
Review recent updates and cache behavior before running another update.

Need more help?

Continue in the support portal

If the issue is still unresolved after the checks above, return to the support home page and use the domain checker or sign in to open a support case.

Back to support home