What does this error mean?
The error Fatal error: Allowed memory size of X bytes exhausted means that WordPress tried to use more RAM than allowed. It frequently occurs on sites with many plugins, WooCommerce with many products, or when importing content.
Method 1 — wp-config.php (recommended)
Open wp-config.php in public_html and add before the line /* That's all, stop editing! */:
define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');
define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');
define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');
Method 2 — .htaccess
Add to your .htaccess in public_html:
php_value memory_limit 256M
Method 3 — PHP Selector in cPanel
- Go to cPanel → Select PHP Version
- Navigate to the PHP Options tab
- Change
memory_limitto 256M or 512M - Save
Recommended values according to site type:
- Blog or simple site: 128M
- WordPress with plugins: 256M
- WooCommerce: 512M
- WooCommerce with many products: 1G
✅ Verify the change: Install the Query Monitor plugin to see real-time memory usage in the WordPress admin bar.