The “508 Resource Limit is Reached” error is a specific HTTP status code indicating that the server is unable to process the request due to a resource limitation( an account exceeds the resources assigned to it). This typically means that the website has reached its allotted bandwidth, disk space, or CPU usage limit set by the hosting provider. You can check the resource usage of your account by logging into cPanel > Resources Usage menu
Common causes for this include:
Website Traffic Spikes – If your website experiences high peaks in inbound or outbound traffic whether malicious or not it can exceed allocated resources.
Outdated Script/App – If your website is poorly coded or has an outdated script installed (e.g. an old version of WordPress or an outdated Plugin), this can spike the resources associated with your account, leading to the error page. The error will show until the app is terminated or your account’s resources have been increased. This is partly why we recommend keeping all apps updated.
Backend operations – Backend operations such as imports and exports can increase the load o an account, which in addition to normal traffic can cause resource limits to be exceeded.
Web crawlers also have a way of making a high number of requests per second which can eat up resources
To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:
- Login to cPanel and check the Resource Usage for your website.
- Navigate to Current Usage Overview
- Look for warning messages that would provide some information on what’s going on
- Check that your website software is updated
- Check the document root of your websites for any “error_log” files and take a look at the recent entries.
- Optimize your database to keep things running smoothly.
- Uninstall any old software programmes/apps/plugins on your website, that could be malfunctioning.
- Optimize the website by compressing images, minifying CSS and JavaScript files, and reducing the number of plugins used.
- Consider upgrading to a higher-tier hosting plan with more resources if necessary.
- Regularly monitor the resource usage of your website to identify and resolve any potential issues early on.
Running error-free, well-coded websites will vastly reduce the resource usage on your account and lead to a much more stable hosting experience.