WordPress Server Restarting: What You Need to Know

WordPress is a widely used content management system, known for its easy-to-use platform used by bloggers, individuals, and businesses globally. However, there comes a time when restarting your WordPress Server becomes necessary. This is due to reasons such as fixing any problem, or clearing cache that may have occurred in the system.

What is a WordPress Server?

Before we proceed, let us quickly understand what a WordPress Server is. A WordPress Server is the platform on which your WordPress site runs. It hosts your website, storing its files and running its software. When you install WordPress on your computer, you run what is called a local server; a smaller version of the actual server on which your website is hosted.

If you make any changes to your WordPress site, you need to upload the changes to the server for others to see. Restarting your WordPress server is a process that resets the server, clearing up any errors or problems that may have occurred in the system.

How to Restart a WordPress Server?

Restarting a WordPress server involves two basic steps; accessing your server and restarting the server services. The process of restarting your WordPress server varies, depending on the type of hosting you are using. Let’s take a look at how to restart a WordPress server on a shared hosting platform:

Restarting a WordPress Server on Shared Hosting Platform

Shared hosting refers to a hosting platform where multiple websites share resources on a single server. Restarting a WordPress server on a shared hosting platform is easy and can be achieved in three ways:

Method 1: Use Your Hosting Dashboard

1. Login to your hosting account dashboard.
2. Search for the ‘Server Management’ or ‘Server Status’ section.
3. Look for the option to restart the server services.
4. Click on the ‘Restart Server’ button.

After clicking on the button, your server will restart, and your website will be back online shortly.

Method 2: Use Control Panel

1. Login to your control panel.
2. Navigate to the ‘System Settings’ section.
3. Look for the option to Restart Services or Web Server.
4. Click on the ‘Restart Server’ button.

After clicking on the button, your server will restart, and your website will be back online shortly.

Method 3: Contact Customer Support

If you have difficulty restarting your server, you can contact your hosting provider’s customer support team. They will assist you in restarting your server if you are unable to do so.

Restarting a WordPress Server on VPS or Dedicated Server

VPS and Dedicated Servers are hosting platforms where you have full control over the server. You can access the server remotely using tools like SSH or RDP. Restarting your WordPress server on a VPS or Dedicated Server requires shell access or remote desktop access.

SSH Access

1. Open the SSH client in your computer.
2. Enter your server IP address.
3. Enter your username and password, then hit enter.
4. Execute the command ‘sudo reboot’ on the shell.

After executing the command, your server will restart, and your website will be back online shortly.

RDP Access

1. Open RDP on your computer.
2. Enter the server IP address.
3. Enter your username and password, then hit enter.
4. Navigate to ‘Start’ -> ‘Shutdown’ -> ‘Restart’.

After shutting down your server, it will restart automatically, and your website will be back online shortly.

Conclusion

Restarting your WordPress server is a simple process and can be done in various ways, depending on the hosting platform you are using. In this article, we’ve covered the different ways you can restart your WordPress server, whether you are using shared hosting, VPS, or Dedicated Server. If you experience any issues when trying to restart your server, do not hesitate to contact your hosting provider’s customer support team for assistance.