WordPress Memory Limit: A Comprehensive Guide

WordPress is one of the most widely used content management systems in the world. Boasting of its ease of use, speed, and flexibility, many website owners prefer WordPress for their projects. However, there are times when website owners need to increase the memory limit of their websites, which can become overwhelming for those who are not familiar with the technicalities.

What is the htaccess file?

The htaccess file is a configuration file used by the Apache webserver, which is used to define rules and settings for a specific directory or website. It handles redirections, authentication, access control, caching, and much more. One crucial thing to note is that the htaccess file is a hidden file, meaning that it does not appear in the public directories of your website. WordPress generates a default htaccess file during installation and is located in the root directory of your site.

How to edit the htaccess file

Accessing the htaccess file requires access to your website’s file manager or FTP client. These tools grant you access to your website’s files and directories. Once you open your site’s file manager, the process of editing the htaccess involves:

• Locating the htaccess file and creating one if it does not exist.
• Right-clicking on the htaccess file and selecting the “Edit” option, which will open the file in a text editor.
• Adding your code at the end of the file, saving the changes and closing the editor.
• Creating a backup of your htaccess file before making any changes to ensure you have a copy of your original file.

Increasing WordPress Memory Limit from the htaccess file

By default, WordPress has a memory limit of 40MB, which may not be enough to run some plugins and themes or upload large media files. Increasing the WordPress memory limit requires adding the following code to your htaccess file:

php_value memory_limit 256M

You can change the value from 256M to any other value that suits your needs.

Conclusion

Increasing the memory limit of your WordPress website is a simple process that requires editing the htaccess file. This article has explained what the htaccess file is, how to edit it, and how to increase the memory limit of WordPress using it. Remember to create a backup of your htaccess file before making any changes, and to test your website after any changes to ensure everything is working correctly. With these steps in mind, you can easily increase your WordPress memory limit and enhance your website’s performance.