Site stuck on 'Briefly unavailable for scheduled maintenance'
An aborted update left a .maintenance file behind. Deleting it fixes it instantly.
Try this first
- 1Open FTP or host file manager in the root next to wp-config.php
- 2Delete the .maintenance file
- 3Refresh the site, it returns immediately
- 4Check if the aborted plugin or theme update needs redoing
When to bring us in
If the file keeps reappearing, an update script is stuck, dev must inspect cron.
See also
- WordPress, plugins and theme have gone 6+ months without updatesOut-of-date WP is the number-one entry for malware. Don't just hit 'update all', back up first.
- Theme update broke the layout or threw a fatal errorThemes overwrite custom CSS on update unless you use a child theme.
- WordPress shows a blank screen after a plugin install or updateWSOD (white screen of death) is usually one crashing plugin. You isolate it.
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