WordPress hosting has two important settings that may define a limit: the maximum allowed memory for the PHP process (the PHP memory limit) and the memory limit for WordPress itself.

The PHP memory limit is determined by the type of hosting package (when using a Kinamo shared hosting). The WordPress memory limit however, you can set this yourself by making a change to the wp-config.php file.

By default, WordPress uses a meager 40 Mb for a single-site installation.

If you have a WordPress website that makes intensive use of a page builder plugin such as Elementor Pro — whether or not in combination with other plugins like WooCommerce, WPML — it’s best to increase this value.

Elementor Pro even recommends increasing this limit from 256 MB to as much as 512 MB or more.

Step 1: Check the PHP memory limit

The “hard” limit for your hosting is determined by the memory limit currently active on your hosting package. In WordPress, you can check this by following these steps:

• Go to the Dashboard
• Select Tools > Site Health
• Click the Info tab
• Open the Server section
• Look for the PHP Memory Limit value; this indicates your hosting’s memory limit.

If a WordPress Memory Limit value has already been set, you can also see it on this screen.

Please note: if the WordPress Memory Limit is higher than the PHP Memory Limit, the PHP Memory Limit will always take precedence.

Step 2: Adjusting the WordPress memory limit

You can adjust the WordPress memory limit in the wp-config.php file.

This file is located in the www folder of your hosting account.
You can connect to your hosting account using an FTP program (or SSH, depending on your hosting type) and edit the file there.

Important: Always make a backup of the wp-config.php file before making any changes!

Add the code to adjust the memory limit. Look for the following text:

/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy publishing. */

Depending on the version, this may also be:

/* That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

Add the following code right before that line:

define( ‘WP_MEMORY_LIMIT’, ‘256M’ );

If desired, you can change the “256M” value to “128M,” “384M,” “512M,” or even more.

The “M” stands for “megabyte.”

Note: Never set this value higher than what’s available according to the PHP limit!

Upload the modified wp-config.php file to your hosting account.

This code will set WordPress’s internal memory limit.
What used to be only 40 Mb has now been increased to, for example, 256 Mb. You can verify this by following Step 1: Tools > Site Health.

A few suggestions

Depending on the type of website, we recommend the following limits:

For smaller, simple WordPress websites without a builder, 128 Mb should be sufficient.

An average WordPress website with a few plugins and a simple builder can use 256 MB to 348 MB.

For an Elementor Pro website, we still recommend 512 MB; if you’re using plugins like WooCommerce or WPML, more than 512 MB is even recommended.

This limit also depends on the type of hosting; that’s why Kinamo Karri hosting is one of the more popular solutions, as it allows for a memory limit of 512 MB.

How do I increase the PHP limit?

If you have your own server, you can adjust the memory_limit by editing the php.ini file.

On the Kinamo hosting platform, you can only change this limit by switching to a different subscription plan.