Helpful stuff

Start here if you manage your own WordPress server: core setup, architecture choices, and stability basics.

Fast paths for diagnosing WordPress outages, errors, and weird behavior on Ubuntu servers.

How PHP upgrades actually fail, how to plan them, and how to avoid version drift across sites.

Practical security controls for self-hosted WordPress, with a focus on reducing real-world risk.

From tuning a single server to scaling multi-site WordPress under real traffic.

Maintenance, monitoring, and automation practices that prevent outages before they happen.

Patterns, pitfalls, and scaling considerations when hosting multiple WordPress sites.

What breaks during modern PHP upgrades, what usually doesn’t, and how to reduce downtime.

Baseline hardening steps that reduce risk without breaking WordPress: UFW, Fail2ban, permissions, and virtual patching.

Server-side controls that reduce exposure when plugins lag behind patches: rate limits, WAF, and virtual patching.

Prevent slowdowns and outages by tuning the right layers: OPcache, object cache, page cache, and PHP-FPM.

A modern alternative to bare metal with clearer version boundaries—and new responsibilities. Volumes and backups are non-negotiable.

Turn routine checks into alerts before users notice: disk, Apache, PHP-FPM, and log-based alerts.

Checklist to recover space safely on Ubuntu web servers: logs, apt cache, old kernels, and service checks.

Post-upgrade steps to reclaim space and avoid surprise failures on Ubuntu web servers.

Setup checklist to keep WordPress stable with Apache and PHP-FPM: modules, vhosts, and first-aid commands.

Isolate plugin and theme incompatibilities after bumping PHP: logs, disable plugins, and common causes.

Mental model and gotchas for multi-site WordPress on a single Ubuntu + Apache box: vhosts, docroots, and permissions.

Checklist to keep SSL and caching sane when Cloudflare sits in front of Apache + WordPress.

When Apache won’t reload after vhost, module, or SSL changes: validate config, check status, and narrow the cause.

Why per-site pools help stability and how to keep pool naming, logs, and socket paths understandable.

Checklist for when media uploads fail or WordPress can’t update plugins and themes—ownership and permissions.

Checklist to isolate whether a 500 is Apache, PHP-FPM, or WordPress code—logs and service health first.

Recover when WordPress gets stuck after an update: remove the flag, re-run or roll back, and check root causes.

When 503/500 errors follow a PHP upgrade or pool change: align vhost with the correct pool and socket.

Why “too many redirects” happens and what to verify between Cloudflare, Apache, and WordPress URLs.

Minimal routine to reduce surprises on hosted WordPress boxes: update, upgrade, and cleanup.

Why reload sometimes doesn’t apply changes and when a full restart is required.

What happens during reloads and restarts and how they affect live traffic.

How to capture useful PHP errors without exposing them to visitors.

Why WP-CLI is often safer than the admin UI during outages and how to use it for common fixes.

Why `php -v` can mislead you on multi-version servers and how to align expectations.

How to apply security updates without breaking production sites: scheduling, testing, and verification.

Where disk space goes over time on WordPress servers and how to monitor and manage it.

Why lightweight docs save hours during outages and what to document for WordPress and LAMP stacks.

When prefork still makes sense, when event is the better choice, and how PHP-FPM shifts the tradeoffs.

Practical comparison for operations: .htaccess, config style, and when to choose which.

Why modern stacks separate PHP from the web server and what that buys you: stability, limits, and isolation.

How to recognize when the issue lives below the application layer: Apache, PHP-FPM, or disk.

What actually changes between PHP versions and why plugins are usually the weak link.

The hidden follow-up work most upgrades require: drift, leftovers, and verification.

Why “simple” WordPress sites generate disproportionate operational work: plugins, updates, and shared risk.

What to check first in Apache logs when WordPress errors are confusing: error log, access log, and workflow.

How to reduce blast radius when updating plugins on live sites: one at a time, rollback plan, and WP-CLI.

How mixed PHP versions creep in and create confusing, inconsistent site behavior—and how to fix it.

Minimal checklist to catch outages and regressions before users do: Apache, PHP-FPM, disk, failed units.

How low PHP memory limits quietly break WordPress and how to spot and fix them.

Why plugin and theme updates fail halfway and how timeouts cause it—and what to adjust.