Skip to content
By using AWS re:Post, you agree to the AWS re:Post Terms of Use
AWS re:Postre:Post
About re:Post

WP site hosted on AWS keeps going offline intermittently... See errors listed in post...

0

My WordPress site, which is hosted on AWS, keeps going offline intermittently. It is configured with Cloudflare. I used an SSL Checker (sslshopper.com) to check my site, and that shows everything is healthy.

Here's the browser error I get with Chrome and Safari:

Your connection is not private.

Attackers might be trying to steal your information from damonhoydysh.com (for example, passwords, messages, or credit cards). Learn more about this warning NET::ERR_CERT_VALIDITY_TOO_LONG

And here's the email I get from Jetpack with the error reference:

Your site may be experiencing interruptions or responding very slowly. This could indicate an issue with your server’s configuration, resources, or traffic load. Jetpack Monitor alerts you when downtime occurs, but it does not provide details on the exact cause because we don’t have access to your site’s web hosting server

Error reference: 216818442/intermittent

Lastly, my WP site recommends a PHP update. Your site is running on an outdated version of PHP (7.4.13), which no longer receives security updates. It should be updated... The minimum recommended version of PHP is 8.3.

I don't know what to do. I'm only ok with AWS and all this DNS configuration, so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Topics
ComputeNetworking & Content Delivery
Tags
Website HostingNetworking & Content DeliveryWebsite ProvisioningAWS Elastic Beanstalk
Language
English
asked 8 months ago97 views
2 Answers
1

Based on your description, there are several potential issues causing your WordPress site to go offline intermittently:

  1. Resource Limitations: Your AWS instance may be running out of resources (particularly memory), which is a common cause of WordPress sites becoming unresponsive. This is especially true if you're using a smaller AWS Lightsail or EC2 instance. When memory gets low, the database connection can fail, causing your site to become inaccessible.

  2. PHP Version Issues: You mentioned your site is running on PHP 7.4.13, which is outdated and no longer receives security updates. The outdated PHP version could be contributing to stability issues, and upgrading to a recommended version (PHP 8.3) might help resolve some of these problems.

  3. SSL Certificate Problems: The error "NET::ERR_CERT_VALIDITY_TOO_LONG" suggests there's an issue with your SSL certificate. This could be due to a misconfiguration between your AWS hosting and Cloudflare, possibly related to certificate validity periods that are too long for browsers to accept.

  4. Database Connection Issues: The intermittent nature of the problem could indicate database connection failures, which are common when WordPress sites experience resource constraints.

Here are some recommended actions:

  1. Upgrade Your Instance Resources: If you're using a small instance size, consider upgrading to a larger plan with more memory and CPU resources.

  2. Update PHP: Follow through with the recommended PHP update to version 8.3, as this could improve stability and security.

  3. Check SSL Configuration: Review your SSL certificate setup between AWS and Cloudflare. You may need to reissue your certificate or adjust your Cloudflare SSL settings.

  4. Monitor Resource Usage: Set up monitoring for your instance to track CPU, memory, and disk usage to identify if resource constraints are causing the outages.

  5. Review Plugins: Disable any unnecessary plugins that might be consuming excessive resources.

  6. Check Server Logs: Review your server logs during outage periods to identify specific errors that might be causing the downtime.

If the issue persists after these steps, you might need to consider creating a new instance with fresh WordPress installation and migrating your content, especially if your current instance has accumulated configuration issues over time.
Sources
Wordpress website on Lightsail keeps dropping offline/unavailable | AWS re:Post
Lightsail/Wordpress site mysteriously down and inaccessible | AWS re:Post
Website not loading | AWS re:Post
Wordpress site missing | AWS re:Post

answered 8 months ago
EXPERT
reviewed 8 months ago
0

Hello,

just my two cents on certificate error.

The error which you are experiencing when opening the site in Safari and Chrome: "CERT_VALIDITY_TOO_LONG" is probably due to the fact that the validity period of the certificate is really too long. Safari and Chrome (along with Firefox) implemented maximal validity of the TLS/SSL certificates to 13 months (398 days). Have you tried Firefox as well? You should get same/similar error message. The best course of action on this is to check again how long is you certificate valid. You can again use sslshopper.com website for that. If the validity is really longer then 398 days, you will probably need to exchange you TLS/SSL certificate.

Best regards, Neven

AWS
answered 8 months ago
  • highline
    8 months ago

    Thanks for this. I ran another SSL audit, this time with SSL Certificate Checker - Diagnostic Tool | DigiCert.com. It shows that the certificate matches (mysite.com), then lists three different certificates, and two of them have very long validation periods, six and five years.

    Server Certificate Subject: mysite.com Valid from 27/May/2025 to 25/Aug/2025 Issuer WE1

    Intermediate Certificate Subject: WE1 Valid from: 13/Dec/2023 to 20/Feb/2029 Issuer: GTS Root R4

    Intermediate Certificate Subject: GTS Root R4 Valid from: 15/Nov/2023 to 28/Jan/2028 Issuer: GlobalSign Root CA

    Does this make sense? Not sure what to do about these certificates, and how to adjust their dates. Any advice greatly appreciated.

  • Neven Vrenko
    8 months ago

    Hello,

    just as a heads-up, in the initial post, in the error message there is actual domain name mentioned. If this is the information which you consider not sharing, I would suggest to edit the original post and remove the actual website address.

    Back to the problem. The two certificates which you mentioned, that have 5 and 6 years validity period, are so called intermediate and root certificates. For this case their validity period doesn't matter. On the certificate for the actual domain matters. In you case that certificate is OK, as well. I checked the access to your site on my end as well. In 3 different browsers (Safari, Firefox and Chrome) on 2 different devices. For me the site is opening normally, without any error. Did you maybe tried opening the website on some different device? Does the error persist there as well? If so, I would encourage you to contact the Cloudflare support for this particular problem, since it seems that the website is behind their service and the SSL/TLS certificate is issued by them as well.

    Best regards, Neven

You are not logged in. Log in to post an answer.

A good answer clearly answers the question and provides constructive feedback and encourages professional growth in the question asker.

Relevant content