In this article we will explain what a 504 gateway timeout is and how to fix this issue.
What is a 504 gateway-timeout?
A 504 Gateway Timeout Error means your web server didn’t receive a timely response from another server when it attempted to load one of your web pages. Put simply, your web servers aren’t communicating with each other fast enough.
Since a 504 Gateway Timeout Error is rather generic, it doesn’t actually pinpoint the exact cause of the issue. When this happens, your website will serve an error web page to your site’s visitors.
There are different kinds of error messages that can be displayed:
504 Gateway Timeout
HTTP 504
504 ERROR
Gateway Timeout (504)
HTTP Error 504 – Gateway Timeout
Gateway Timeout Error
How do I solve a 504 gateway timeout?
Sometimes the 504 gateway timeout error may simply be caused by a temporary glitch on your WordPress hosting servers. Give it a few minutes and then try reloading your website. If this helps you don’t have to take further steps in this article
If you are using a VPN connection please disable this, to see if this fixes the issue.
If you are using a DNS level website firewall like Cloudflare, then try to temporarily disable the firewall. This will allow you to connect to your WordPress hosting server directly.
Your internet connection uses something called DNS servers. These servers help your computer connect to the different servers on the internet. If the DNS servers you are using are down or unable to connect to your website, then you could see a 504 gateway timeout error. The easiest way to check this is by changing the DNS servers your device is using.
On Windows computers, you can find them under Control Panel » Network and Sharing Center screen.
On Mac computers, you can find them under Settings » Network. Click on the Advanced button, and then select the DNS tab.
A corrupt WordPress database may also trigger a 504 gateway timeout error. This is solvable when you are cleaning your PHPMyAdmin, please before you do this always make a backup of your server and contact your hosting provider so they can help you with this.
You can disable every plugin and switch to the default theme (storefront) to see if this fixes it. You can easily disable all the plugins with your FTP connection. Navigate to your plugins folder and rename that folder to plugins_disabled, that way the server thinks there are no plugins in your server.
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