How to Fix the 503 Service Unavailable Error?

What is 503 Service Unavailable Error?

When you attempt to browse a website and receive a notification that reads “Service Unavailable” or something similar, it indicates that you are unable to access the site at this time. Consequently, the 503 error message is returned in place of the website, indicating that the service or data is momentarily unavailable.

Now, a 503 error usually looks like this:

Although the content and visuals of the message may differ a little, the idea conveyed is the same.

Does it Affect the SEO of the Website?

Not immediately! The good news is that the search engine rankings will remain unaffected for a while even though a 503 error page appears instead of the website. However, that is a temporary state. You will have to resolve the issue if you want to maintain the search rankings.

To resolve the issue, you would first need to understand the issue.

When Does a 503 Error Occur?

The issue that causes the 503 error is always related to the hosting server. There are a number of reasons that may lead to the error. Among them, the most common are:

• overwhelming web traffic that causes a server to crash
• temporarily closing the server for maintenance

You can trace these issues back to the following problems:

Going Over the Resource Allocation Limit

A hosting provider will restrain its services if a website continues using more resources than the allocated limit. It will consequently block access to the website that utilizes more processes than the limits defined in the provider’s Terms of Service.

The problem usually lies in a script or plugin of the website that is misbehaving and monopolizing the resources. It eventually leads to the website consuming excessive resources threatening the stability of the entire server.

If such an issue does occur, Hostvento will send an email to the registered account of the website owner. The message will have all the details regarding the problem. It will also list possible troubleshooting solutions.

You can also check the resource consumption from your control panel.

File Permission Settings

Hostvento places restrictions on files on shared servers to prevent undue conflicts among the users. Clients can not access certain files or configure server settings as it requires permission from an authority like the admin. The 503 error (or sometimes a 403 error or 500 error) may occur because it causes authorization issues.

You can refer to these links to resolve these issues:

• How To Change File Permissions In cPanel?

Some of the reasons that lead to the occurrence of the 503 Service Unavailable error may also cause the 403 Forbidden error and 500 Internal Server error.

You can use the same troubleshooting solutions as these two to resolve the 503 error. Here are the articles that can help:

• How to Resolve the 403 Forbidden Error?
• How to Troubleshoot the 500 Internal Server Error?

Summary

The 503 Service Unavailable error often sprouts from an issue with the hosting server. A few helpful solutions would be:

• to check and curb your resource consumption
• to check for any file restrictions on your server
• to troubleshoot it in the same way as you would the 403 and 500 errors

However, with a few settings and configurations, your website can return to normal. If it still doesn’t work, you may have to contact your provider for help.