At Irish Web Services, we regularly help business owners whose websites are slow, unstable, or letting them down. Recently, we worked with a client whose site was crashing with 503 errors, running out of storage, and failing every speed test it was put through.
By carrying out a full technical audit and optimisation, we were able to stabilise the site, free up resources, and improve performance so much that it now passes all Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix tests.
Here’s a breakdown of what we found and how we fixed it.
Identifying the Problem: 503 Errors and Performance Issues
The client had been experiencing frequent 503 “Service Unavailable” errors. These errors usually happen when a server is overloaded or critical background tasks (called cron jobs) fail.
In addition, the hosting account was almost out of storage, with over 40GB of unnecessary files taking up space. This was causing further instability and slowing down the site.
Finally, the website was failing both Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix performance tests, which meant visitors were likely leaving due to poor loading times.
Step 1: Fixing Cron Jobs
WordPress uses “cron jobs” to run background tasks, such as publishing scheduled posts, checking SSL certificates, or preloading the cache.
On this site, several plugins were running heavy cron jobs too frequently, which led to repeated failures. The result? A backlog of tasks that eventually overloaded the site and caused downtime.
We resolved this by:
- Moving WordPress cron jobs to a proper server-side scheduler.
- Cleaning out failed and orphaned cron jobs from the database.
- Disabling overly aggressive plugin tasks (e.g., Broken Link Checker and AccelerateWP preload).
This ensured background tasks could run smoothly without crashing the site.
Step 2: Freeing Up 40GB of Storage
The hosting account was at its limit, with unnecessary backups and log files consuming valuable space. We performed a deep clean-up, freeing up around 40GB.
This not only prevented further downtime but also improved hosting performance by giving the site more breathing room.
Step 3: Website Optimisation
With the site stable and storage under control, we focused on performance:
- Database optimisation: Cleaned up expired transients, old revisions, and orphaned data.
- Caching & compression: Configured AccelerateWP to handle caching efficiently.
- File exclusions: Ensured robots.txt, sitemaps, and API endpoints were excluded from caching so search engines could crawl the site correctly.
- Theme checks: Suppressed minor PHP warnings from the theme that were cluttering logs but not affecting performance.
After these steps, the site achieved top results in both Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix.
The Results
- ✅ No more 503 errors — the site is stable and reliable.
- ✅ 40GB of storage freed — hosting performance improved.
- ✅ Passes Google PageSpeed Insights — faster loading times.
- ✅ Passes GTmetrix — optimal site health and performance.
The client now has peace of mind knowing their website is running at its best, without the constant fear of downtime or slow performance driving away visitors.
Could Your Website Be Next?
If your website is slow, unstable, or giving you errors, it’s not just a technical problem — it’s costing you customers.
At Irish Web Services, we offer:
- Website audits & troubleshooting 🔧
- Speed & performance optimisation ⚡
- Hosting & maintenance packages 🔒
- SEO, Google Ads & digital growth strategies 📈
📲 Get in touch today to book your website audit and see how we can help your site perform at its best