Fix 502 Bad Gateway and 503 Service Unavailable on GARMTECH Hosting

Errors 502 Bad Gateway and 503 Service Unavailable usually mean the web server could not get a valid response from the website backend (most often PHP). On GARMTECH hosting this is commonly caused by a PHP crash/fatal error, a plugin/theme issue, or a temporary resource spike.

Quick checks (1 minute)

• Reload the page after 30–60 seconds (a 503 can be temporary).
• Test in an incognito/private window.
• Check if only one website is affected (if you have multiple domains in Plesk).
• If you use Cloudflare or another proxy, temporarily test by pausing it (to confirm whether the issue is on the origin server or on the proxy side).

1) Check the error log in Plesk

1. Log in to Plesk via My.GARMTECH.
2. Websites & Domains → your domain → Logs.
3. Look at error_log at the time of the 502/503 error.

If you see “Allowed memory size exhausted”, “PHP Fatal error”, or “Maximum execution time exceeded”, fix the PHP limits/version first (see step 3).

2) Clear caches (especially for WordPress)

A broken cached redirect or a corrupted cache entry can keep the site “down” even after the underlying issue is fixed.

• Browser cache/cookies: test in incognito/private mode.
• WordPress cache: if you use LiteSpeed Cache (LSCache), open LiteSpeed Cache → Toolbox → Purge All.
• CDN/Proxy cache: purge cache in your proxy (Cloudflare, etc.) after you fix the origin issue.

3) Check PHP version and limits

1. Plesk → Websites & Domains → domain → PHP Settings.
2. Try switching to another stable PHP version (if available in your plan).
3. If the logs mention memory/time limits, increase:

• memory_limit (common for WordPress and large plugins)
• max_execution_time (common for imports, backups, image processing)
• post_max_size and upload_max_filesize (for large uploads)

4) Disable the last change (plugins, theme, custom code)

If the error started after an update or a new plugin/theme, roll back that change first:

• WordPress Toolkit: disable plugins one by one.
• File Manager / FTP-SSL: rename wp-content/plugins to temporarily disable all plugins, then re-enable gradually.
• Custom code: revert the last edits in .htaccess and theme functions.

5) If you use Cloudflare: avoid “Flexible SSL” with HTTPS redirects

A very common reason for “site unavailable” or redirect loops is a mismatch between SSL/TLS settings and redirects.

• If your origin server (GARMTECH) has a valid SSL certificate (for example Let’s Encrypt), use Cloudflare encryption mode Full or Full (Strict).
• Avoid Flexible when your origin forces HTTPS — it often creates endless redirects and intermittent failures.

6) Collect details for investigation

If the error appears randomly, the most helpful details are:

• Exact URL and time of the error.
• A screenshot of the 502/503 page.
• Any proxy IDs shown on the page (for example Cloudflare Ray ID).
• Relevant error_log lines from Plesk.