How to Fix Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

Learn With Whiteboard
3 min readDec 29, 2022

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4 ways on How to Fix Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

If you see the message “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” when trying to access your WordPress website, it means that the website is currently undergoing maintenance. This is a normal part of the WordPress update process, and is typically only displayed for a few minutes.

If the message persists for longer than a few minutes, it may be due to an issue with the website’s files or database. In this case, here are some steps you can try to fix the issue:

1. Check the .maintenance file

The first step is to check for the presence of the .maintenance file in the root directory of your WordPress installation. If this file is present, it may be preventing WordPress from completing the update process. To fix this, you can delete the .maintenance file using a file manager or FTP client.

Fix Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance in WordPress

2. Check the database

Another possible cause of the “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” message is an issue with the website’s database. To check the database, you can try using a plugin such as WP-DB Manager to repair and optimize the database.

3. Check for plugin or theme conflicts

If the issue persists after deleting the .maintenance file and repairing the database, it may be due to a plugin or theme conflict. To troubleshoot this issue, you can try deactivating all plugins and switching to a default theme, and then reactivating the plugins and switching back to your preferred theme one by one to determine the cause of the conflict.

4. Check the website’s files

If none of the above steps help, you can try checking the website’s files for any errors or corruption. You can use a tool such as the WordPress Health Check plugin to check the website’s files and fix any issues that are found.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you should be able to fix the “Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance” message and get your WordPress website back up and running. If the issue persists after trying these steps, you may need to seek further assistance from your hosting provider or a WordPress developer.

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