If your backups stop halfway, show "Allowed memory size exhausted", or sit at the same percentage forever, you're not alone. Shared hosting is cheap because many sites share one server, and the host protects that server with limits. Backups bump into every one of them.
Here's what each limit does, how to spot it, and how to get backups that finish anyway.
The three limits that break backups
1. Time limits
PHP requests on shared hosting are usually allowed to run for 30 to 300 seconds. A backup that tries to zip a large site in one request is cut off when the time runs out, often with no error message at all.
The fix: work in small steps that each finish well within the limit, and save progress between them. Movebase does exactly this: every batch is saved, so a timeout simply means the next batch carries on from where the last one stopped.
2. Memory limits
You'll see something like:
Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 134217728 bytes exhausted
That's PHP's memory limit (here 128 MB). Large database tables or big image files can need more.
The fixes:
- Raise the limit in
wp-config.php, if your host allows it:define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); - Or ask your host to raise
memory_limitfor your account. - Or use a tool that copes. Movebase raises PHP memory the way WordPress itself does, and when memory still runs short it retries in smaller batches and keeps its progress. In our tests, a restore finished with memory locked at 56 MB.
3. Blocked background requests
Many plugins keep working after you close the page by having WordPress call itself in the background (a "loopback" request) or by relying on WP-Cron. Some hosts block loopbacks, and WP-Cron only runs when someone visits the site.
The fix: keep the page open while the backup runs, or use a tool that tells you honestly whether background work is running. Movebase includes a background check that shows whether your host keeps working after you close the page, so you know which to do.
Other things that slow backups down
- Huge log or cache folders inside
wp-content. Clear your cache plugin before backing up. - Old backups stored inside the site. Some plugins keep every backup in
wp-content, so each new backup includes all the old ones. Movebase keeps backups in a private folder outside your public website and doesn't back up its own backups. - A nearly full disk. A full backup can need as much free space as your site itself. If your hosting is nearly full, use direct-to-cloud backups, which stream each part to storage and remove the local copy once it's verified.
- Antivirus or security plugins scanning every file as the backup reads it.
How to tell what's going wrong
- Check the plugin's log. Movebase shows the current step, whether your host is responding, and what to do next. You can copy the log or download a report for support; it never contains passwords, keys or content.
- Check PHP limits. In WordPress go to Tools → Site Health → Info → Server to see your memory limit and max execution time.
- Ask your host whether loopback requests are blocked and what your limits are. Hosts are used to this question.
When it's time to upgrade hosting
If backups only finish with the page open for half an hour, or your site regularly hits memory limits during normal use, your site may have outgrown its plan. But a site doesn't need expensive hosting just to be backed up: with the right tool, even modest plans back up reliably.
Next, read how to back up a WordPress site, or see how Movebase handles restores on real-world hosts.
We build Movebase and test every step we write about on real WordPress sites, from shared hosting to big WooCommerce stores.
