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502 Bad Gateway

A 502 Bad Gateway error occurs when one server on the internet acts as a gateway or proxy and receives an invalid response from an upstream server. In WordPress environments, this often happens when NGINX or Apache attempts to communicate with the PHP-FPM process and fails to receive a valid response within the required timeframe.

This communication breakdown disrupts the delivery of your website content to the browser. The error signifies a server-side failure where the backend processing layer stops responding or returns data in a format the gateway server cannot interpret.

Symptoms

[dashicons-warning]
Standard Error Message
The browser displays 502 Bad Gateway or 502 Service Temporarily Overloaded in plain text.
[dashicons-cloud]
Cloudflare Branding
A branded Error 502 screen appears indicating the CDN cannot reach your origin server.
[dashicons-visibility]
Blank White Screen
The server returns no content or text due to a total failure in the communication chain.

Common Causes

PHP-FPM Crashes
The PHP process manager stops responding or hits a timeout limit during intensive script execution.
Server Overload
High traffic spikes exhaust available PHP workers and force the server to reject new requests.
Faulty Code
Poorly coded plugins or themes create infinite loops that break the link between server layers.
Database Failures
Exhausted connection limits or crashed database tables prevent the application from returning data.
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