WordPress error 429 too many requests is a common error faced by website owners.

It makes the websites inaccessible and the users only see the 429 error message on the screen. This makes them wonder what caused it.

When a script, bot, or a user makes too many requests, it triggers this error.

As part of a WordPress Management Services, our experts routinely resolve errors such as this. Today we will go through the top causes we have seen for this error, and how we resolve them.

Causes for WordPress error 429 Too Many Requests

Every server has a limit in the number of requests it can accept. Further, when the number of requests exceeds this limit, the server automatically starts a rate-limiting feature. It results in a 429 Too Many Requests error.

Generally web hosts adopt this method to prevent brute force or DDOS attacks. Conversely, some other reasons can also trigger this error which includes:

• Plugin conflicts
• Theme conflicts
• Restriction on third-party services

The WordPress error 429 too many requests error can appear on screen in the following forms:

• 429 Error
• Error 429 (Too Many Requests)
• 429 Too Many Requests
• Too Many Requests
• HTTP 429

Although each of them reads differently, they all mean that there is excessive connection requests to the server.

Let us look at each of the reasons behind this error in detail and how to fix it in each case.

Plugin issues:

The most common reason behind the 429 error in WordPress is a bad plugin. Some poorly programmed plugins often send repetitive connection requests to the server. This triggers the error message.

We need to find the culprit plugin and deactivate it to resolve the error. Sometimes, the error logs may leave some traces of the offensive plugin. But in most of the cases, 429 error may not leave many details in the error log.

The possible solution here is to try deactivating all the plugins and then reactivating them one by one.  The deactivate option in the Bulk Actions drop-down could be used for a bulk deactivation.

Theme issues

Some highly programmed themes are built to perform additional tasks performed by plugins. They send requests to the server simultaneously. As a result, the  429 too many requests error in WordPress may occur.

The 429 error disappears when switched to another theme. Changing the theme to the default WordPress one will help to confirm if this is actually causing issues.  WordPress theme can be changed easily from the appearance option in the WordPress admin panel.

Restrictions on Third-party Services

Sometimes, it won’t be any of the reasons mentioned above rather it would be a server-side setting.

For instance, some web hosts will block requests from specific third-party services or platforms that make a large number of requests. It includes search engines, crawlers, Google Search Console, etc

Generally, these could be an automatic block triggered by web application firewalls like ModSecurity. Identifying the exact rules and whitelisting the IP ranges for the corresponding service provider could help to solve the issue.

How to prevent 429 Too many requests error in WordPress?

As you could see, the most common reason for the error is a bad plugin. Therefore the wise idea to prevent the error is to be cautious while installing plugins.

It is always recommended to go minimalistic with plugins.  Install only those that you really need on your website. Similarly, uninstall the plugins that you don’t use anymore.

It is equally important to keep the plugins and themes updated by performing updates periodically.

Additionally changing the default WordPress admin panel URL can also help in reducing the chances for 429 error. A major part of the brute force attacks in WordPress is aimed at the WordPress login page. Changing it to a random one will reduce the chances of requests from attackers actually reaching the server.

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Conclusion

In short, the WordPress error 429 too many requests is triggered when the server starts to rate-limit the connection request. Sending excessive connection requests to the server by bots or scripts is the most common reason behind it. Today, we discussed different scenarios that lead to 429 Too many requests error in WordPress and how our Support Engineers fix it easily.