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Client work
A 500 Error Another Agency Could Not Fix
A days-old site was returning 500 errors and the client’s SEO agency had already tried and failed. The database had hit its ceiling — filled almost entirely by one plugin’s logging.
Australian-based team
Senior developers only
Fixed quote before we start
2,156 MB
Database size, against a 2 GB cap
200 MB
After clean-up
91%
Reduction
WordPress
SiteGround
MySQL
Australian team
Based here, working your hours — not a timezone away
144+ projects delivered
Over 10+ years building and maintaining sites for Australian businesses
One developer, start to finish
The same person every time — no re-explaining your site
Straight answers, on your terms
We only take work we can finish. Ask us anything first — no obligation
The challenge
- The site returned a 500 error with nothing on the page to indicate why.
- The client’s existing SEO agency had already attempted a fix and could not resolve it.
- The site was only days old, so "it used to work" gave no useful history to compare against.
- A 500 is a symptom, not a diagnosis — it can originate in PHP, the server, or the database.
What we did
- Checked the hosting layer first and found the database, not PHP, was the failure point.
- Went through the database table by table rather than guessing — the fault was a single table consuming almost the entire allowance.
- Identified the plugin writing to it: logging was enabled with no rotation and no cap, on a brand-new site.
- Took a full database backup before changing anything, then cleared the log data.
- Reconfigured the plugin so its logging could not fill the database again — a clean-up alone would only have delayed a repeat.
- Handed the backup and a written explanation to the client.
The outcome
- Database reduced from 2,156 MB to roughly 200 MB, back well inside the 2 GB limit.
- Site restored to normal operation.
- Root cause removed rather than the symptom cleared, so the failure could not recur.
- Client received the database backup and the diagnosis in writing.
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