Entry processes are the number of requests your hosting account can run at the same moment.
Entry processes (often shortened to EP) are a limit on how many scripts your hosting account can run at once. Each time a visitor loads a page that needs PHP, such as a WordPress page that isn't cached, that request starts a process. While it's running, it counts as one entry process. When it finishes, the slot is freed for the next request.
Think of it like checkout lanes in a shop. If your limit is 20, then 20 customers can be served at once. The 21st has to wait, and if the queue is full, they're turned away with an error.
How entry processes work
Entry process limits are set by CloudLinux, the operating system many shared hosting providers use to keep accounts isolated. The count includes requests to PHP scripts, cron jobs and some SSH sessions. It does not count static files like images, CSS or JavaScript, and it doesn't count cached pages that the web server serves directly.
Most requests finish in well under a second, so a limit of 20 or 30 can handle a lot of visitors. The number only becomes a problem when requests are slow, because each one holds its slot for longer.
Entry processes vs visitors
Entry processes are not the same as the number of people on your site. A site with 200 people browsing might only use five entry processes at any instant, because each person spends most of their time reading, not loading. On the other hand, one slow plugin that takes ten seconds per request can use up your limit with very little traffic.
It's also different from PHP workers, which some hosts use to describe how many PHP requests can be processed in parallel. The ideas overlap, but entry processes are an account-level cap enforced by the operating system.
What happens when you hit the entry process limit
New requests are refused and visitors see a "508 Resource Limit Is Reached" or "503 Service Unavailable" error until a slot frees up. Common causes are:
- Pages that aren't cached, so every visit runs PHP.
- Slow database queries or external API calls.
- Bots and crawlers hitting many pages at once.
- Heavy admin work, such as bulk imports, while the site is busy.
How to reduce entry process usage
- Turn on page caching. On LiteSpeed servers, LSCache serves cached pages without starting PHP at all.
- Use an object cache such as Redis to speed up database work.
- Block abusive bots and limit crawl rates.
- Remove slow or unused plugins.
- Check your resource usage graphs in cPanel to see when you hit the limit.
If you outgrow shared limits, AblePage's higher hosting plans give you more CPU and memory.