Memory issues on VPS

What you describe has been reported before, so is not unusual, even for relatively low volume sites. I have experienced this myself 3-4 years ago. All it takes is too many visitors at the same time.

You didn’t say how much RAM you have on your VPS. Myself, even for low volume WordPress sites, I buy a VPS package that has a minimum of 2GB RAM and then I install a 4GB swap file. I am paying less than $5 per month for mine, though not at DreamHost.

For higher volume sites, I prefer shared hosting as it gets me away from memory issues. But then the issue becomes one of finding reliable shared hosting.

Thanks for the response! I only have 1GB of RAM. I moved from shared hosting because I was told my site would run faster on a VPS, but I guess I’m in over my head because I don’t know how to custom configure it to take advantage of the VPS? At least that’s what I’m being told now by Dreamhost support. I’m wondering if I’d be better off with a managed WordPress host.
Do you mind sharing what service you use that is 2gb for less than $5 a month?

Unfortunately, Support forum rules do not allow such specific discussions of hosting because the threads get spammed really badly.

However, I am willing to discuss this off-line if you contact me at [Link redacted]

I trust that you received my two e-mails, in response to your questions. If not, please let me know.

@jonradio
Please do not do that, telling users to contact you off-forums is a way bigger no-no than hosting talks.

We’re perfectly fine with recommending hosting solutions (as in, what kind of a setup is best in this case), as long as it isn’t a “I use this host because it’s better than that host”, you were both on a good roll here, exchanging what kind of service to use for the site, that’s perfectly fine ??

@delapuravida
I see you mentioned you are with DreamHost, have you tried one of their WordPress specific hosting options? https://www.dreamhost.com/hosting/wordpress/ they usually make things run pretty smoothly without you needing to run your own server and have to deal with optimization etc.

Now I don’t know what to think. Here is what I was told by the Forum Moderator 4 months ago:

Let’s try to keep the hosting topic at top level; avoiding suggesting particular providers, services and costs.

ref. – https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/installing-multiple-independent-wordpress-sites-in-subdirectories?replies=17

@adiant Just to clarify: I’m sorry but using these forums for contacting members off site has been abused before. It’s discouraged and please do not ask anyone to contact you that way.

NOTE! No one is accusing you of any ill will! Honest. But really, it’s been bad before and it is important that all users, experienced and new have a place that’s safe.

Here’s what you replied with above and it’s spot on correct.

Unfortunately, Support forum rules do not allow such specific discussions of hosting because the threads get spammed really badly.

You’re right and that’s really a reference to the fact that hosting topics become spam magnets of doom eventually. That’s why the stock hosting reply is this one.

Per the Forum welcome, we close topics like this due to the amount of spam that they attract. The WordPress team has provided a list of a few recommended hosting providers. For more details and other recommendations, please search through the forums or via Google (or your preferred search engine).

Note: By closing this post I neither support nor condemn the use of the servers listed on the www.ads-software.com official hosting page, and encourage you to search around.

Pretty dry, right? Then the moderators close the topic. But the contacting off site is tricky and that’s why it was redacted.

Thank you for your time, Jan, and clarification!

Back to the topic at hand: @delapuravida this topic was tagged with dreamhost and they do monitor these forums.

It’s the weekend but you may get a reply from one of their support staff.

Jonradio, you’re welcome. Thanks for all the great help. ??

Thank you @jonradio for all the help! Sorry to get you into trouble ??

@marius @jan I’ve been in touch with Dreamhost asking about their managed WordPress hosting, but so far that question has been ignored and I’ve been told repeatedly to increase RAM on my VPS. Quite frustrating. They’re usually fantastic with customer service so not sure what’s going on. Based on the responses to my initial question here, I think it’s quite obvious I need to switch over to managed WP hosting, though. Thanks!