A suspension page where your site should be
The website shows a hosting company's "account suspended" page. An email from the host mentions malicious files, abuse reports or resource usage and asks you to resolve it. Sometimes email on the domain has stopped too. The support ticket queue is slow and the replies are copied from a template.
Meanwhile the site is off, and nobody in the business is sure what they are supposed to fix.
What usually triggered it
| Reason | What is behind it |
|---|---|
| Malware detected | Infected plugin, theme or uploaded file, often from an outdated component |
| Outgoing spam | A hacked script or contact form used to send bulk email from your server |
| Excess CPU or memory | A heavy plugin, bot traffic or a runaway scheduled task |
| Too many processes or database connections | Bots hammering search, login or xmlrpc.php |
| Disk space or file count | Backups stored on the server, logs or cache files growing unchecked |
On shared hosting, the host's first duty is to protect other customers on the same server. Suspending your account is the quickest way for them to do that, and they will not usually investigate on your behalf.
What the suspension costs
Everything the site does stops while it is suspended: enquiries, orders, bookings, ads pointing at it. If email is hosted on the same account, that goes too. If the cause was spam, your domain and the server's address may be on blocklists, affecting email for a while after. And if the underlying problem is not fixed, the next suspension tends to come sooner.
Suspensions also tend to repeat. A site suspended for resource use often gets reinstated after someone clears some files, then suspended again later because the plugin or the bot traffic behind it is still there. Each round costs goodwill with the host, and some hosts eventually close the account rather than reinstate it again.
How we get the suspension lifted
- Ask the host for the specifics: which files, which scripts, what resource limits and what time. Hosts will usually provide logs if asked properly.
- Take a copy of the account, including files, databases and email, before changing anything.
- If malware: clean the site, replace core, plugins and themes from official sources, remove backdoors and close the way in.
- If spam: find the script or form sending it, remove or secure it, and move the site's email to an authenticated mail service with SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
- If resources: profile the site, block abusive bot traffic with a firewall, fix the plugin or task consuming the resources, and move backups off the server.
- Send the host a clear summary of what was found and fixed, with evidence, and request reinstatement.
- Check blocklists and request removal where needed, and set up monitoring for file changes, outgoing mail and resource use.
- Advise honestly whether the hosting plan still fits, or whether the site has outgrown it.
After reinstatement
The site and email are back, the cause is fixed rather than hidden, and you have a written record of what happened. Monitoring alerts someone to unusual file changes, mail volume or load before the host notices. If the site needed better hosting, the move is planned rather than forced.
Does this match what has happened?
- Your site shows the host's suspension page
- The host mentioned malware, spam or resource usage
- Email on the domain stopped at the same time
- Plugins and themes have not been updated recently
- Backups are stored in the same hosting account
- This has happened before