Important: You can only change the max execution time for activated Boxes from the Starter plan upwards as Boxes on these plans have their own vServer.
What is max_execution_time?
The max execution time determines how long in seconds PHP processes may run before they're automatically terminated by the system. The max_execution_time has two different values:
The time for processes in the frontend: This value determines how long PHP processes may take that are called via pages without /wp-admin/ in the URL.
The time for processes in the WP dashboard: This value determines how long PHP processes may take that are called via pages with /wp-admin/ in the URL.
It's important to not set the max_execution_time too high. The longer PHP processes are allowed to run, the higher the risk they will block other processes on the page. This can lead to 504 errors, i.e. server timeouts.
Ideally, the max_execution_time should be as short as possible. Processes that run into a timeout should be optimized accordingly. Your web designer or the developer of the plugin or theme causing the timeout can help you with this.
Note: The values for max_execution_time always apply to max_input_time as well.
How to set max_execution_time and max_input_time
Follow these steps to define the max_execution_time and max_input_time:
Click on the Settings tab in the Box overview
Go to the PHP menu on the left and select PHP execution time
There are two different values here, max_execution_time und max_input_time: one for the frontend und one for the WordPress dashboard (backend).
If the time you enter is too high, a small hint or warning symbol will be displayed.
