Articles on: Sites

Adding a Server-Side Cron Job

Cron jobs allow you to schedule regular automated tasks on your website.

Most WordPress plugins install their own cron jobs to function correctly (e.g., scheduling posts, sending newsletters, or cleaning databases).

By default, WordPress uses "WP-Cron," which only runs when someone visits your site. If your site has low traffic, tasks may be delayed or missed.

Server-side cron jobs, however, are handled directly by the hosting environment.

They trigger precisely at the scheduled interval, regardless of whether your site has visitors or not.

👉 To use server-side cron jobs, you must first disable the built-in WordPress system.

Open your site settings in the Copanel and go to the "Advanced" tab. Click "Open File Manager" :

Then, navigate to the "HTML" folder and find the wp-config.php file and double-click the file to open the editor.

Find the line that says: /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

Paste the following line of code just above it: define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

Click the Save icon (top right) and close the file.

Now that the default system is disabled, you need to tell the server to run the tasks manually.

wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron

Fill in the schedule fields. To run the tasks every 5 minutes (recommended), enter:

*/5 in the Minute field and * in all other fields (Hour, Day, Week, Month).

Note: The * symbol means "every." Using */5 in the minute field tells the server to trigger the script every 5 minutes.

You can create multiple cron jobs for different scripts if needed.
If you want to prepare a command without running it yet, select "Inactive". You can reactivate it later from the Cron Jobs list.

Updated on: 27/04/2026

Was this article helpful?

Thank you!