How to Fix "The Link You Followed Has Expired" Error in WordPress

If you see "The link you followed has expired" while uploading a theme, plugin, or media file in WordPress, it almost always means the file is larger than what your server currently allows for a single upload. WordPress isn't blocking the file on purpose: your hosting account has two PHP settings, upload_max_filesize and post_max_size, and the file you're trying to upload is bigger than one or both of them.

Why This Happens

Every hosting account has a maximum file size it will accept in a single request. When a theme or plugin ZIP, or a large image or video, goes over that limit, the upload request fails partway through. WordPress then redirects you back and shows the expired link message instead of a clear "file too large" error, which is why it's confusing.

Quick Checks Before You Change Any Settings

1. Confirm the file size of what you're uploading. Right-click it on your computer and check its properties.
2. If it's a plugin or theme ZIP, make sure it downloaded completely and isn't corrupted: try re-downloading it.
3. Try the upload again in a different browser or after clearing your browser cache, in case the first attempt was a one-off network issue.

If the file is genuinely large (a big theme package, a bulk media file, or a full site import), you'll need to raise your upload limit.

How to Raise Your Upload Limit

You can increase these settings directly from your hosting control panel. Which steps you follow depends on whether your account uses cPanel or DirectAdmin.

In cPanel

1. Log in to cPanel and open MultiPHP INI Editor under the Software section.
2. Select your domain from the dropdown.
3. Switch to the Editor Mode tab.
4. Find upload_max_filesize and post_max_size, and raise both values (for example, to 64M), making sure post_max_size is equal to or larger than upload_max_filesize.
5. Click Save.

In DirectAdmin

1. Log in to DirectAdmin and open PHP Selector (sometimes labeled Select PHP Version).
2. Click Switch to PHP Options or the settings icon next to your PHP version.
3. Find upload_max_filesize and post_max_size, and increase both (for example, to 64M), keeping post_max_size equal to or higher than upload_max_filesize.
4. Click Save.

Give the change a minute or two to take effect, and refresh your WordPress admin page before trying the upload again. If you don't see MultiPHP INI Editor or PHP Selector in your control panel, contact support and ask for your upload limit to be raised.

If the Upload Still Fails

• Check that your WordPress memory limit isn't also too low: a theme or plugin install can fail with a different error if WP_MEMORY_LIMIT is too small.
• Temporarily disable any security plugin that scans uploads, then try again, since some of them block large or unfamiliar file types before WordPress even processes them.
• For a very large file, such as a full site export, it's often more reliable to upload it directly through File Manager or FTP and install or import it from there, instead of through the WordPress admin uploader.

For more on adjusting these limits outside of WordPress specifically, see our article on how to increase PHP upload and memory limits for your website.