PageKiwi Guide
"The link you followed has expired"
Facts checked Oct 8, 2026
WordPress says this when the theme or plugin file you're uploading is bigger than your web host allows. Nothing is broken.
Your site is fine and your visitors see nothing. Only the upload failed, and it didn't install anything.
What you'll see
- After Install Now on a .zip file
- The link you followed has expired. Sometimes with "Please try again." under it. The browser tab says "An error occurred."
- The same cause, a slightly smaller file
- The uploaded file exceeds the upload_max_filesize directive in php.ini. That's the file being over the host's limit for a single file, but under its limit for the whole form.
- After leaving a page open for hours
- The same "The link you followed has expired." This one has nothing to do with size: see below.
If you were uploading a theme or plugin
Your web host sets two size limits in PHP (the programming language WordPress runs on):
upload_max_filesize: the biggest single file you can upload.post_max_size: the biggest form you can send, file included.
When your .zip is bigger than post_max_size, PHP throws the whole form away, including the hidden security code WordPress puts in every form. With no code to check, WordPress can't tell the upload came from you, so it calls the link expired. PHP's own starting values are 2 MB and 8 MB; most hosts set them higher, but a big theme can still be over.
- Find your limit. Go to Media › Add Media File (Add New on older WordPress). Under the upload box it says Maximum upload file size: and a number. Compare it with the size of your .zip.
- Check you've got the right file. Some theme sellers' downloads are one big .zip holding the theme's own .zip plus guides and extras. Unzip it once on your computer, find the .zip named after the theme, and upload that one. It's often much smaller.
- If it's a free plugin or theme from WordPress.org, don't upload it at all. Go to Plugins › Add Plugin (or Appearance › Themes › Add Theme), search for it by name and click Install Now. WordPress fetches it directly, so your upload limit doesn't apply.
- If the file is still too big, ask your web host to raise the limits. Most can do it in a few minutes, and some hosting control panels have a PHP settings page where you can change them yourself.
- Once it's raised, upload again: Plugins › Add Plugin › Upload Plugin, or Appearance › Themes › Add Theme › Upload Theme.
You can see all of your host's limits in one place under Tools › Site Health › Info › Media Handling: Max size of post data allowed, Max size of an uploaded file, and Max effective file size, the smaller of the two, which is the one that counts.
A big file on a slow connection can also stop part-way, because hosts limit how long the server waits for a form to arrive. If yours is close to the limit, try again on a faster connection, or ask your host to raise the time limits along with the sizes.
If you left the page open
The hidden security code in each WordPress form lasts a day at most, and sometimes only half that. If you opened a screen yesterday and pressed Save or Install today, WordPress refuses it with the same message. Go back, reload the page (anything you typed may be gone, so copy it first), and do it again.
If it happens on every form, even straight after opening it, something else is wrong, often a cache serving old copies of admin pages. Tell your web person, with the page and the time.
What to ask your web host
Ask them to raise both size limits above the size of your file, with post_max_size at least as big as upload_max_filesize, as PHP requires. If they won't, ask them or your web person to put the theme or plugin on the site for you through the hosting file manager: an unzipped theme goes in the wp-content/themes folder and a plugin in wp-content/plugins. Then you switch it on from Appearance › Themes or Plugins as usual.
Send this to your web host
Not sure what to say? Copy this into an email, add your website's address, and send it.
Hi, When I upload a theme or plugin in WordPress, it says "The link you followed has expired." The file I'm uploading is: [size, for example 30 MB] WordPress says my maximum upload file size is: [the number under Media, Add Media File] Could you raise upload_max_filesize and post_max_size above that size (and the upload time limits if needed), or upload the file for me? Please tell me the new limits when it's done. Thanks
After you've installed it
A new theme or plugin can break a page. Open your home page and one or two busy pages in a private (incognito) window. If you see "There has been a critical error on this website", see the critical error guide; if the admin says "Sorry, you are not allowed to access this page", see that guide.