diff --git a/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh b/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
index aa620b7..7c00bd5 100755
--- a/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
+++ b/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
@@ -1418,14 +1418,25 @@ create_timestamped_backup() {
 # Function to generate staggered cron time
 # Distributes jobs across 60 minutes to avoid load spikes
 generate_staggered_cron() {
+    # CRITICAL: Stagger cron times to prevent all WordPress sites from running at once
+    # This prevents server load spikes from concurrent execution
+    # Each site gets a different minute within the hour, spread across 60 minutes
+
+    # Calculate staggered minute (0-59) - each site gets a different minute
     local minute=$((CRON_OFFSET % 60))
 
-    # Create pattern: every hour at staggered minutes
-    # Site 1: minute 0, Site 2: minute 1, etc.
-    # Increment offset for next site (wraps at 60)
+    # For better distribution, use every 3 minutes instead of every minute
+    # This gives us 20 different time slots instead of 60
+    # Site 1: min 0, Site 2: min 3, Site 3: min 6, etc.
+    local stagger_minute=$((minute * 3))
+    stagger_minute=$((stagger_minute % 60))
+
+    # Increment offset for next site
     CRON_OFFSET=$((CRON_OFFSET + 1))
 
-    echo "$minute * * * *"
+    # Return cron schedule: run every hour at the staggered minute
+    # This ensures each WordPress site runs at a different time to prevent load spikes
+    echo "$stagger_minute * * * *"
 }
 
 # Function to extract user from WordPress site path
@@ -1438,18 +1449,33 @@ extract_user_from_path() {
         cpanel)
             # Extract user from /home/username/public_html pattern
             user=$(echo "$site_path" | awk -F'/' '{print $3}')
+            # Validate extraction - if empty, try alternative extraction
+            if [ -z "$user" ]; then
+                user=$(stat -c %U "$site_path" 2>/dev/null)
+            fi
             ;;
         interworx)
             # Extract user from /home/username/domain/html pattern
             user=$(echo "$site_path" | awk -F'/' '{print $3}')
+            # Validate extraction - if empty, try alternative extraction
+            if [ -z "$user" ]; then
+                user=$(stat -c %U "$site_path" 2>/dev/null)
+            fi
             ;;
         plesk)
             # Extract domain from path and lookup user
             local domain=$(echo "$site_path" | grep -oE '/vhosts/[^/]+' | sed 's|/vhosts/||')
             user=$(plesk bin subscription --info "$domain" 2>/dev/null | grep "Owner" | awk '{print $2}')
+            # Fallback to file owner if plesk lookup fails
+            if [ -z "$user" ]; then
+                user=$(stat -c %U "$site_path" 2>/dev/null)
+            fi
             ;;
         *)
-            user="www-data"
+            # Default to file owner if panel detection fails
+            user=$(stat -c %U "$site_path" 2>/dev/null)
+            if [ -z "$user" ]; then
+                user="www-data"
             ;;
     esac