diff --git a/scripts/detect-memory.sh b/scripts/detect-memory.sh
index d6c5529..9423917 100755
--- a/scripts/detect-memory.sh
+++ b/scripts/detect-memory.sh
@@ -69,7 +69,15 @@ esac
 
 # --- PHP-FPM parameters (skipped for httpd_only) ---
 if [ "$CONTAINER_ROLE" != "httpd_only" ]; then
-  PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB=${PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB:-60}
+  # PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB sizes the divisor for pm.max_children. The
+  # previous default of 60 was optimistic for modern Woo/Elementor stacks:
+  # the alphaone 2026-06-01 incident measured ~193 MB resident per worker
+  # against the 60 MB assumption, and 15 calculated children put peak
+  # demand (15 * 193 = 2.9 GB) over the 1-2 GiB container cap. 128 lands
+  # closer to plugin-heavy WP reality while remaining conservative for
+  # leaner sites. Customers can still override via the FPM_MAX_CHILDREN
+  # env var on the container if a different shape is justified.
+  PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB=${PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB:-128}
 
   calc_max_children=$((PHP_BUDGET_MB / PHP_WORKER_ESTIMATE_MB))
   # Floor at 2, cap at 50