Why is Your WordPress Admin So Slow?

If your WordPress backend is slow and getting slower, you should consider using caching plugins. Next, you'll need to check if your WordPress plugins and themes are up to date. Otherwise, you may have compatibility issues when you upgrade your version of PHP. The standard PHP memory limit is 32 MB.

However, this amount may not be enough if you have a large website that needs to run several processes, such as an e-commerce site. In this example, replace “X” with the memory limit you want to use. For example, you can type “256” to increase the PHP memory limit to 256 MB. Then save your changes and reload the wp-config file, php via FTP.

In addition, WP Engine has a dedicated customer support team that is available 24 hours a day. So, if you have any problems with accessing and using your WordPress admin panel, you'll be able to get help quickly. The default number (if you haven't made any changes) will be set to twenty. Some WordPress users modify this number to prevent pagination.

I recommend that you keep it at 20 or below. This will restrict the amount of content your site needs to load on each of its pages. In some cases, the admin panel is slow because the PHP memory limit on WordPress is too low. The default system is 32 MB, but it is common practice to increase it.

I suggest trying a PHP memory limit of 128 MB. That should give you a lot of extra space and therefore increase overall performance. The only reason it might not be big enough is if you're running a resource-intensive site. The Heartbeat feature helps with things like autosaving posts in the WordPress editor, but it can also slow down the admin panel because it broadcasts a new AJAX request every 15 seconds or every 60 seconds on the rest of the panel.

When the functions of the WordPress editor are open, the Heartbeat API is constantly active and consumes a lot of processing time and resources. Fixing the slow loading of the WordPress admin requires a unique approach. Some of the tips mentioned, such as choosing quality hosting and using the latest version of PHP, will improve both your WordPress dashboard and your front-end site, while others, such as limiting the amount of backend content you load, are 100% focused on your WordPress dashboard. Finally, for some additional options, check out the WPLIFT article: Top 5 Managed WordPress Hosting Providers (202).

If you use it, W3 Total Cache is a double-edged sword. While I've specifically mentioned W3 Total Cache, even if you're using another caching plugin, it would be wise to check its settings to make sure it's not affecting the backend performance of your WordPress. Define ('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M'); The speed improvement can be dramatic, with reports that can take longer than 30 seconds to load in the WordPress dashboard and take only a split second in Metorik. While W3 Total Cache can be an effective add-on, it's also an overwhelming add-on.

It includes a staggering amount of settings that you can configure. And that's great for power users. But for beginners, it can cause massive confusion. The problem with enabling all caching methods in W3 Total Cache is that two of those methods are database caching and object caching.

Take a look at this list of the 52 fastest WordPress themes to find one that works well for your purposes. Finally, get your website 99.9999% secure and loading in less than 1 second. Read about how we increased Rigoroso Digital's profit margin by 23% and helped eliminate all problems from the MEP publishers website and their 3 complex websites. You can simply follow these 10 tried and tested tips to speed up your WordPress admin backend in no time.

You must have already identified and removed the add-ons that are hogging most of your resources. Another related task is to delete unused plugins and themes. So, we switched to WP Rocket and got a perfect score of 100 on the Google Page Speed Insights tool. The best part after switching to WP Rocket? Sometimes you need the extra 10 percent to get your best performance.

The same goes for your website as well. The WordPress Heartbeat API facilitates real-time communication between your web browser and the administrator's backend while you're connected. Makes a web server call every 15-60 seconds. The WordPress admin backend is a place where website owners spend more time, and if it loads too slowly, it could ruin your blogging experience.

The good news is that it's not rocket science to speed up a slow admin panel and it can be easily achieved by following the 10 tips I've listed here: use caching plugins; check if plugins/themes are up-to-date; increase PHP memory limit; use quality hosting; limit backend content; delete unused plugins/themes; use WP Rocket; bypass cache within admin; set Cloudflare security level high; disable applications/performance features within dashboard; find resource-intensive plugins; set WP memory limit to 256MB; switch to fast WordPress theme; get website 99% secure & loading in less than 1 second; use Heartbeat API wisely; reduce pagination number; check W3 Total Cache settings; follow SEO best practices & more! Go from WordPress SEO Zero to Hero in no time! Also receive 2 additional PDFs with this free e-book! But how can you find resource-intensive plugins? There are two ways you can find resource-intensive add-ons: by checking server logs or by using tools like Query Monitor or New Relic APM (Application Performance Monitoring). By default, many hosting companies limit the memory of WordPress to 32 MB, which is sometimes not enough, especially if you have a WooCommerce store or plugins that consume a lot of resources.

Byron Tabbert
Byron Tabbert

Wannabe food fan. Wannabe zombie evangelist. General introvert. Incurable internet expert. Typical travel geek.