How to fix a slow WordPress admin area

How to fix a slow WordPress admin area

Common fixes

  • Update PHP to a current version (see How to change PHP version). This alone often gives the biggest improvement.
  • Remove unused plugins. Deactivating isn't enough; delete them.
  • Find heavy plugins with Query Monitor, which shows how many database queries and how much time each plugin takes on admin pages.
  • Increase the memory limit to 256M (see How to increase the PHP memory limit).
  • Clean the database with a plugin such as WP-Optimize: remove old revisions, spam comments, expired transients.
  • Limit revisions by adding define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', 10 ); to wp-config.php.
  • Reduce the Heartbeat API, which polls the server constantly while you're logged in; Heartbeat Control or your caching plugin can slow it down.
  • Replace WP-Cron with a real cron job (see How to disable WP-Cron).

Check resource limits

If the admin is slow and you see 503/508 errors, your account may be hitting its limits; check Resource Usage in cPanel.

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