WordPress Admin becomes slow? The reason and how to fix it

Recently I was asked about how to fix the admin error that runs very slowly and cannot be manipulated.

This is a rather annoying error, because of the time we often have to work in the Dashboard.

In this article, I will show the cause and how to fix it.

What makes WordPress Admin slow down?

It is quite difficult to give the exact cause immediately.

There are many factors that slow down admins, but here are some common reasons that I’ve come across:

• Hosting is overloaded or lacks resources
• Plugins take up too much memory
• Using the old PHP version
• WordPress Heartbeat API
• The database is not neat
• Low WordPress memory limit
• Loading too much content
• Use unnecessary dashboard widgets
• There is too heavy and cumbersome

Now let’s fix them!

Fix slow WordPress Admin: 8 ways

1. Upgrade Host

The most common error is because you are using a “spoof” host ( especially free hosting ).

Or even if you use good hosting, the storage capacity is overloaded and needs an upgrade.

Anyway, if your server is overloaded (full CPU, full disk…)

Then the admin will definitely slow down (sometimes the front-end is also slow).

If you’ve tried all the ways, it’s time to upgrade the server you’re using.

Some server providers I trust:

• BlueHost
• HostGator
• Namecheap

2. Use Query Monitor to detect slow plugins.

You can easily see that when you install WordPress for the first time, the admin section will load quite quickly.

But after a while when installing more plugins, the admin started to slow down.

First of all, I need to clarify that ” having many plugins ” does not mean that the web or admin is running slow…

I once had an article on the topic of how many plugins is enough, if you haven’t seen it or refer back.

So how do we find the most “resource-consuming” plugins?

We already have a solution that is to install the Query Monitor plugin (completely free).

Click on the new option in the WordPress toolbar to open the plugin interface.

Then go to the Queries by Component tab and start searching:

Check the time tab and the plugin name that is slowing down your website the most.

Consider deactivating or replacing it with another plugin (if absolutely necessary).

3. Use the latest PHP version

WordPress is built on top of the PHP programming language.

And the PHP version that your website is using will be decided by you when installing.

Not only are they more secure, but the new PHP versions also offer significant performance improvements over the old version.

This is the main reason why WordPress recommends users update to the latest PHP versions.

Kinsta comparison results

PHP 7.3 version is capable of handling 3 times the number of requests/second that PHP 5.6 can handle:

But according to WordPress statistics, the majority of people are using PHP 5.6 (or earlier).

Please check the PHP version you are using, if it’s low then why wait without updating.

You can easily update the latest PHP version through the host you use.

For example:

If your host does not allow you to make changes through cPanel or DirectAdmin, contact support immediately for help.

And if the server doesn’t support PHP 7+ again, it’s time to switch to another provider.

4. Using Heartbeat Control

The WordPress Heartbeat API provides real-time communication between the browser and the server, once you are logged into the WordPress admin.

This feature helps to automatically backup when in the WordPress editor, but Heartbeat can also slow down the admin

Because they send AJAX requests every 15 seconds while you use the editor ( or every 60 seconds during use ).

If you’re using WP Rocket, you can easily reduce the frequency of these requests (or disable them altogether).

Go to the Heartbeat tab in the WP Rocket settings:

Or, use the native Heartbeat Control plugin to control the Heartbeat API.

Once the plugin has been installed and activated, go to Settings » Heartbeat Control Settings to reduce

Or disable the Heartbeat API for different areas in the admin panel.

If you have reduced the frequency but not improved the admin running slow.

At this point, you should disable the entire Heartbeat API.

5. Database Cleanup (Especially with WooCommerce Store)

Over time, the database on WordPress will have to save a lot of unused data such as post revisions, transients, etc.

Especially with the WooCommerce Store, where there is a lot of expired data.

This sometimes slows down the WordPress admin.

You can easily delete these data safely without affecting the website.

To do this, use the Database tab in WP Rocket:

WP Rocket also allows you to set up an automatic schedule to clean the database.

Or, if not using WP Rocket, WP-Optimize is also an option worth considering.

6. Increase Memory Limit in WordPress

Sometimes, your WordPress admin panel is experiencing a bottleneck due to the PHP memory limit on the web.

If this is the case for you, just increase the memory limit on the website and everything will be solved.

If your host allows you to manually increase the PHP memory limit, use the following command with the wp-config.php file:

And if your host won’t let you do it manually, contact support and have them do it for you!

7. Limit the amount of content displayed on the WordPress admin

Does WordPress provide us with a feature called Screen Options in the dashboard

This function allows you to control the amount of information displayed on the dashboard.

For example posts, pages, orders on WooCommerce…

The value by default is 20 items/per page, which is perfectly normal.

Or if you find too much information can be turned off in the Columns line.

However, you could have increased this value to avoid pagination.

If so, consider using the default value.

However, now you need to use the “next page” option more often, but speeding up the admin area is more important.

8. Disable Unnecessary Dashboard Widgets

By default, the WordPress dashboard comes with a lot of widgets that we probably never use.

For example, on the main dashboard, you have widgets like news and events.

However, even when we don’t use it, the widgets still load information and work, slowing down the admin panel.

To disable unnecessary widgets, you should use the Widget Disable plugin (free)

After you install and activate it, go to Appearance » Disable Widgets and remove all unused widgets.

If other plugins add widgets – like WooCommerce – you can easily disable them too:

9. Check the theme you are using

It sounds a bit confusing, but there are many themes that manufacturers crammed with a lot of features.

They often use the functions.php file to add additional functionality, like how plugins work.

And sometimes these functions slow down your admin a lot.

If those are unnecessary features, find a way to turn them off and test the speed again.

And if it’s still slow or tries changing to another default theme, if admin you reload as fast as usual.

Then it is possible that the theme is having problems

The end

Hope this article helps you solve slow admin.

Although WP Rocket has the ability to help us speed up the front end on the page.

But improving WordPress admin speed requires you to pay more attention to it.

Some of the ways I mentioned – like choosing a quality host and using the latest PHP version – will support both WordPress as well as the front-end, while others – like disabling widgets and

a limited amount of content – ​​focus on the WordPress admin area only.