This document summarizes a presentation about improving WordPress performance and security. It provides tips for optimizing WordPress like avoiding unnecessary plugins, caching, image optimization techniques like sprites, and setting expiration headers. It warns that WordPress is a major target for hackers due to its popularity and that web hosts are restricting plugins for security. It emphasizes monitoring the site for changes to protect it.

1. Web Hosting Session
WP Issues
Presented by:
Scott Hendison
SEO Automatic
Search Commander, Inc.

2. About Me
• Began web hosting & selling software online
in 1999, and began an SEO consulting
agency in the spring of 2004.
• In 2007, I started SEO Automatic, a set of
end user and white label tools for internet
marketers.
• I‘ve been on this panel five times now, and
it‘s hard to be original, which is why I
decided to cover WP for the topic.

3. Performance & Security
• General WP tips
• Caching
• Compression
• Image Expires Header
• Images: Sprites
• Protecting Yourself

4. General WP tips
• Avoid too many plugins
• Remove inactive plugins
• Watch out for “bad” plugins
• Watch database bloat
• Page revisions can be deleted
• Comment spam can be deleted
• WP Plugin can help – WP Optimize

5. Database Bloat

6. Caching

7. Caching
• Google says Caching:
– Most sites include resources that change
infrequently - CSS files, images, JavaScript etc.
– Caching allows these resources to be saved, or
cached, by a browser or proxy.
– Reduce round-trip time by eliminating numerous
HTTP requests for the required resources, and
reduce the size of responses.
• WP Plugins: Several

8. Caching

9. Caching

10. Caching

11. Caching

12. Caching
Nice Caching Roundup at Tutorial9.net

13. Compression

14. Compression
• Google Says Compression –
– HTTP compression is a capability that can
be built into web servers and web clients to
make better use of available bandwidth, and
provide faster transmission speeds between
both.
• WP Plugins: Several

15. Compression

16. Compression

17. Compression

18. Compression

19. Compression
Test your compression rates and compare
results at Whatismyip.org

20. Expires and Cache-Control

21. Expires and Cache-Control
• Google Says - Expires and Cache-Control:
max-age
– These specify the “freshness lifetime” of a
during which the browser can use the cached
resource without checking to see if a new
version is available. Once they're set and the
resource is downloaded, the browser will not
issue any GET requests for the resource until
the expiry date or maximum age is reached.
• WP Plugins: Several

22. Expires and Cache-Control
• Do it with no plugin: tipsandtricks-hq.com
or

23. Image Sprites

24. Images: Sprites
• Google Says Images: Sprites
– Combining images into as few files as
possible using CSS sprites reduces the
number of round-trips and delays in
downloading other resources, reduces
request overhead, and can reduce the total
number of bytes downloaded by a web page.
• WP Plugins: Csprites (out of date) but
others are likely coming

25. Images: Sprites

26. Images: Sprites
CSS Thumbnail Sprites (at code.google.com)

27. Images: Sprites
W3 Total Cache – Feature coming... Soon?

28. Images: Sprites
Sprite Me – Not a plugin, but a process / tool

29. Protecting Yourself

30. What Good is Number 1?
(image example via seo.seocompany.ca)

31. Clicking anyway gives you this...
Think that’s a conversion killer?

32. WordPress is a Target
• Over 11% of all sites on the internet are
WordPress, and more than half of new sites
created daily are WP sites. (source WordCamp SF 2011)
• A typical shared webhost can have dozens or
hundreds of sites on your server, affecting your
performance, your security, and… your SEO.
• Some ISP’s (like Comcast) have begun blocking
entire servers, rather than risk user infections.

33. Web Hosts Are Getting Restrictive
• Some WP plugins have vulnerabilities
• Many plugins are poorly written
• ANYONE can submit a plugin to WP
• There are standards, but plugins submitted
to WP are NOT screened for compliance
• It takes complaints FIRST, to get any action
• Some plugins can put other accounts at risk,
so some hosts are starting to restrict plugins

34. Web Hosts Are Getting Restrictive
• Lists over 70 plugins that they don‘t alllow
on their servers, and I‘ll BET you‘re using
many of them!
• I know I am

35. Protecting Yourself
• Lots of security best practices out there,
and this is not the time or place to go into
details.
• However, the most important thing I can
think of is to monitor what changes on your
domain.
• There’s a plugin for that (surprise)

36. Protecting Yourself

37. To Sum Up…
• Performance can affect your SEO
• Poor security can negate good SEO
• Know your webhosts policies
• Consider moving from shared hosting
• Know your plugins
• Monitor what changes

38. Thank You
Scott Hendison
scott@searchcommander.com