This document provides optimization tips for WordPress themes and plugins. It recommends using caching and transients to improve page load times and reduce database queries. Specific tips include caching menu queries with transients, selectively loading styles and scripts only when needed, and loading scripts for widgets only when the widget is active. Testing showed that these optimizations reduced page load times, HTTP requests, database queries and memory usage.

1. WordPress Theme and Plugin Optimization

2. This Presentations Covers:
• Optimization tips for WordPress developers releasing
their work for free in official repositories or somewhere
else
!
• Optimization tips for WordPress developers selling
themes or plugins on their own or through a
marketplace
2

3. Why Page Loading Time Matters
• Improved user experience
• Higher conversion rates
• SEO benefits
3

4. Things That Can Slow You Down
• Poor hosting
• No caching
• Non optimized content
• Problems caused by theme or plugins
4

5. Underscores Very popular ThemeForest theme
5
Hello, Two Worlds!

6. Plugins Used in This Test
• Akismet
• BackWPUp
• Captcha
• Contact Form 7
• Google XML Sitemaps
• Jetpack by WordPress.com
• NextGEN Gallery by Photocrati
• Ultimate TinyMCE
• WooCommerce
• WordPress SEO
6

7. WebPagetest.org
No caching
7

8. Load time - WebPagetest.org, no caching
Seconds
0
1.75
3.5
5.25
7
First load Second load
5.171
6.42
4.9455.159
2.5262.79
1.0741.042
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
8

9. HTTP requests - WebPagetest.org, no caching
Requests
0
22.5
45
67.5
90
First load Second load
7
89
7
62
4
34
1
7
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
9

10. WebPagetest.org
W3TC caching
10

11. Load time - WebPagetest.org, W3TC caching
Seconds
0
1.25
2.5
3.75
5
First load Second load
4.033
4.908
3.247
3.791
1.196
1.476
0.389
0.596
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
11

12. HTTP requests - WebPagetest.org, W3TC caching
Requests
0
15
30
45
60
First load Second load
6
51
1
34
4
17
0
5
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
12

13. Query Monitor Plugin
No caching
13

14. Database queries - Query Monitor, no caching
DBqueries
0
20
40
60
80 79
44
59
19
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
14

15. Peak memory usage - Query Monitor, no caching
MB
0
17.5
35
52.5
70
60.16
30.74
51.74
22.09
Underscores, no plugins Underscores, plugins "TF theme", no plugins "TF theme", plugins
15

16. Key Problems Caused by Themes and
Plugins
• Longer page generation time
Hello, Two Worlds! - 19 database queries with Underscores vs. 79 “fully loaded”
• Too many HTTP requests
Hello, Two Worlds! - 3 JS and 1 CSS file with Underscores vs. 45 and 17 “fully loaded”
• Buggy code
16

17. In House Optimization - Things to Keep
in Mind
• Use transients for expensive DB queries
• Use transients for remote requests to external APIs
• Do not load scripts and styles in every page
17

18. Transients API
• Used to cache specific data that needs to be refreshed within a given
timeframe
• Uses object caching if available, otherwise stores values in options table
• set_transient() and set_site_transient()
• get_transient() and get_site_transient()
• delete_transient() and delete_site_transient()
18

19. Real-life Example
Caching 2014 header menu
19

20. wp_nav_menu( array(
'theme_location' => 'primary',
'menu_class' => 'nav-menu' )
);
!
36 database queries in Hello, World! post
20

21. $header_menu_query = get_transient( 'my_theme_header_menu_query' );
if ( false === $header_menu_query ) {
$header_menu_query = wp_nav_menu( array(
'theme_location' => 'primary',
'menu_class' => 'nav-menu',
'echo' => 0
) );
set_transient( 'my_theme_header_menu_query', $header_menu_query, DAY_IN_SECONDS );
}
echo $header_menu_query;
!
31 database queries in Hello, World! post
21

22. add_action( 'wp_update_nav_menu', 'my_theme_delete_menu_transients' );
function my_theme_delete_menu_transients() {
delete_transient( 'my_theme_header_menu_query' );
}
22

23. Real-life Example
• When author box is added to single posts
and pages automatically
• When shortcode is used
• When widget is used
• When template tag is used
Selectively loading scripts and styles in Fanciest Author Box
23

24. add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', 'ts_fab_add_scripts_styles' );
function ts_fab_add_scripts_styles() {
$css_url = plugins_url( 'css/ts-fab.css', __FILE__ );
wp_register_style( 'ts_fab_css', $css_url, '', FAB_VERSION );
$js_url = plugins_url( 'js/ts-fab.js', __FILE__ );
wp_register_script( 'ts_fab_js', $js_url, array( 'jquery' ), FAB_VERSION );
if ( ts_fab_styles_needed() ) :
wp_enqueue_style( 'ts_fab_css' );
wp_enqueue_script( 'ts_fab_js' );
endif;
}
24

25. function ts_fab_styles_needed() {
// Use helper functions to get plugin settings
$ts_fab_display_settings = ts_fab_get_display_settings();
/* Posts */
if ( is_single() && 'no' != $ts_fab_display_settings['show_in_posts'] )
return true;
/* Pages */
if ( is_page() && 'no' != $ts_fab_display_settings['show_in_pages'] )
return true;
...
/* Shortcode */
global $post;
if( is_singular() && has_shortcode( $post->post_content, 'ts_fab' ) )
return true;
/* Widget check is performed inside widget class */
return false;
}
25

26. Loading Scripts and Styles When
Widget Is Used
function __construct() {
$widget_ops = array(
'classname' => 'ts-fab-widget',
'description' => 'Fanciest Author Box ' . __( 'widget', 'ts-fab' )
);
parent::__construct( 'ts-fab-widget', 'Fanciest Author Box', $widget_ops );
if ( is_active_widget( false, false, $this->id_base ) ) :
add_action( 'wp_enqueue_scripts', array( $this, 'enqueue_fab_styles' ) );
endif;
}
function enqueue_fab_styles() {
wp_enqueue_style( 'ts_fab_css' );
wp_enqueue_script( 'ts_fab_js' );
}
26

27. Conclusion
• Use transients for caching
• Make your plugins and themes do only what they really have to, only when
they have to
• Don’t eat cake while you’re running on a treadmill

28. http://slobodanmanic.com
@slobodanmanic
http://slbd.me/WPArvika
Tack!