Slow WordPress Admin? Why It Happens, Plus How to Fix It

Is your WordPress dashboard very slow? A slow WordPress admin panel can be frustrating, especially when it affects your productivity.

The reason could not be hosting but the server and type of plan. Plugins and PHP code can also slow down wordpress control panel.

If you are using shared hosting, then the same resources are shared across many users. It slows down the site and also wordpress admin.

Most hosting use Apache/Nginx as their server. But I found that they are not fully optimized.

Instead if you could opt for LiteSpeed server, you can speed up wordpress admin.

I recently changed to a LSCache server. The admin panel was quick and I could easily change from one option to another.

You make a post, edit, save, upload images, install plugins, quick edit, add category, tags, themes, css code and many other operations.

Bad hosting, too many plugins, big database size, low wordpress memory limit, dashboard widgets, too many posts can make wordpress backend extremely slow.

WordPress Site Optimization also plays a major significance in improving the speed of wordpress admin panel.

If the wordpress admin slow issue comes back after optimization of hosting and plugins, you have to find the real cause.

In this blog post we are going to see easy solutions to fix the wordpress slow admin problem.

Why Is Your WordPress Admin Dashboard Slow?

The WordPress admin dashboard is the nerve center of your website. A slow dashboard can lead to delays, reduced productivity, and frustration.

The causes of a slow admin panel can range from outdated software to resource limitations and poorly optimized plugins. Identifying and addressing these issues is crucial for maintaining a smooth workflow.

Key Causes of a WordPress Admin Slow Panel

1. Outdated PHP Version or WordPress Core

Running an outdated PHP version or WordPress core can significantly slow down your admin panel. Newer versions come with performance improvements and bug fixes that enhance your site’s speed and security.

2. Theme or Plugin Inefficiencies

Poorly coded themes and plugins can bog down your admin dashboard. Memory-hogging plugins or conflicts between multiple plugins are common culprits.

3. Overloaded Server or Hosting Issues

Shared hosting or low-performance servers can limit the resources available to your site, leading to slower admin performance.

4. Database Clutter and Inefficiencies

A bloated database with unnecessary data like post revisions, transients, and spam comments can slow down database queries.

5. High Memory Usage and Low Resource Allocation

Insufficient memory allocation for PHP can result in slow admin panel performance. This is especially common for sites with heavy plugins or WooCommerce stores.

How to Fix a Slow WordPress Admin Dashboard

1. Use the Latest Version of PHP

Benefits of Upgrading PHP

PHP is the backbone of WordPress. Upgrading to the latest version can significantly improve speed and security.

How to Check and Update Your PHP Version

1. Log in to your hosting control panel.
2. Navigate to the PHP settings section.
3. Select the latest stable version of PHP.
4. Test your site for compatibility after upgrading.

2. Upgrade Your WordPress Version

Keeping WordPress updated ensures you have the latest features and performance enhancements.

Steps to Update Safely

1. Backup your site using a plugin like UpdraftPlus.
2. Navigate to Dashboard > Updates in the admin panel.
3. Click Update Now to install the latest version.

3. Optimize Your WordPress Theme

Identifying Theme-Related Issues

• Switch to a default theme like Twenty Twenty-Three.
• Check the admin panel speed to see if your theme is the issue.

Switching to Lightweight Themes

Lightweight themes like GeneratePress or Astra can significantly reduce admin load times.

4. Remove WordPress Admin Bloat

Disable Unnecessary Toolbar Options

The admin toolbar can consume resources. Disable it for users who don’t need it by adding the following code to your theme’s functions.php file:

add_filter('show_admin_bar', '__return_false');

Manage Dashboard Widgets

Use plugins like Disable Dashboard Widgets to remove widgets you don’t need.

5. Use Query Monitor to Identify Problematic Plugins

Overview of Query Monitor

Query Monitor is a powerful debugging plugin that helps identify slow queries, hooks, and plugins.

How to Identify and Replace Slow Plugins

1. Install Query Monitor.
2. Analyze the performance report.
3. Replace slow plugins with optimized alternatives.

6. Increase PHP Memory Limit

Recommended Memory Limits

For most WordPress sites, 256 MB is sufficient. For WooCommerce stores, consider 512 MB.

How to Update PHP Memory Limit

Add the following code to your wp-config.php file:

define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '256M');

7. Enable Persistent Object Cache

Benefits of Object Caching

Object caching stores database query results to reduce server load and improve speed.

How to Implement Object Caching

Install and configure a caching plugin like Redis Object Cache.

8. Control the Heartbeat API

Impact of Heartbeat API on Performance

The Heartbeat API enables real-time communication but can cause performance issues if overused.

Using Heartbeat Control Plugins

Install the Heartbeat Control plugin to limit API call intervals.

9. Clean Out Your Database

Steps to Optimize Your Database

1. Use a plugin like WP-Optimize or Advanced Database Cleaner.
2. Remove unnecessary data such as post revisions and spam comments.

Cleaning WooCommerce Data

WooCommerce stores generate extra data like orders and customer details. Regularly clean this data for optimal performance.

10. Install a WordPress Caching Plugin

Types of Caching Plugins

• Page Caching: Reduces page load times.
• Object Caching: Speeds up database queries.

Recommended Plugins

• WP Rocket
• W3 Total Cache
• LiteSpeed Cache

11. Monitor Time To First Byte (TTFB)

Importance of TTFB

TTFB measures the time taken for a server to respond to a request. A high TTFB indicates server inefficiencies.

Tools to Analyze and Improve TTFB

Use tools like GTmetrix or Pingdom to measure TTFB and optimize server response times.

12. Limit Posts and Comments Per Page

Impact of Excessive Content

Displaying too many posts or comments can slow down the admin panel.

Adjusting Pagination Settings

Navigate to Settings > Reading and limit the number of posts per page.

13. Upgrade Hosting for Better Performance

Identifying Hosting Limitations

Shared hosting can limit resources, affecting your admin dashboard’s speed.

Recommendations for High-Performance Hosting

• Managed WordPress Hosting: WP Engine, Kinsta
• Cloud Hosting: DigitalOcean, AWS, Google Cloud

How to Speed Up WordPress Backend?

So if you are facing a similar problem like mine, deactivate all your plugins.

1. Then try to activate half of the plugins. See if the problem is gone.
2. If yes, then the problem lies in the rest of the disabled plugins. Reactivate half of them. Check the speed again.
3. If no, then deactivate half of the remaining plugins. In this way, you need to find the cause of slow wordpress admin panel.
4. Or else, you can reactivate all of them again at once. This is using check-box option present in WordPress Admin panel.

It should normally bring back the speed of your WordPress saves, edits, deletes etc. It’s also important that you have few plugins as possible.

Bad plugins can also impact the site loading speed and Admin panel operations.

Detailed Steps of How to Speed Up WordPress Admin Panel or Dashboard?

1. Check with Hosting

The first and foremost weapon to resolve this issue is whether your hosting is quick enough or not.

Recommended hosting are –

1. Cloudways
2. DreamHost
3. GreenGeeks
4. BlueHost
5. SiteGround

You might be on shared hosting or dedicated server or VPS hosting or cloud hosting. All these have some inherent issues from time to time.

If you have taken a bad hosting like Hostinger or Hostgator, whatever changes you do to the technical faults of WordPress dashboard will not resolve the issue.

CDN like free Cloudflare plan with other settings, can also improve your site performance. It reduces the latency between your browser and server. The site files being nearer to your location, it has the benefit of fetching the resources quickly.

This is because the basic foundation itself is corrupt.

2. Resource Intensive Plugins

The WPBeginner website has more than 200 plugins and still they run smoothly.

This is because they either have a good WordPress developer who optimizes their site or use the less resource intensive plugins.

But how do you know which plugin is causing the issue?

Query Monitor is a great WordPress plugin at finding the performance and speed lag caused by the plugins.

1. Install and Activate the plugin.
2. Click the New option in the WordPress dashboard interface.
3. Go to Queries by Component on the left-hand side panel.
4. Time taken to load the plugin is mentioned in the last column.

If it’s too high either delete the plugin or find an alternative one.

3. Optimize the Database

Why Is My WordPress Dashboard So Slow? Sometimes, remnants of bad plugins can increase the database.

You have tried different plugins on your WordPress site and deleted them, not liking them! But the plugin author is not good enough to clean the garbage.

This is where DB optimization plugins come into plan.

4. Upgrade WordPress version

Security vulnerabilities in the SQL code or plugins, can slow down things.

WordPress owners release a new updated version from time to time to improve the safety of the installation.

Also a good hosting will include a firewall or suggest a good security plugin, to prevent bots and hackers installing or injecting code into your installation.

In such cases, it is better to scan your WordPress installation for any malware and re-install WordPress.

The latest stable version of WordPress is 5.8.1. Always check for any problems with the latest version and then update.

5. Use Proper Caching Plugin

Even good plugins like WP Rocket do not perfect page caching on all sites and hosting services.

For example, my host DreamHost said that it is not completely caching my site.

Since many WordPress sites contain static content, it is better to convert the dynamic pages to static resources.

In addition you have too many JavaScript and Images that add to the bloat of the site.

You can install a plugin like WP Super Cache for proper page caching and increase the WordPress dashboard speed and operations.

6. Use Heartbeat Control

The WordPress Heartbeat API has some benefit of auto-saving blog posts and communication between your browser and server.

It makes AJAX requests for every 15 or 60 seconds, to perform these operations.

This can be the additional cause of the slow WordPress dashboard.

In addition if there are resource intensive plugins, bad hosting service and bloated DB, it can fill your CPU and memory limit quickly.

WP Rocket has a good feature of “Control Heartbeat” with their pro version. You can do the following operations.

1. Reduce activity in the backend.
2. Behaviour activity in the post editor.
3. Activity in the front end.

This will limit the WordPress dashboard from contacting the server every few seconds. You can als use other plugins to control the Heartbeat API frequency.

Fast page load can be achieved if you have the right CDN and asset optimization. In this case study, you can see how I was able to load my site within 90 secs using Cloudflare.

7. Poor Database Optimization

They were fast. Since I was using shared hosting on HostGator, I thought there was some server problem.

So I contacted my HostGator support. I used both email and ticket support.HostGator.comHostGator

Ticket: PBN-28928813
Hello there,

Thank you for contacting HostGator! I understand that you are seeing slow loading speeds for your WordPress admin area in regards to moving posts to the trash. While investigating this issue I found some fragmentation in your database which may be contributing to this issue.
——————————————————————————–
shrxxxx_tech.wp_coxxxxxtmeta is 96.77% fragmented.
shrxxxx_tech.wp_coxxxxnts is 75.66% fragmented.
shrxxxx_texx.wp_links is 100.00% fragmented.
——————————————————————————–

I’ve optimized your database’s disk usage which should speed up queries to it. I then logged into your site and created a test post named HG Test and deleted it. It took about 2-3 seconds for this action to complete which is slightly slower than normal but not by much.

Though the email chat support took some time to initiate, it also gave a similar solution.

Conclusion

So, there you have it—everything I’ve learned about fixing a slow WordPress admin panel (sometimes the hard way!). If your WordPress backend is slow, don’t despair.

There are plenty of solutions, from upgrading your hosting to cleaning up your plugins and database. It’s just about finding the right combination for your site.

Now go ahead, give some of these tips a try, and let me know how they work for you! Or, share your own experiences, because hey, we’ve all been there, right?