This site utilizes JavaScript to function correctly. Looks like it's disabled on your browser. Please enable it for your best experience.

For instructions on enabling JavaScript, click here

Skip to main content

Just Host Web Hosting Help

Optimizing WordPress

WordPress is currently one of the most popular blogging/CMS applications. Here are some ideas for optimizing WordPress and reducing the CPU consumption of this PHP script.

  • Make a backup of your account first, and then upgrade to the latest version of WordPress. The latest versions have optimized code that could reduce the CPU consumption of your site.
  • For permalink structure, do not start with the category, tag, author, or postname fields. Instead try /%year%/%postname%/ or /%post_id%/%postname%/. Also don't worry about 301 redirects as WordPress will automatically handle that after the permalink change.
  • Install WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, which can be done from your WordPress Dashboard under Plugins. Follow the links below for information on how to setup these plugins.
  • Many themes are more CPU intensive.
    • Make sure your page loads are generating no errors in your Error Log (in cPanel under Logs)
    • Also, if you're using dynamic image resizing, you may want to disable this if possible.
    • If all else fails, contact the theme provider for assistance, or change to a different theme.
  • Disable CPU intensive plugins, or plugins that you no longer need.
    • All related posts plugins (WordPress Related Posts, YARPP) can cause significantly high load in most cases.
    • WPRobot3 and other auto-posters can also cause high load issues, and should be disabled if they are causing issues
    • StatPress and other WordPress statistics software should also be disabled, as these too can consume too much CPU in certain cases. Use Google Analytics instead for statistics.
    • Any other plugins that are not vital to your WordPress should be disabled.
  • Manage Spam bots. Non-human visitors/posters (aside from web spiders) should be blocked. Use a captcha such as SI CAPTCHA to prevent comment spam.
  • Lower the rate web spiders crawl your WordPress blogs, if you have a large amount of blogs hosted under your account. High crawl rates can drive up the load on the server, as many bots try to index your sites. How?

These changes are not guaranteed fixes, but do provide a starting ground for correcting high load issues on WordPress sites. If there are any questions about this, don't hesitate to contact support.

Knowledgebase Article 270,003 views bookmark tags: optimizing wordpress


Was this resource helpful?

Did this resolve your issue?


Please add any other comments or suggestions about this content:





Recommended Help Content

Versatile and robust, WordPress is a favorite among applications and content management systems. This article provides nine tips for working in WordPress.
Knowledgebase Article 67,123 views tags: guide tips tricks wordpress wp

If you have a WordPress blog hosted on WordPress.com, you can easily export it and import it to WordPress that is installed on your hosting account with justhost. Login to the WordPress Data
Getting Started Article 684,461 views tags: blog export file import wordpress

We provide a program which makes it very easy to install third party scripts to your hosting account. If you want your website to have a WordPress blog, you can use MOJO Marketplace to install WordPress.
Getting Started Article 1,066,492 views tags: blog install scripts simple wordpress

Related Help Content

Install Plugins These steps will help you install and select a WordPress plugin for your blog. Inside the WordPress Dashboard, select the Add New link from the Plugins menu. You can search for a plug
Getting Started Article 338,592 views tags: blog install link plugin wordpress

Whether you’re starting from scratch or updating an existing website, choosing the right theme will make it easier to create a professional-looking site and achieve your online goals.
Knowledgebase Article 108,412 views tags: Marketplace certified premium themes tips wordpress

Learn how to use WordPress, WordPress started as just a blogging system, but has evolved to be used as full content management system and so much more through the thousands of plugins, widgets, and themes now available.
Knowledgebase Article 1,009,488 views tags: blog buildersonline website wordpress

Optimizing MySQL: Queries and Indexes Article 3 of 4 Courtesy of: Ian Gilfillan Ordering by surname is a common requirement, so it would make sense to create an index on surname. But in this example o
Knowledgebase Article 210,732 views tags: cpu exceeded index indexes mysql optimize optimizing queries query

Prevent Spam These steps will help you prevent users and robots from posting Spam on your WordPress blog. Inside the WordPress Dashboard, select Settings in the navigation bar on the left. From the G
Getting Started Article 205,479 views tags: comment scroll spam wordpress

Using WordPress with the Temporary URL
Knowledgebase Article 718,525 views tags: blog domain ip press resolve resolving staging temp temporary url word wordpress wrong

A free theme can be a good fit if your goal is to simply run a blog. Consider a premium theme if you plan to have more functionality and/or flair, such as an eCommerce site.
Knowledgebase Article 85,303 views tags: Marketplace premium themes wordpress

Optimizing MySQL: Queries and Indexes Article 4 of 4 Courtesy of:Ian Gilfillan Most systems need to be highly optimized for selects - take a news site which performs millions of queries per day, but w
Knowledgebase Article 204,126 views tags: cpu exceeded index indexes mysql optimize optimizing queries query

** Google ad credits are only available to customers in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom at this time.

¹ VAT (Value Added Tax) is not included in our advertised price and will be charged separately and itemized on invoices and billing information. Standard VAT rates based on EU Member State regulations may apply. Learn more.