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Does Hotjar slow down your WordPress site?
We tested it. The recording script adds ~150ms to page load and makes 3 external requests.
Not catastrophic. But if you're chasing Core Web Vitals scores, those 150ms matter.
Consider: do you actually look at those heatmaps?
https://makewpfast.com/hotjar-slow-down-wordpress-performance/
Default nginx config for WordPress is leaving 30-40% performance on the table.
Missing: gzip compression, browser caching headers, fastcgi_cache, proper buffer sizes.
All fixable with one config file.
https://makewpfast.com/nginx-optimizer-one-command-performance/
Most WordPress sites run on stock nginx configs that waste 60-70% of potential performance. nginx-optimizer applies HTTP/3, FastCGI caching, Brotli compression, and security headers — with automatic backup and rollback.
Found the query killing your WordPress site?
Most people stop at Query Monitor. But it doesn't tell you WHY a query is slow.
Run EXPLAIN on it. Look for: type=ALL (full table scan), rows > 10000, Using filesort.
Then create the right index. Done.
WordPress site down. First instinct: reinstall.
Wrong. That wipes your data and fixes nothing.
Actual checklist:
1. downforeveryoneorjustme.com — is it just you?
2. SSH → error logs (the real cause, not the white screen)
3. Rename /plugins/ via FTP — if it recovers, a plugin did it
4. Check disk/memory limits in hosting panel
Diagnose. Fix. Never nuke first.
https://makewpfast.com/emergency-wordpress-recovery-what-to-do-when-your-site-goes-down/
Google uses INP — not FID — to measure responsiveness in 2026.
INP fires on every click. Page builders run JS on every interaction. Sliders animate. Third-party scripts intercept events.
No caching plugin fixes this. The answer is loading less JavaScript.
CWV is the last free traffic lever from Google. Most WordPress sites haven't touched it.
https://makewpfast.com/optimizing-wordpress-for-core-web-vitals-in-2026/
Your WordPress site crashed after an update. The plugin isn't broken.
What broke it:
- Plugin B removed a hook → Plugin A depended on it → white screen
- PHP 8.x strict typing → plugin for PHP 7 → fatal error
- Migration ran before backup finished
Most hosts give you a free staging environment. Most developers still update live.
https://makewpfast.com/why-wordpress-sites-crash-after-updates-and-how-to-prevent-it/
wp-config.php has performance settings most developers never touch:
define("WP_POST_REVISIONS", 5);
define("AUTOSAVE_INTERVAL", 300);
define("WP_MEMORY_LIMIT", "256M");
define("DISABLE_WP_CRON", true);
Every WordPress site should tune these.
https://makewpfast.com/the-complete-wp-config-php-performance-tuning-guide/
A 3-year-old WordPress site we audited:
- 47,000 post revisions
- 12,000 expired transients
- 8,000 spam comments in trash
Total waste: 340MB of database bloat.
One cleanup query cut their page load time by 40%.
https://makewpfast.com/wordpress-database-bloat-cleaning-revisions-transients-and-spam/
Plugin A: 5-star reviews, works perfectly.
Plugin B: 5-star reviews, works perfectly.
Plugins A + B together: white screen.
Conflicts are the hardest WordPress bugs because your error log shows nothing. Neither plugin is broken — they just modify the same hook in incompatible ways.
Binary search: disable half your plugins, test, split again. Find any conflict in under 10 minutes.
https://makewpfast.com/wordpress-plugin-conflicts-how-to-diagnose-and-resolve-them/
WordPress 500 Internal Server Error?
Stop guessing. Systematic approach:
1. Check error_log (not just the white screen)
2. Disable .htaccess (rename it)
3. Increase PHP memory in wp-config.php
4. Binary search plugins (disable half, test)
Full guide: https://makewpfast.com/wordpress-500-internal-server-error-a-systematic-fix-guide/
