WPML on our production site makes the CMS super slow

This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.

Problem:
The client reported that their CMS was experiencing significant slowdowns, with page load times reaching 10-20 seconds or even timing out. This issue was particularly evident when the WPML plugin was active. The client suspected that WPML's interactions with external servers for license and translation checks might be causing the delays.

Solution:
We recommended a systematic approach to identify the root cause of the slowdown:
1. Create a full site backup or set up a staging site using tools like WP Staging.
2. Update all outdated plugins and themes.
3. Clear any existing cache.
4. Deactivate all plugins, including WPML, and switch to a default WordPress theme like Twenty Twenty.
5. Enable WordPress debug mode by following the guide at https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/
6. Reactivate WPML and monitor for any changes in performance.
7. Gradually reactivate other themes and plugins one by one to pinpoint the specific cause of the issue.
8. Check the debug.log file in the wp-content folder for any errors related to performance issues.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the solution seems outdated or irrelevant to your specific case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix, and confirming that you have installed the latest versions of themes and plugins. If problems persist, please open a new support ticket.

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Tagged: Performance

This topic contains 1 reply, has 0 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 week, 6 days ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author	Posts
July 2, 2025 at 12:45 pm #17193140
alexandreP-37	Background of the issue: Our CMS times out all the time today. Our team of editors and translators are stuck trying to use the WordPress CMS but everything takes 10 - 20 seconds for a page to load or eventually time out. The issue can be seen at this link: hidden link. I expected to see performance metrics with a WordPress load time well under 1 second, as observed locally in a 1:1 copy of the CMS (files and database). I disabled every plugin one by one and use that speed-test everytime. The one plugin that, once disabled, made the site load fast again was WPML. Symptoms: In production, the WordPress load time goes above 10-20 seconds and often times out. The performance metrics in production show a WordPress load time of 14320.162057876587 ms, which is significantly higher than expected. Our current team of editors and translators cannot work anymore. Questions: Why is the WordPress load time significantly higher in production compared to the local environment? What could be causing the CMS to be super slow on the production site? Since we use WPML AI and Pay-as-you-go, I assume the plugin "calls home" synchronously your servers to check whether we have enough credits, if our licence is still valid, and then also sends and receives translations. If your infrastructure lags, perhaps it blocks our CMS from finishing the requests due to a timeout ?
July 3, 2025 at 11:23 am #17196931
Carlos Rojas WPML Supporter since 03/2017 Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español ) Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+02:00)	Hello, Thank you for contacting us Generally, the performance issues are not caused by the WPML plugins, but by an interaction with third-party functionalities. I kindly ask you to follow these steps, in this order, to isolate the cause of the problem and get more information about it: - Create a full site backup or create a staging site with a copy of the live site (you can use the WP Staging plugin for free to create the staging site) - Update any outdated plugins or themes - Flush any cache memory that might exist - Deactivate all plugins, including the WPML ones - Activate a default WordPress theme, like Twenty Twenty - Activate the WordPress debug mode by following the steps described in this guide: https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/debug/debug-wordpress/ - Activate the WPML plugins - If the issue disappeared, start by activating the theme and then the rest of the plugins, one by one, until the issue appears again and you find the culprit - Also, check if there is any error related to the performance issue in the debug.log file located within the wp-content folder Please let me know the results of the steps described above. Looking forward to your message. Regards, Carlos