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[Resolved] WPML is slowing down my ecommerce website, mainly when WPML String Translation is active.
This thread is resolved. Here is a description of the problem and solution.
Problem: After migrating to a new hosting, a WooCommerce store operating in three languages experienced significant slowdowns when WPML String Translation was enabled. The site's admin pages often timed out, and there were heavy database queries on icl_strings and icl_translations tables. Additionally, the Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) failed to authenticate, showing repeated auth_error logs.
Solution: To address these issues, we recommend the following steps: 1. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to WPML → Settings and check the Translation Editor section for any prompts about reconnecting. 2. Disable string tracking and adjust IDs for multilingual functionality. 3. Use WPML's troubleshooting tools to optimize and clean up string tables, clear invalid and unused strings, and remove ghost entries. 4. Consider using caching plugins and database/object caching where possible. 5. If these steps do not resolve the performance issues, we suggest creating a backup and sharing access credentials with our support team for further investigation.
Please note that this solution might be outdated or not applicable to your specific case.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 the problem persists, please open a new support ticket at WPML support forum for further assistance.
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Background of the issue:
I am trying to run a WooCommerce store in 3 languages (Portuguese base, English, Spanish) on hidden link. After migrating to a new hosting, the site becomes very slow whenever WPML String Translation is active.
Symptoms:
The site experiences severe slowdown with WPML String Translation enabled. Admin pages sometimes don’t load or time out. There are heavy queries on icl_strings and icl_translations tables. The Advanced Translation Editor (ATE) fails to authenticate with auth_error. Logs show repeated ATE auth_error against hidden link. Large tables include wphv_icl_strings and wphv_icl_string_translations.
Questions:
How can I restore ATE authentication after migration?
How can I optimize String Translation, including indexes and pruning unused strings?
What are the best-practice settings for WooCommerce and performance?
You mentioned that this performance issue appeared after migrating the site to a new hosting. If the issue didn't happen before the migration, then the most likely cause of this problem is related to the migration process.
Can you describe what steps you followed to migrate the site to the new hosting?
I have run several troubleshooting steps, but the issue persists. Do you authorize me to create a copy of the site to escalate this ticket to our 2nd tier of support?
Do you already have an expected conclusion date? We need to plan ahead in case we must remove or completely disable WPML from the website to relaunch it. Since this is an e-commerce store, we cannot afford to be offline for so long.
Our 2nd-tier specialists found this error -see the attached image- where you can see there is a problem in the database of the site, specifically in the options table. Please fix this issue and then double-check if the performance problem disappeared.
