Performance

Problem:
The client is experiencing a 504 timeout error when updating Formidable Forms on their site. This issue is traced back to the WPML string registration process, specifically the

wpml_register_single_string

function, due to a large number of translation strings (over 90,000) in the WPML database. Each form save processes this entire collection, exceeding the server's PHP execution timeout limits.
Solution:
1. Update the WPML main plugin to version 4.8.5 for performance improvements. Instructions for updating can be found at https://wpml.org/faq/install-wpml/#automated-updates.
2. Increase the PHP memory limit to at least 512M. Add the following code to the "wp-config.php" file:

/** Memory Limit */<br />define('WP_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');<br />define('WP_MAX_MEMORY_LIMIT', '512M');

3. Optimize the String Translation table via WPML > Support > Troubleshooting in the WordPress Dashboard.
4. Test the site on a staging version and deactivate all plugins except WPML Multilingual CMS, WPML String Translation, Formidable Forms, and Formidable Forms Multilingual to check if the issue persists.
5. If necessary, consider upgrading to a higher tier of hosting resources.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the solution seems outdated or irrelevant to your specific case, we recommend opening a new support ticket. We also 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. For further assistance, please visit our support forum at https://wpml.org/forums/forum/english-support/.