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

Problem:
The client's WooCommerce store experienced a slowdown after installing multiple languages using WPML. The client considered removing WPML Media and untranslated strings but was unsure if these changes would significantly improve site speed.

Solution:
We advised the client not to use PHP 8.3 as it is still in beta for WordPress and could slow down the site. Instead, we recommended using PHP 8.1. We suggested monitoring the site with the Query Monitor plugin to identify slow and duplicate queries. For managing strings, we directed the client to WPML > Support > Troubleshooting to delete unused strings and provided guidance on how to delete strings from WPML -> Strings Translation, which can be read more about here.

Additionally, we found that WPML Media does not significantly impact performance unless used for translating images specifically for different languages. We also noted that the site's hosting might contribute to performance issues due to resource limitations or database call restrictions, especially with increased content from multiple languages.

If these steps do not resolve the issue or if the solution seems outdated or irrelevant to your case, we highly recommend checking related known issues at https://wpml.org/known-issues/, verifying the version of the permanent fix,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 further assistance is needed, please open a new support ticket here.

This is the technical support forum for WPML - the multilingual WordPress plugin.

Everyone can read, but only WPML clients can post here. WPML team is replying on the forum 6 days per week, 22 hours per day.

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This topic contains 20 replies, has 4 voices.

Last updated by Carlos Rojas 1 month ago.

Assisted by: Carlos Rojas.

Author Posts
October 17, 2024 at 10:50 am #16299606

piaP-6

Hi again

I have created a debugging site for you without any customer details.

October 22, 2024 at 7:34 am #16315336

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Hi there,

Great! I have set your next message private so you can securely share the access credentials of the test site.

October 23, 2024 at 8:16 am #16320519

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Hi,

Thank you very much for sharing these credentials. I have updated our 2nd tier specialists so they can start working on it.

I'll get back to you as soon as I get feedback from them.

October 23, 2024 at 11:02 am #16321400

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Hi,
Our 2nd tier specialists took a deeper look at this issue and found that on the WPML side, there is a change in the configuration that improves the performance.

To apply the change you must go to WPML -> Settings -> Post type translation -> Set the pages and products to the first column of the left, then save the changes.

Please apply these changes to the live site and you'll see the improvement in the site's performance.

October 23, 2024 at 4:03 pm #16322682

piaP-6

I see that it helps a bit. Did the 2nd tier team find any other possible improvements?

October 24, 2024 at 8:21 am #16324894

Carlos Rojas
Supporter

Languages: English (English ) Spanish (Español )

Timezone: Europe/Madrid (GMT+01:00)

Hi,

Here is a quote from our 2nd tier specialists:

I hope the client is satisfied with the modest difference.

Code Profiler didn't reveal anything worrying (though it did confirm the impact of the Composer issue described above which attributes more of the execution time to WPML).

Note, these checks are with Query Monitor, measuring page generation time (which should roughly equate to TTFB in the browser). It doesn't measure the impact of loading scripts, images etc., which will result in slower load times as measured by online tools, where WPML has very little impact.

As you can read, there are no other indicators from the WPML's perspective that could improve the performance on the site :/