Background of the issue:
On our Staging or Production websites where we're using WPML, we have observed that some of the option names created by WPML are set to 'YES,' 'AUTO,' or 'ON.' Some of these option values exceed the size limits specified by WP Engine, which recommends that autoload values remain under 800KB to 1MB. Exceeding these limits can slow down the website or cause downtime. Option names like WPML(TM) and icl_sitepress_settings contain substantial amounts of data. Importantly, the preferences set for translations are also stored in the icl_sitepress_settings option. As the number of fields or groups in ACF increases and preferences are set, the data continues to grow, storing it in the wp_options table with autoload set to 'ON,' which can negatively impact site performance.
Symptoms:
Some WPML option values exceed the size limits specified by WP Engine, potentially slowing down the website or causing downtime.
Questions:
Which autoload values used by WPML can be set to NO?
Is there any possibility to move the option values stored in wp_options table to a custom table?
I also need to know which WPML option values can be set to 'NO' for autoload and how to do it.
If we manually update these settings, will WPML change them back to 'YES,' 'AUTO,' or 'ON'?
We are aware of this limit from WP Engine and are working on improving this in the future versions.
For now, these are options that are safe to disable, settings or deleting any other option can cause issues with WPML or lost data / settings.
- wpml_notices can be deleted
- wpml_strings_need_link_fixed can be reduced by running Translate link target
- _wpml_tp_api_logger can be deleted
- WPML(logs) can be deleted
- wpml_tp_com_logs can be cleared from WPML > Support > communication log
- otgs-installer-log can be removed from autoload for sure since it is just logs
Please make sure to create a backup, before doing any actions, just in case.
Most of these options are already set autoload value to OFF. So it will not make any impact on autoload size.
If we set the autoload value for `icl_sitepress_settings` option name to OFF, then will it make any negative impact on the WPML functionalities ?
As this option is the top most concerning for us. This option itself is taking 3.560285 MB of data.
Please let me know, if anything else we can do to reduce the autoload size.
It may have negative effect on WPML functionality, icl_sitepress_settings should not be removed from auto load as this is frequently used everywhere in the WPML and add-ons even on front-end.
Other than what I already suggested, not much we can suggest until further improvements are done in future version that will decrease size of the option.
One more thing while investigation I found that most of the array key values are similar in both the below arrays under this option name `icl_sitepress_settings`
1. custom_term_fields_translation
2. custom_fields_translation
Here my question is that why the key values in array are coming in custom_term_fields_translation array which are even not used in the terms page ?
We have a concept of ACF Builder and the fields which we create from it are only for page templates, not for the any terms.
The keys values like common_group_sections_ are generated from the ACF Builder and these types of keys are also coming in custom_term_fields_translation array.
Please check and let me know what can be the issue here.
it is expected since this key holds all general WPML settings configuration, this is WPML settings and WPML translation settings for posts, taxonomy, custom fields and etc.
These are also settings shown in WPML > Settings, or Languages etc.
I have reviewed the WPML settings and understand that all general settings are stored under the icl_sitepress_settings option key. In my attempt to replicate the issue, I unset the values for custom_term_fields_translation and saved as an empty array.
Furthermore, I opened a post and updated it to check if its post meta fields were appearing in this term array. Unfortunately, they do appear, which is undesirable. When custom post meta fields are saved to the custom_fields_translation array, they should not be duplicated in the custom_term_fields_translation array.
This issue seems to originate from the file located at \plugins\acfml\classes\class-wpml-acf-field-settings.php, where the preferences are saved for both arrays:
$tm_setting_index = ['custom_fields_translation', 'custom_term_fields_translation'];
As a result, these settings are duplicated in the icl_sitepress_settings option, leading to unnecessary bloat in the database. Additionally, there should be a more efficient way for WPML to handle the autoload situation.
Please review this information and let me know if there's a solution we can implement to address these issues.
Thank you for getting back to us and for taking the time to investigate.
At this point, we cannot make or recommend any changes to the icl_sitepress_settings key. As mentioned earlier, our developers are actively working on optimizing and reducing the size of this key. Until that work is complete, we strongly advise against making any manual modifications.
I understand this may not be the answer you were hoping for. This key affects multiple parts of WPML, and any changes can cause further issue with WPML, until our developers complete the necessary investigations and testing and fixing not much we can advise to lower the key size.
I am sorry for trouble and thank you for your understanding.
Let me know if there is anything else we can do for you.
