I am experiencing severe, site-wide slowness in my WordPress admin area (backend) that began around 02/12/2025.
My host has advised that this timing aligns with the release of the recent WPML update (01/12/2025) and is a suspected conflict. The slowness affects all administrative tasks, including dashboard navigation, product management, and general settings.
1. Symptoms : Severe, persistent lag and slow page loading times across the entire WordPress Admin interface. The frontend is currently faster than the backend.
Impacted Areas: Dashboard, all WooCommerce screens (Products, Orders), and general settings.
2. Site Configuration & Current Versions
Host: 34SP.com
PHP Version: 8.1
Server CachingServer-level caching is in place (No plugin caching recommended by host)
WooCommerce High-Performance Order Storage (HPOS) is enabled.
WPML Components: CMS: 4.8.6, Multilingual & Multicurrency for WooCommerce: 5.5.3.1, String Translation: 3.4.1
3. Troubleshooting Steps Completed: I have performed the following steps to rule out common server and configuration issues:
- PHP Memory Limit: I increased the PHP Memory Limit to 512M via the my-config.php file. This provided a minimal speed improvement, but the core slowness persists.
- Caching Test: No dedicated optimisation or caching plugins are currently active, ruling out a conflict with caching plugins.
- Tracking Features: WooCommerce Analytics and Order Attribution are currently enabled.
I am prepared to disable these if testing a minimal environment is required.
4. Request: Given the clear timing and the host's feedback pointing to the WPML update released around 01/12/2025, I believe this is a performance regression or conflict in the current version (4.8.6) when used with my WooCommerce setup. Please advise on specific testing steps, configuration adjustments, or a potential patch to restore normal backend speed. I am prepared to move to a staging environment and perform a minimal setup test (only WPML, WooCommerce, and base theme) if required.
Just to confirm; none of the above steps resulted in any improvement. Is somebody looking into this issue or are there further steps which i need to take?
Your ticket is still in the queue, so there may be a short wait before my colleague takes it over. In the meantime, let me try to help you move things forward as quickly as possible.
If you can, please run the following tests and share the results with us. Ideally, this should be done on a staging site rather than the live production site.
2) Check the load time and number of queries shown in the top admin bar (load time is marked with “s”, queries with “Q”). Please note any slow queries reported.
3) Disable all WPML plugins and check the load time and number of queries again.
4) Disable all other plugins, leaving only the WPML plugins active, and switch to a default WordPress theme. Test once more.
Please let us know whether the issue occurs without WPML, only with WPML active, or only when WPML is used together with other plugins/themes. This information will help us identify whether a compatibility conflict is involved or it is a but with WPML, and will help my collegue move things quicker.
I have also enabled private reply so you can share access to this staging site so we can check.
Regards,
Drazen
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