Background of the issue:
I launched WPML and introduced translations to my store, which is hosted at hidden link. I used an analytical tool to assess the performance impact of individual plugins and methods/functions. I have shared the results in the following reports: hidden link and hidden link. I also conducted a test after disabling WPML modules and shared the results here: hidden link.
Symptoms:
My store slowed down drastically, with page load times increasing from 11 seconds with WPML modules disabled to 35 seconds with them enabled.
Questions:
How can I resolve the performance issues caused by WPML?
Are there specific WPML settings that can optimize performance?
The performance degradation you are seeing is neither usual nor expected. I suspect there may be a compatibility problem. So, the first thing I'd like to try (in a staging or development environment) is the following:
• Temporarily disable all plugins except WPML, WooCommerce, and WooCommerce Multilingual.
• Switch to a default theme (like Twenty Twenty-Three).
• Test your shop’s performance with and without WPML/WCML. If it improves, reactivate your plugins one by one to isolate the conflict.
Do not try this in production or ❌ please make a full website backup before proceeding ❌
