WordPress Performance & Debugging

WordOps General Operations

We use WordOps to manage WordPress/WooCommerce instances. See our WordOps handbook for general operations.

Debugging

The first thing you should you is to enable WP_DEBUG (disabled by default), and also configure sub-options WP_DEBUG_LOG and WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY so you have better control over these options separately. Edit wp-config.php:

define( 'WP_DEBUG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_LOG', true );
define( 'WP_DEBUG_DISPLAY', true );

Reference: Debugging in WordPress

Debugging Plugins

There are many debugging plugins for WordPress that show more information about the internals, either for a specific component or in general. Here are some examples:

• Query Monitor
• Debug Bar
• Log Deprecated Notices

Performance

WordOps Dashboard (Netdata)

First of all we can use WordOps Dashboard (based on Netdata) to check general server metrics. This is useful for knowing the general health/responsiveness of system, even without knowing yet the cause of specific issues.

Install: (should have been automatically installed)

sudo -E wo stack install --dashboard --netdata

To access WordOps dashboard, go to https://server-cname.domain.tld:22222/ . If you lose WordOps Dashboard username & password, reset it using:

sudo -E wo secure --auth

Use a custom username and an auto-generated strong password.

If you can’t access WordOps dashboard, make sure:

• Amazon Lightsail allows port 22222
• You’ve created a WordOps site (without WordPress) with LetsEncrypt SSL certificate:

export CF_Key=...
export CF_Email=...
sudo -E wo site create server-cname.domain.tld -le --dns=dns_cf

• Ensure /var/www/22222/conf/nginx/ssl.conf refers to the correct SSL certificate, not for other site

Diagnosing Slow Applications / Too Much Resource Consumption

In Netdata, go to Applications. You’ll see CPU usage, disk usage, etc. per application. So now you know the culprit at least on a server level. After you’ve identified the application, you can proceed to diagnose on application level.

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