PERF
Performance
Query budgets, object caching, Core Web Vitals and measuring before you optimise.
The wp_options Autoload Flag, and the Rows That Tax Every Request
Autoloaded options are read on every uncached request, not only on admin screens. Here is the query that finds the expensive rows and what to do with each kind.
PERF
Martin Kiel
18 SEP 2026 · 7M
The LCP Element on a Product Page Is Usually the Wrong Image
What LCP measures on a product page, why the hero image usually loses to the product title, and which shifts you can actually fix.
PERF
Priya Raghunathan
11 SEP 2026 · 8M
The Thundering Herd When a Flash Sale Cache Entry Expires
When one popular cache entry expires under load, every request recomputes the same value. Here is how to spread that work, and where a lock makes it worse.
PERF
Tomas Lindqvist
18 JUN 2026 · 7M
Build a WordPress Benchmark You Can Trust Before You Change Anything
A benchmark you cannot repeat is not evidence. Fix the dataset, fix the cache state, and report median and p95 server time instead of how the page felt.
PERF
Martin Kiel
15 APR 2026 · 7M
Serving Product Images at the Size the Browser Actually Needs
A wrong sizes attribute makes the browser download the largest candidate it can find. How to size, format and lazy-load a catalogue of twenty thousand products.
PERF
Priya Raghunathan
21 JAN 2026 · 8M