Performance
Speeding Up a Slow WP Admin
December 28, 2025 ยท 6 min read
When the WordPress admin takes 10+ seconds per page, the cause is usually a mix of plugins, database bloat, and server limits. Here is our quick diagnostic path.
1. Check admin-ajax.php
Use browser dev tools to see if admin-ajax.php is taking multiple seconds. This often points to a plugin task running on every page.
2. Review heavy plugins
Disable analytics, page builders, and security plugins one at a time. The slowest offenders show up fast.
3. Clean autoloaded options
Huge autoloaded rows in wp_options can drag admin. Clean unused rows and limit autoload size.
4. Set object caching
Redis or Memcached reduces repeated queries in admin. It is one of the highest ROI fixes.