Optimizing WordPress for speed and conversions can have an immediate impact on your bottom line. Learn how to turn WordPress into a supercharged revenue driving machine. Experience level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced Target audience: Affiliate/Publisher Niche/vertical: WordPress Ben Metcalfe, Co-Founder, WP Engine (Twitter @dotBen) David Vogelpohl, CEO, Marketing Clique (Twitter @davidvmc)

1. Optimizing WordPress for Speed and Conversions
Optimizing WordPress
for Speed &Conversions
Ben Metcalfe | Founder, WP Engine
@dotBen | ben@wpengine.com
Affiliate Summit West - Las Vegas 2013
(this presentation is available online – details at end!)

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Only major Managed WordPress Host Affiliate Program
$$$$$ monthly pay-outs, new affiliate channel opportunities
wpengine.com/affiliates

3. Optimizing WordPress for Speed and Conversions

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Before we begin…

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Why?

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Level 1
Let‟s get the basics out the way :)

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Keep WP up to date
Why wouldn‟t you?

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Caching plugins FTW!!
W3-Total-Cache
also: WPSuperCache, BatCache

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Avoid bad plugins
Think about plugins that:
• do backups
• do „related posts‟ stuff
• are not maintained/poorly written
• don‟t have many downloads

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Is your host slow?
PageSpeed.org
Yslow
http://speed.wpengine.com

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Level 2

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Offloading (poor-man‟s CDN)
Serve images via Flickr/etc

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CDN
MaxCDN (we use parent company @ WP Engine)
Photon by Automattic [Free]
CloudFlare [Free]
Use all the time or just „emergencies‟

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„Smush‟ your images
WPSmush.it plugin

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Optimize for Mobile
Mobile WordPress Plugins
• WP-Touch
• JetPack‟s Mobile Theme
Responsive Design Templates

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Level 3
A little more technical…

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Repair your MySQL DB
Sometimes you need to tidy your room :)
PHPMyAdmin or OptimizeDB plugin

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Opcode cache, eg APC
php-apc + W3-Total-Cache

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Dedicated MySQLDB Box

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#Fails

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DON‟T edit core files!
No matter what “performance” benefit you think
it will make!

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Amazon EC2
… isn‟t a silver bullet

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Thank you!
ben@wpengine.com
Follow us for more tips: @WPEngine