Version 1.9.6.5 slows things waaay down

Hi Mwalimug,

No, there is nothing that was changed in the code of the latest version 1.9.6.5 that would slow anything down. The plugin is extremely optimized and will actually speed up your site. Benchmarking and speed has been a primary focus from the beginning. If you are having a slowdown, then you have an issue on your server that needs to get diagnosed. There is no piece of code in the plugin that would take anywhere near 17.5 seconds to execute. When you see something taking that long, your first thought should be that there are errors occurring. (WordPress site slowdowns are most often caused by undiagnosed PHP errors, configuration issues, memory issues, database issues, missing modules, old mySQL versions, and old PHP versions.)

At the top of the support forum there is a sticky post that we ask users to read because it guides you to excellent troubleshooting options we have already put together for our plugin users.

Please take a few minutes to work through the Troubleshooting Guide and FAQs, as these solve 90% of issues users have. (Please be sure to follow all the steps, not just read through them.)

Please take special note of FAQ 15, as it specifically addresses your issue:
“Q: Will WP-SpamShield slow down my site, and is there anything I can do to optimize my site for it?” Real the full FAQ: https://www.redsandmarketing.com/plugins/wp-spamshield/faqs/#faqs_15

Excerpt from the FAQ:

A: WP-SpamShield will not slow down your site, and no further optimization is necessary. It is a very efficient plugin and has been optimized to use a very light server load. Because it keeps spam out of the WordPress database, and helps prevent database bloat, it actually speeds your site up in the long term compared to a site that does not use it.

Clients hire us day in and day out to optimize their sites, and we write plugins that help improve PageSpeed, so that’s one area we specialize in and would never let a plugin slow a site down.

Here is a breakdown…

For the rest of the FAQ, please click here to read it.

If the information provided doesn’t solve the issue for you, we’ll need a bit more info from you on the specifics, and we’ll need to email back and forth, so please head over to the WP-SpamShield Support Form, and take a moment to fill out a support request. That will allow us to help you diagnose this, find out what the real issue is, and get things working right for you.

– Scott

All I can say is we were not having a problem with Spam Shiedl before updating, and then I updated, and the site speed crashed.

I ran Gtmetrix & it pointed to WP-SpamShield Anti-Spam as the problem. Removing the plugin solved the problem, but I would like to be able to reinstall the plugin as it searches for registration spam as well as comment spam.

Yes, I understand that from the first time you said it.

Using external tools is not a good diagnostic process. You need to be looking into the internals of the server itself. GTmetrix cannot tell you that. If something changes that drastically, it’s due to something on the server. As I mentioned, no code was changed that would cause the issue you’re having. Also, in PHP no code would take 17 seconds to load unless there is an issue.

I’ve given you a process to follow in my previous post.

Please read the info I posted above, and if the issue persists, submit a support request as I mentioned.

We’ve been doing this a long time. Every single time an issue like this comes up, it’s due to the reasons I’ve mentioned, and we help users diagnose and fix it.

I thought you’d like to know this happened.

I have a site on the same server that had all the same plugins except for this–and it didn’t slow down.

And I appreciate your offer to help diagnose, but for now, I’m just sticking with the other plugin.

Ok, well I’ve given you the steps you need to follow.

If you don’t want to work through the Troubleshooting Guide and FAQs, or submit a support request, there really is nothing I can do for you.

If you’re not going to follow our advice, submit a support request, and follow through with the diagnostic process, then why even report this? We’re trying to help you here.

The information you’ve given is extremely vague and doesn’t help us diagnose anything. We have a very precise diagnosis process that quickly gets to the bottom of things.

People make a lot of (incorrect) assumptions about WordPress issues that just because two things happened at the same time, one must have caused the problem. A lot of time there is an underlying, hidden problem in the site, that has not come to light because nothing has triggered it yet. Even a perfectly coded plugin can trigger it. Left unfixed, the issue will occur again later on, and you won’t know why. That’s why it’s important to actually follow the diagnostic process through to the end.

Anyway, your choice. But if you choose not to follow the advice we’ve given, or follow our support process, unfortunately there isn’t anything more I can do to help.