WF slows down page load time

Hi Michaela,

Was there a Wordfence scan going on when you ran the analysis? You may want to try taking readings at random times to check the performance. Also, when Falcon is enabled, Live Traffic is disabled by default.

Thanks!
Brian

Hi Brian,
no, no scan was going on during the analysis. I’ve done it about ten times over the course of last week, and the outcome is always the same.
Michaela

Hi Michaela,

That definitely seems unusual. I’ve used P3 Profiler on a few sites and have not seen Wordfence take that long. For me, usually if Jetpack was installed, that would take the longest (though I haven’t used it in a couple of years).

You can try turning on “Disable config caching” — depending on how the host is set up, this might be causing a delay in load times.

Do you have a large number of blocked IPs, or advanced blocking rules in Wordfence? Even a couple hundred shouldn’t cause delays that long, unless the host’s database server is slow, but that might be a start.

-Matt R

Just to add to this, I see wordfence using 34% of page load time according to the P3. It makes no difference if I disable live scanning. Any ideas to reduce the load ?

My approach is to just start unchecking things in the WF Options that makes sense, then do speed tests. I usually uncheck two or three things at a time to narrow it down quick. If you are using country blocking, turn it off first. Also, be sure Live Traffic View is turned OFF. Remove everything from “Advanced Blocking” as well.

By the way, if you’re getting deep into website security there are two things layered on top of WordFence that can be redundant, or be better places for some settings, blocks, etc. This relates to Wordfence speed because you don’t want redundant stuff that’s slowing down your website x2. One is your .htaccess file in site root on server, and the other is the actual server firewall. These things will be available, or not, depending on what type of hosting you have, it’s worth checking on them and either learning DIY or getting help with settings. Very powerful stuff. For example, I just discovered my server was being hit by a bunch of attacks from China on my FTP/SFTP logins, this is yet more bandwidth that is totally criminally motivated and I have to pay for. My firewall allowed me to block FTP/SFTP access for China IP numbers, without slowing down site because the block only happens during FTP access. Cool. Way beyond what Wordfence can do (though I’d imagine within 3 years we’ll see plugins such as Wordfence integrate with a server level firewall, all under one user interface. We are in the dark ages, but the light will shine. I hope. I really do.

MTN

I’d add that WordFence can be worth some load time. No free lunch when it comes to hardening WordPress websites, unfortunately. Another thing I tend to do is sacrifice some plugins and fancy theme design stuff simply so I can run plugins such as Wordfence and still have a fast loading site. Not everyone’s approach but it works for me.

MTN

Hi,
I just turned on the “Disable config caching” as @wfmattr suggested, but it made no difference. WF is still taking 25 % of the load time, more than Jetpack with its 21%. Any other ideas?
Thanks,
Michaela

Hi Michaela,

The suggestions from mountainguy2 could help you narrow down if it is a particular feature that is causing slowness. You could also try temporarily turning off “Enable Firewall” at the top of the page, since that turns off a lot of features at once.

It could also help to do a clean installation with the default settings — if you don’t need all of your settings (including blocked IPs, advanced blocking, etc.), you can turn on “Delete Wordfence tables and data on deactivation”, then disable and delete the plugin, and install it again. If there was a problem with your database, such as a broken index, this re-creates the tables, so it should normally fix issues like that.

If this still doesn’t help, it may just be that your host’s database server is slow, so reading and writing to the database makes everything take longer. Wordfence does use the database a lot, in order to keep track of all the IPs and statistics it needs to operate its features.

-Matt R

Hello!
I have the plugin Wordfence Security too early a lot of loaded. 30% load. However, I then disabled certain options. After this load became 10%.
I disabled the option “Enable firewall“. After this load became 10%. The option “Enable Live Traffic View” was previously disabled.
“Wordfence Security” plugin I use in conjunction with the plugin “iThemes Security + a couple of plugins security. Therefore, disable the option “Enable firewall” it wasn’t scary.))

If you are going to load, then try my advice.

Hi,
sorry, it’s been a while since I was burried in other work (and probably somehow hoping this issue would fix itself).
In the past, I turned on “Disable config caching”. Didn’t help.
I don’t have a large number of blocked IPs, or advanced blocking rules in Wordfence.
Today, I tried to temporarily switched the Firewall status to “disabled”. Didn’t make a difference.
I’m really at my wit’s end. I think I’ll just blame it on GoDaddy’s server speed and look for a new host next time. There are too many issues with them.
Or does anybody have another idea?
Cheers,
Michaela

Hi, Michaela
Now the plugin has changed greatly. In other settings options.
Go to Options and there disable:
–Enable Rate Limiting and Advanced Blocking
–Enable Live Traffic View

I am on your website in the section “Options” disabled these functions. I have a load dropped markedly. Try it and you!