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How do I prevent WordPress from overloading my shared server?

WordPress blogs can be extremely resource intensive if you happen to experience a surge in traffic. Poorly implemented WordPress setups can place a high load on webservers and lead to interruptions of service or account suspensions for using too many resources. At JVMHost we allow up to 10% of CPU resources and up to 50 concurrent mysql connections.

Here are some tips that can help you make your WordPress install more stable:

- Use WordPress super cache plugin as the number one thing you can do to improve WordPress performance is install a page cache. WordPress super cache plugin is an extensive modification of the WP-Cache plugin. The WordPress super cache plugin serializes your posts to a file on disk and later spits them back. It also knows how to update itself when comments are received, so your site is always the most up to date. This plugin ensures a stable and responsive wordpress install. 

To use this plugin you must have Mod_Rewrite enabled. Add the following to your .htaccess file: Options +FollowSymLinks RewriteEngine On

Please see http://ocaoimh.ie/wp-super-cache for more information.

- WP Built-in object cache is the default installation of WordPress and can be used to cache database queries. Less database queries = less resources being used. Add the following line to your wp-config.php file: // Enable the WordPress Object Cache: define(ENABLE_CACHE, true);

- You should review the plugins you have installed and see if there is a way to make them faster. Anyway in which you can make them stop creating database queries and use flat files, or even better, cache things, will help out greatly. If you find that a particular plugin is slowing down your WordPress install you should uninstall the plugin and consult the author. Most plugin developers love to hear feedback and would greatly appreciate your help.

- If you are doing media-rich applications and serving large files you may want to consider hosting these files on a JVMHost dedicated server.

- Keep your WordPress install up to date.

These points are only recommendations, a major spike in traffic may still take down a site even if it is cached. If you find your site is going down due to traffic, then it is likely that your site has outgrown shared hosting and it may be time to upgrade to a dedicated server.