Tag Archives: performance

Weston Ruter 4:37 am on November 18, 2025
Tags: , , , , , , , performance   

WordPress 6.9 Frontend Performance Field Guide

This post is the latest in a series of updates focused on the performance improvements of major releases (see 6.8, 6.7, 6.6, 6.5, 6.4, 6.3, and 6.2).

WordPress 6.9 is the second and final major releasemajor release A release, identified by the first two numbers (3.6), which is the focus of a full release cycle and feature development. WordPress uses decimaling count for major release versions, so 2.8, 2.9, 3.0, and 3.1 are sequential and comparable in scope. of 2025. It includes numerous improvements to the performance of loading pages on the frontend:

  • Scripts: improve script loading performance by adding support for fetchpriority, printing script modules in the footer, and optimizing the emoji detection script.
  • Styles: optimize loading of stylesheets by loading blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. styles on demand in classic themes, omitting styles for hidden blocks, increasing the inline style limit from 20K to 40K, and inlining minified stylesheets in block themes.
  • Introduce the template enhancementenhancement Enhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. output buffer to implement optimizations previously impossible (such as the aforementioned on-demand style loading in classic themes).
  • More: spawn WP Cron at shutdown, eliminate layout shifts in the Video block, fix RSS feedRSS Feed RSS is an acronym for Real Simple Syndication which is a type of web feed which allows users to access updates to online content in a standardized, computer-readable format. This is the feed. caching, and so on.

The performance changes in this release include 38 Trac tickets (26 enhancements, 11 defects, 1 task) and 31 Gutenberg PRs, although this post does not describe improvements to the performance of the editor nor the database query and caching optimizations. This post highlights the key changes to the frontend for site visitors, as well as looking at their impact in terms of web vitals metrics, such as TTFB, FCP, and LCP.

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Aditya Dhade 7:03 pm on October 7, 2025
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Performance Chat Summary: 7 October 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

  • @westonruter mentioned ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. #63636 related to BFCache was punted due to an unresolved Chromium bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. around Clear-Site-Data: "cache" headers.
  • @westonruter identified ticket #43258 on output buffering as the current biggest blockerblocker A bug which is so severe that it blocks a release.. He explained that while there’s been significant discussion both on the PR #8412 and in Slack, the debate centers around the trade-offs between enabling full-page buffering (to allow post-render optimization) versus keeping the door open for streaming, which could improve initial load performance. He provided further context on how classic themes already stream via procedural rendering, while blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. themes generally do not.
    • @westonruter noted that while streaming isn’t widely adopted in WordPress today, it could become valuable in the future, and care should be taken not to block its evolution. He also shared a WPDirectory search of flush() usage across coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress., noting they appear mostly in adminadmin (and super admin) and XML-RPC contexts rather than template rendering.
    • @westonruter asked if anyone has insights into this area and can contribute thoughts on how we can bridge these two perspectives, allowing for a default output buffer while also enabling streaming if the application wants it. He’d be most thankful.
  • @b1ink0 brought up PR #9867 related to footer script module support and noted that @jonsurrell had provided thoughts around dependency handling.

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @westonruter mentioned new guidance on AI-generated contributions now available in the Performance repo, including a new AGENTS.md file and updated PR template instructions with PR #2193. He explained that this was prompted by a recent increase in AI-assisted PRs, some of which indicated the AI’s output wasn’t being carefully reviewed by the contributor.

Open Floor

  • @westonruter introduced Trac ticket #64066, proposing that WordPress default to moderate eagerness for Speculative Loading, when caching is detected. He noted the idea could provide a performance boost in WordPress 7.0 by improving preload efficiency on cached sites, but also acknowledged the need to weigh sustainability concerns around increased server load.
    • @mukesh27 asked whether a second opinion was needed, and whether any Google team members had provided feedback.
    • @westonruter replied that he had received positive input from Google, though their priorities don’t always align with those of hosts and site owners. He noted that moderate eagerness can increase bandwidth usage due to unnecessary preloads and may lead to added hosting costs.
    • @gilbertococchi shared his thoughts, emphasizing that moderate eagerness could be significantly more impactful than conservative loading, especially with Chrome’s recent introduction of a Viewport Heuristic, but stressed the importance of safeguards like persistent object caching to mitigate server load.
    • @mukesh27 summarized that @gilbertococchi was supportive of the proposal and encouraged moving the ticket into the 6.9 milestone for visibility.
    • @westonruter clarified that while he wasn’t necessarily aiming for inclusion in 6.9, he agreed to milestone the ticket for tracking purposes, with the understanding that it may still be punted.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, October 21, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 6:38 pm on September 23, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 23 September 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

  • @westonruter shared that PR #8412 has tests added and is ready for review, though he still needs to update the description and remove the draft status.
  • @westonruter enquired about PR #9867, which enables printing script modules in the footer.
    • @b1ink0 added that work is currently underway to implement sorting behavior for script modules and their dependencies.
  • @westonruter enquired about coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. milestone #63012 regarding theme CSSCSS Cascading Style Sheets. minification.
    • @b1ink0 mentioned having a POC (minification only for blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. themes) to partially address #63012 and is working with @shyamgadde on a POC addressing the remaining points, with plans to raise PRs in the coming week.
  • @westonruter mentioned PR #9770 to iterate on fetchpriority for script modules, to allow enqueued script modules to influence the priority of dependencies (or vice versa, which is not yet totally clear).

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

Open Floor

  • @westonruter shared that there may be a blockerblocker A bug which is so severe that it blocks a release. preventing ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. #63636 from being a good candidate for WordPress 6.9. The issue relates to a bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. in Chrome where sending the Clear-Site-Data headerHeader The header of your site is typically the first thing people will experience. The masthead or header art located across the top of your page is part of the look and feel of your website. It can influence a visitor’s opinion about your content and you/ your organization’s brand. It may also look different on different screen sizes. such as during logout can slow down page performance. While this approach is preferable to using pageshow to invalidate the bfcache, the Chrome bug may require postponing the feature to 7.0.
  • @khoipro suggested adding a filterFilter Filters are one of the two types of Hooks https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Hooks. They provide a way for functions to modify data of other functions. They are the counterpart to Actions. Unlike Actions, filters are meant to work in an isolated manner, and should never have side effects such as affecting global variables and output. to exclude certain taxonomies from slow term-count queries in large projects.
    • @johnbillion noted that while the suggestion didn’t seem directly related, two recent fixes in WordPress 6.9 have already reduced unnecessary term recounting #42522 and #63562.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 7:02 pm on September 9, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 9 September 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @westonruter flagged that the Optimization Detective plugin is overdue for a release but likely won’t ship before 6.9-beta1 due to focus on Core enhancements.
    • @westonruter reminded that getting the 1.0.0 stable release out is blocking next milestone, which includes the work @b1ink0 is doing on URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org Metrics priming.

Open Floor

  • @mukesh27 inquired about the date of the next bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. scrub and @westonruter confirmed it is scheduled for next Tuesday (16 September 2025).

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, September 23, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 5:49 pm on August 12, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 12 August 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @westonruter announced that the next Performance Lab release will include an adminadmin (and super admin) pointer for the View Transitions plugin PR #2122.
    • @b1ink0 asked whether to release Performance Lab now or wait until PR #2059 is ready, as it needs a round of review. @westonruter suggested waiting so that the release can go out next week before WCUS.
  • @westonruter also noted that the admin pointer should be omitted if View Transitions is already active (Issue #2136) and mentioned PR #2119, which proposes adding the No-cache BFCache plugin as a new feature to Performance Lab.

Open Floor

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, August 26, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 6:12 pm on July 29, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 29 July 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

  • @westonruter highlighted the PR (#8815) for fetchpriority as one of the WordPress 6.9 roadmap items that still requires an approving review preferably from someone familiar with the script loader component, for example especially the work on adding async/defer, as it builds on that effort.

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, August 12, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 6:29 pm on July 15, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 15 July 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @westonruter noted that View Transitions 1.1 is releasing soon.
    • @flixos90 confirmed he will publish View Transitions 1.1.0 today and requested a another round of review of PR #2080 from @mukesh27.
    • @mukesh27 approved merging despite unrelated test failures.
  • @mukesh27 asked about an upcoming Performance Lab suite release.
    • @flixos90 proposed a one-off Performance Lab release to ship recent enhancements rather than waiting for all pending plugins.
    • @westonruter highlighted PR #2059 from @b1ink0, which addresses a fundamental issue with the enqueued assets site health test.
    • @flixos90 suggested waiting for that PR before proceeding with a new Performance Lab release.
    • Additionally, @westonruter shared an open issue to potentially highlight the addition of View Transitions in the Performance screen for better discoverability (issue #1239). @flixos90 agreed on the value but emphasized that it involves more complex UXUX User experience work and shouldn’t blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. the current release.

Open Floor

  • @b1ink0 asked if anyone planned to attend WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. US and could help represent the Performance Team during Contributor DayContributor Day Contributor Days are standalone days, frequently held before or after WordCamps but they can also happen at any time. They are events where people get together to work on various areas of https://make.wordpress.org/ There are many teams that people can participate in, each with a different focus. https://2017.us.wordcamp.org/contributor-day/ https://make.wordpress.org/support/handbook/getting-started/getting-started-at-a-contributor-day/. on August 26 2025.
    • @adamsilverstein shared that he’ll be attending and plans to focus on AI and GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/ tables, so he won’t be able to lead the performance table. @flixos90 also confirmed he will attend but will focus on the AI table.
    • @westonruter offered to lead the performance table during Contributor Day.
  • @b1ink0 asked for volunteers to lead the upcoming Performance Bug Scrub scheduled for July 22, 2025. Interested contributors were invited to sign up on the schedule spreadsheet.
    • @flixos90 mentioned he can’t lead the next two scrubs but is available for August 19 2025. He noted the challenge of finding enough volunteers and mentioned that if there isn’t enough support, the bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. scrubs might need to stop, which would be unfortunate.
    • @westonruter offered to start leading bug scrubs regularly from September onwards.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, July 29, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 6:35 pm on July 1, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 1 July 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

WordPress Performance TracTrac An open source project by Edgewall Software that serves as a bug tracker and project management tool for WordPress. tickets

  • @westonruter mentioned that the PR adding fetchpriority support for scripts (PR #8815) needs additional reviews if it is to land in the next minor releaseMinor Release A set of releases or versions having the same minor version number may be collectively referred to as .x , for example version 5.2.x to refer to versions 5.2, 5.2.1, 5.2.3, and all other versions in the 5.2 (five dot two) branch of that software. Minor Releases often make improvements to existing features and functionality.. But if WordPress 6.9 really is coming later this year then, the feature may be better suited as a major enhancementenhancement Enhancements are simple improvements to WordPress, such as the addition of a hook, a new feature, or an improvement to an existing feature. for WordPress 6.9.
    • @flixos90 suggested that if WordPress 6.9 is going to be released this year, ticketticket Created for both bug reports and feature development on the bug tracker. #61734 should be moved from the 6.8.2 milestone to 6.9, as there would no longer be a reason to allow enhancements in a minor release.
    • @westonruter noted that he added this topic to the agenda for the coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. committercommitter A developer with commit access. WordPress has five lead developers and four permanent core developers with commit access. Additionally, the project usually has a few guest or component committers - a developer receiving commit access, generally for a single release cycle (sometimes renewed) and/or for a specific component. meeting later that day, asking whether the temporary relaxation of the minor release policy should be reconsidered if WordPress 6.9 is happening this year.
  • @flixos90 emphasized the need to start triaging tickets targeted for WordPress 6.9, noting many lack assigned owners or updates. Prompt action was encouraged to ensure timely progress.
  • @rollybueno raised questions regarding caching improvements for the ticket #63045.
    • @flixos90 acknowledged the point about using more readable cache keys but noted that this would break a convention used consistently throughout WordPress Core. He suggested that this requires further discussion to decide if breaking that convention is worthwhile and, if so, whether other cache keys across Core should also be updated for consistency.
    • @spacedmonkey added that ticket #59592 should ideally land before #63045 as they are related.

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @flixos90 shared that he addressed feedback on View Transitions PR #2037, and it is now ready for another round of review.
    • He also announced plans for a new release of the View Transitions plugin soon, highlighting several significant enhancements and bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. fixes currently pending in open PRs.
  • @mukesh27 shared an update regarding the Auto Sizes plugin, confirming successful smoke testing and announcing the release of Auto Sizes version 1.5.0, which improves calculation of image sizes in nested blocks such as Group and Columns.

Open Floor

  • @b1ink0 asked for volunteers to lead the upcoming Performance Bug Scrub scheduled for July 8, 2025. Interested contributors were invited to sign up on the schedule spreadsheet.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, July 15, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 5:38 pm on June 17, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 17 June 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

Open Floor

  • @swissspidy shared a previous question from @spacedmonkey, regarding the use of static variables in coreCore Core is the set of software required to run WordPress. The Core Development Team builds WordPress. for in-memory caching, and whether the object caching APIAPI An API or Application Programming Interface is a software intermediary that allows programs to interact with each other and share data in limited, clearly defined ways. with a non-persistent cache group might be a better alternative. Benefits noted included cache invalidation capabilitiescapability A capability is permission to perform one or more types of task. Checking if a user has a capability is performed by the current_user_can function. Each user of a WordPress site might have some permissions but not others, depending on their role. For example, users who have the Author role usually have permission to edit their own posts (the “edit_posts” capability), but not permission to edit other users’ posts (the “edit_others_posts” capability). and improved testing scenarios.
    In the original discussion thread:
    • @flixos90 questioned the practical advantages of cache invalidation for non-persistent caches.
    • @spacedmonkey clarified it would allow developers to optionally enable persistent caching, improve testability by clearing caches between tests, and align with the intended usage of the object cache API.
    • @flixos90 agreed that while making these caches persistent could introduce issues, improved testing practices were indeed a valid benefit.
  • @spacedmonkey also requested feedback on PR #8728, inviting further input from contributors.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary

Aditya Dhade 6:14 pm on June 3, 2025
Tags: , , performance, ,   

Performance Chat Summary: 3 June 2025

The full chat log is available beginning here on Slack.

Performance Lab PluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party (and other performance plugins)

  • @westonruter announced that the initial release of the View Transitions plugin is now live on WordPress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. https://wordpress.org/. 🎉
    • @jonoaldersonwp and @westonruter both installed the plugin on their personal sites and reported positive feedback on its visual smoothness and polish.
    • @flixos90 shared that a blogblog (versus network, site) post is being prepared to explain the plugin’s background a bit more, and there are plans to explore it further with contributors at WordCampWordCamp WordCamps are casual, locally-organized conferences covering everything related to WordPress. They're one of the places where the WordPress community comes together to teach one another what they’ve learned throughout the year and share the joy. Learn more. Europe.
    • @flixos90 highlighted the significant value of achieving these transitions without needing to rearchitect the entire site or work around WordPress’s default behavior.
    • @jonoaldersonwp noted that this solution is preferable to the old AMP-based AJAX content wrapper approach.

Open Floor

  • @b1ink0 reminded everyone that the upcoming Performance Bug Scrub is scheduled for June 10, 2025, noted an open host slot, and invited anyone interested to lead it.
    • @flixos90 volunteered to host the bugbug A bug is an error or unexpected result. Performance improvements, code optimization, and are considered enhancements, not defects. After feature freeze, only bugs are dealt with, with regressions (adverse changes from the previous version) being the highest priority. scrub on June 10, due to a scheduling conflictconflict A conflict occurs when a patch changes code that was modified after the patch was created. These patches are considered stale, and will require a refresh of the changes before it can be applied, or the conflicts will need to be resolved. with the originally planned slot on June 24.

Our next chat will be held on Tuesday, June 17, 2025 at 15:00 UTC in the #core-performance channel in Slack.

#core-performance, #hosting, #performance, #performance-chat, #summary