MainWP Blog - Tips & Tricks

The autoload column in WordPress’s wp_options table determines if an option is automatically loaded during site initialization. Options with autoload set to yes are preloaded into memory, which is ideal for frequently used data like site settings or theme configurations, reducing database queries. Conversely, options with autoload set to no are retrieved only when explicitly requested. While autoloading essential data improves performance, excessive or large autoloaded options can increase memory usage and slow down page loads. To optimize performance, limit Continue reading the post...

Self-pings, or self-trackbacks, are notifications generated when you link to your posts within your WordPress site. While these can be helpful to navigation tools, they can clutter the comments section and create unnecessary distractions. Disabling self-pings is simple using one of the existing plugins there; disabling them can enhance your WordPress site. To prevent your WordPress site from self-pinging, install the No Self Ping plugin on all connected child sites in your MainWP dashboard. The plugin has a limited set Continue reading the post...

If you are running the WooCommerce plugin for ecommerce functionality on your WordPress site but have noticed an uptick in origin-unknown failed orders. These fraud orders can be a pain to deal with, and you have to manually review and clear out 60 to 80 orders per week or even more frequently, depending on how much of an issue it ends up being on the site. A card testing attack in WooCommerce occurs when fraudsters use an online store’s payment Continue reading the post...

Running a WooCommerce store offers vast growth potential, but with that comes significant security risks. As cyberattacks evolve, store owners must prioritize protecting customer data and transactions to prevent financial loss and reputational damage.     The following security measures are essential for keeping your WooCommerce store safe.   Keep Software Up-to-Date   Outdated software is one of the leading causes of security breaches. WooCommerce, WordPress, and all associated plugins should be kept up to date to ensure they are Continue reading the post...

WP Rocket is a popular caching plugin for WordPress that enhances website speed and performance by reducing load times and optimizing resources. It simplifies the complex caching process by automatically generating static page versions, reducing server processing, and improving user experience. WP Rocket offers page caching, browser caching, and GZIP compression to minimize bandwidth usage and accelerate page delivery. If you use the WP Rocket plugin on a site that also runs WooCommerce for e-commerce functions, you may notice that Continue reading the post...

Previously, there was a premium plugin brands to be able to add that feature to your WooCommerce store. Recently, the brands plugin was merged into WooCommerce core as part of the effort to bring more features into WooCommerce core; this was in a beta version. WooCommerce brands feature in WooCommerce core is being enabled for all users in the WooCommerce 9.6 release, which is scheduled for release on the 20th of January. Suppose you already have a custom taxonomy on Continue reading the post...

WooCommerce has its own logging system, which was improved in the WooCommerce 8.6.0 release. WooCommerce logging is not the same as logging that WordPress generates when debugging is enabled on a site. The default method used for log storage is the file system, where the log files are stored on the server in the following directory; /uploads/wc-logs WooCommerce logging supports logs stored in the site’s database, but this is not recommended for performance reasons on a production site. The default Continue reading the post...

Add festive fun to your WordPress login screen with the holidays upon us. This is also an example of how WordPress has filters, hooks, and actions that make customization of the site possible without adding extra plugins for customizations. For this example, use an image found on OpenVerse when searching for a snowman. Resize the image from 150 by 150 to 100 by 100 pixels and then save it as a PNG file and upload it to the site’s media Continue reading the post...

The SEO Plugin by Squirrly SEO is a commonly used SEO plugin for WordPress sites. At the time this article was written, it had over 100,000 active installations.   If you notice that the Squirrly SEO plugin adds additional assets that load on the front of the site when testing in GTmetrix or WebPageTest, the plugin provides some advanced settings that can be used to reduce those from loading.   You may need to change to SEO expert. You may Continue reading the post...

The Action Scheduler is a task runner in plugins such as WooCommerce, WooCommerce Subscriptions, MailPoet, and WP Mail SMTP. Many other plugins also use the Action Scheduler as an integrated task runner instead of maintaining other solutions..   If you have many actions running on your site, stored data can accumulate over time for the actions run and actions logged. It is not uncommon to find the actions or logs database table in the 10-20 GB range, which can go Continue reading the post...