Plugins are pretty amazing, like apps for your website. But some plugins are poorly designed and can drastically reduce the performance and speed of your WordPress website.

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Why, you ask?

Well, since you asked, let me explain. Every plugin is designed to perform a specific task, create contact forms, put interactive maps with inline directions to your locations, post automatically to Facebook, etc. These tasks are performed by website code (php, JavaScript, etc). The problem is, sometimes this code can be buggy or in other cases create HUGE demands on your server. All of the sudden you website becomes the size of a cheeseburger trying to be squeezed through a straw.

We want applesauce, not cheeseburgers when it comes to how our website is delivered to our end user. By the way, this is the ONLY time I choose applesauce over cheeseburgers ;).

So, how do you tell which plugin might be slowing down the performance of your website? You install another plugin in your WordPress site. Counterintuitive, right?

The fix

Installing this one plugin will give you all the insight into the effect of every other plugin on your WordPress website. It will allow you to determine which plugins are working like champs and run like applesauce through a straw and which ones are cheeseburgers and need to be eaten or thrown out. Enough with the metaphors, here’s the solution.

Install: P3 (Plugin Performance Profiler) 

Activate the P3 profiler and begin running it.

Remove any plugins that are negatively affecting your speed and are not vital to your site.

Any plugins that are vital but are causing problems either search for a replacement plugin that will not slow down your site or contact the plugins developer and see if they are aware of the issue.

Getting the speed your website deserves is at your fingertips.