The latest articles on DEV Community by Carl Leger (@carl_leger_e93626c0bbef75). https://dev.to/carl_leger_e93626c0bbef75 https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3731202%2F8d7f21f1-93cc-49ab-9bdb-b46f510cd216.png https://dev.to/carl_leger_e93626c0bbef75 en Carl Leger Sun, 25 Jan 2026 10:33:06 +0000 https://dev.to/carl_leger_e93626c0bbef75/from-slow-to-fast-my-woocommerce-performance-checklist-cwv-ttfb-cachingpublished-true-35p8 https://dev.to/carl_leger_e93626c0bbef75/from-slow-to-fast-my-woocommerce-performance-checklist-cwv-ttfb-cachingpublished-true-35p8 <p>I work on real-world <strong>WooCommerce performance</strong> (Core Web Vitals, TTFB, caching rules, production reliability).<br><br> Here’s the checklist I use when a store feels “slow” (front-end or wp-admin).</p> <h2> 1) Measure the right things (first) </h2> <ul> <li> <strong>TTFB</strong> (server response): if it’s high, CWV will be hard to fix</li> <li> <strong>LCP / INP / CLS</strong> (Core Web Vitals)</li> <li>Check <strong>mobile</strong> and <strong>real pages</strong> (home, category, product, cart/checkout)</li> </ul> <h2> 2) Common WooCommerce killers </h2> <ul> <li>Too many uncached requests (cart fragments, dynamic blocks, logged-in behavior)</li> <li>Heavy plugins doing work on every request</li> <li>Slow database queries / autoload bloat</li> <li>Bad caching rules (cached cart/checkout, cookies ignored)</li> </ul> <h2> 3) My “safe caching” baseline </h2> <ul> <li>Cache everything <strong>except</strong>: <ul> <li> <code>/cart/</code> <code>/checkout/</code> <code>/my-account/</code> </li> <li>logged-in users</li> <li>requests with WooCommerce session/cart cookies</li> </ul> </li> <li>Use a CDN + edge caching, but keep WooCommerce rules strict</li> </ul> <h2> 4) wp-admin is slow? (usually) </h2> <ul> <li>Overloaded plugins / cron / heartbeat</li> <li>Too many admin-ajax calls</li> <li>Object cache missing or misconfigured</li> </ul> <h2> 5) Quick wins that actually move the needle </h2> <ul> <li>Remove unused scripts/styles on product/checkout pages</li> <li>Optimize images + preload the correct hero</li> <li>Fix render-blocking CSS (critical CSS / split)</li> <li>Reduce 3rd-party scripts</li> </ul> <p>If you want, I’m documenting more real fixes here:</p> <ul> <li> <strong>Website:</strong> <a href="https://carlleger.github.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer">carlleger.github.io</a> </li> <li> <strong>Services:</strong> <a href="https://carlleger.github.io/services/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Performance services</a> </li> <li> <strong>WooCommerce Optimization:</strong> <a href="https://carlleger.github.io/services/woocommerce-optimization/" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dedicated WooCommerce performance page</a> </li> </ul> <p>Happy to answer WooCommerce performance questions in the comments.</p> wordpress woocommerce performance webdev