WordPress 6.1, set to launch in November 2022, is brimming with performance enhancements, suggesting that this might be the upgrade that many users have been longing for.
WordPress performance metrics from early 2022 to the end of September remained relatively steady, with minor increases in the spring followed by a dip in the summer, culminating in a rise of roughly 3 percentage points by the end of September compared to the start of the year.
WordPress Core Web Vitals Performance in 2022
Most other platforms have witnessed more significant performance advances month by month in 2022:
- Wix up by 13 points
- Duda up by 8 points
- Squarespace up by 7 points
- Joomla up by 7 points
- Drupal up by 5 points
WordPress publishers seeking performance improvements received little positive news this year. However, that is about to change dramatically.
WordPress 6.1 is loaded with substantial improvements, some of which are termed as "massive."
"Massive Improvement" To WP_Query Performance
A key performance enhancement is the implementation of caching to WP_Query in the database. This means that when a visitor requests a webpage, the request is stored in a cache. For subsequent requests to the same webpage, WordPress retrieves the data from the cache instead of querying the database again, resulting in faster performance.
The WordPress core contributor who worked on this improvement recently tweeted:
“In WordPress 6.1, there is a massive improvement to database performance.
Database queries in WP_Query are now cached.
A ticket I have been working on for 5+ years was merged.
This should result in billions of less repeated database queries.”
Improvement to REST API Database Queries
When a webpage is requested, it makes various requests for different components. This improvement streamlines the process by reducing the number of database queries. WordPress elaborates:
“When profiling tools were used against the responses of REST API requests, it was discovered that post controllers request a lot of linked data for each post.
For example, when returning a post in a REST API response, linked data such as author, featured image, and parent post were all requested.
As these linked items were not primed in caches, it could mean multiple database queries for each post.
In WordPress 6.1, all the caches are primed in a single database query.”
Additional Caching Improvements
Other cache-related improvements accelerate the delivery of webpages.
Improvements to Cache API
- One improvement addresses an issue created by plugins, which fixes a problem that can cause bizarre behavior or outright failure. This makes it easier for plugin developers to detect issues.
- Another improvement allows theme and plugin developers to access specific functions, resulting in fewer database queries and speeding up site performance.
Post and Post Types Improvements
Enhances performance for websites with a large number of custom taxonomies, such as tags and categories.
Multisite Improvements
Reduces database queries in multisite environments.
Media Handling Improvement
This boosts performance by deferring the loading of images, which helps speed up webpage retrieval and display.
Improved PHP Performance for Core Blocks Registration
This improvement enhances how "block registration" is managed, benefiting all WordPress sites.
New Site Health Checks
WordPress 6.1 introduces two new site health checks, helping publishers identify whether they can improve site performance using a Persistent Object Cache and/or a Full Page Cache.
Persistent Object Cache
Stores frequently requested webpage parts in memory, speeding up page display and reducing server load.
Full Page Cache
Creates a cache of the entire webpage, making it function more like a static HTML page. This is generally less useful for dynamic sites with personalization.
Cron API
An improvement to wp-cron.php, which schedules tasks like backups, scheduled posts, or updates. This update will enhance performance by ensuring compatibility with LiteSpeed Web Server plus LSAPI.
Many More Performance Improvements
WordPress 6.1 includes numerous performance improvements, along with enhancements to accessibility, the block editor, theme developer options, updated external libraries, new functions, and a new oEmbed provider for podcasts. This update is shaping up to be quite significant, with a release scheduled for November 1, 2022.
Citation
Performance Field Guide for WordPress 6.1
Featured image by Shutterstock/Ljupco Smokovski
