Website Performance Optimization — Database Queries & Load Time

Overview

During a routine review of the Doodla Farms WooCommerce site, a severe performance degradation was identified alongside a broken checkout flow. The root cause was traced to excessive database query load — approximately 10× the normal volume — overwhelming the server and producing 502 Bad Gateway errors. The checkout has been restored to working order, but the site remains slow and requires further optimization.

Symptoms

502 Bad Gateway errors — server being overwhelmed under load
Blank checkout page — blocking all customer purchases
14-second page load time — well above acceptable thresholds
Bot traffic — dozens of failed order attempts from automated bots, which triggered the initial investigation
Server bandwidth — site was approaching hosting plan limits on WP Engine

Root Cause Analysis

Excessive Database Queries

A normal WordPress/WooCommerce site runs approximately 100 database queries per page load. At the time of discovery, Doodla Farms was generating ~1,000 queries — a 10× excess. This was traced to poorly written plugins making unnecessary, high-frequency database calls (e.g., a coupon plugin polling for new coupons every second).

Bloated Memory Usage

Page memory had grown to over 200MB, largely due to a WordPress activity log plugin that was recording every admin action into an ever-growing database table. This table alone had accumulated ~100MB of data.

Homepage Hero Video

A large video asset embedded in the homepage hero section was contributing to load time. Even after being disabled from displaying, the video file remained part of the page payload.

Fixes Implemented

Fix	Result
Cleared WordPress activity log table (~100MB)	Memory reduced from >200MB to 64MB
Disabled homepage hero video	Partial load time improvement
Removed/disabled problematic plugins	Query count reduced from ~1,000 to 533
Cleared caching layers (after caching tools broke checkout)	Checkout restored to functional
Coordinated with WP Engine via server log review	Confirmed query overload as primary cause

Current Status (as of meeting date)

Metric	Before	After	Target
DB queries	~1,000	533	~100
Memory usage	>200MB	64MB	✅ Good
Page load time	Unknown baseline	14 seconds	<3s
Checkout	Broken (blank page)	Functional	✅
PHP errors	Unknown	2	0

The checkout is working and orders are flowing. However, 533 queries and a 14-second load time remain unacceptable and require a dedicated optimization pass.

Known Remaining Issues

Query count still high at 533 (target: ~100). Additional plugin audit needed to identify remaining offenders.
Homepage hero video file still present in the site — should be deleted from media library if the video is not being reinstated.
2 PHP errors present in admin bar diagnostics — source not yet identified.
Caching tools were attempted but broke the checkout and had to be rolled back. A more careful, staged approach is needed.

Lessons Learned

Plugin selection on WooCommerce sites requires careful vetting. A single poorly written plugin can generate hundreds of unnecessary DB queries per page load, degrading performance site-wide. Plugins should be evaluated for query impact before installation, not after symptoms appear.

Next Steps

[ ] Schedule dedicated site optimization session (Mark + Karly) within the next few weeks
[ ] Audit remaining active plugins for query footprint
[ ] Delete homepage hero video from media library (confirm with Lucy first)
[ ] Investigate and resolve 2 PHP errors
[ ] Re-attempt caching implementation in a staged, tested manner
[ ] Establish a query/memory baseline monitoring approach going forward

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