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Tips To Get Better Results in WordPress Site Health

 

The Site Health tool of WordPress was developed to keep track of the most common performance and security issues of WordPress websites and provides instructions on how to make improvements. It is a great feature if you wish to keep an eye on your site and make sure that it is running under optimal conditions. It even provides recommendations, warnings, and passed tests explaining the status of your site.

Please click the links below to jump to a section.

How to Access Site Health Tool

To access WordPress Site Health Tool:

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
  2. Using the left-side menu, navigate to Tools.
  3. Select Site Health from the options.
    WordPress - Site Health Tool
  4. On the Site Health Tools page, you will see two tabs - Site Health Status and Site Health Info.

    Site Health Tool

The Site Health Status Tab

Site Health - Status Tab

The Status tab shows 2 categories.

  • Performance - This shows the site's status when it comes to its PHP version, database, PHP module, HTTP requests, REST API, and loopback requests.
  • Security - This shows the status of the active themes and plugins, HTTPs connection, secure communication, debug mode off, and background updates status.

The Site Health shows 3 status labels.

  • Recommended improvements - This shows recommendations to improve site health and provides instructions on how to address each issue.
  • Passed Tests - This displays all items in detail, including those without issues.
  • Critical Issues - Marks issues as "Security" or "Performance" with a brief description of what it is about. It shows significant issues which you should address.

The Site Health Info Tab

Site Health - Info Tab

The Info tab shows your WordPress site's configuration. Here are some of the categories listed in this tab.

  • WordPress
  • Directories and Sizes
  • Active Theme
  • Inactive Theme
  • Must Use Plugins
  • Active Plugins
  • Inactive Plugins
  • Media Handling
  • Server
  • Database
  • WordPress Constants
  • Filesystems Permissions
  • Jetpack
  • WPForms
Tip: If you wish to export a list of all the details on the Info tab, you can click the Copy site info to clipboard button.

How to Improve Your Site’s Health

  1. Make sure that your WordPress is updated.


    WordPress releases regular updates, including security patches. There's a lot of reasons as to why you have to make sure you update your WordPress, and among them are security and optimization. Please check out our support articles to know more about WordPress.

  2. Update your WordPress plugins and themes.


    Plugins and theme updates bring out new features, which include fixing bugs. Keeping your site's plugins and themes improves the efficiency and health of WordPress websites.

  3. Get your WordPress automatic updates enabled.


    WordPress has the ability to update itself with the latest security releases once they are available. You need to set up your site to update automatically every time WordPress releases a new version. Not only do you usually not have to do anything to take advantage of new upgrades, but you also ensure that your website gets the benefits of the new update the moment it’s available.
     
  4. Remove inactive or unused WordPress plugins and themes.

    Inactive plugins and themes take up resources on your hosting space and can be used to hide malware.
     
  5. Disable WordPress debug mode.

    The debug mode allows you to see errors caused by plugins, themes, or code on your website. However, it is not recommended to keep it enabled on a live site as it shows warnings and notices in the admin area, which can cause a low user experience.
     
  6. Make sure that WordPress can run wp-cron jobs.


    The wp-cron jobs can be very useful to automate repetitive tasks like checking for updates, which can increase your site health score, and publishing scheduled posts.

  7. Use the latest PHP version.


    The latest PHP version ensures compatibility with the features of new and updated WordPress plugins and themes, thus, boosting your website's performance. To update your site's PHP version, please visit our support guide:

  8. Install SSL on your website.


    SSL certificates encrypt information as it is transferred across the internet. To learn  how SSL certificates work, please visit the article:

  9. Keep Rest API enabled.

    WordPress Site Health recommends enabling REST API as it offers great scalability and flexibility.
     
  10. Ensure that the required PHP modules are installed.

    WordPress advises several PHP modules to be installed for optimal performance. Here is an article about the PHP modules installed on our servers.
  11. Use the latest MySQL version.

    Using the latest version of MySQL keeps your website data safe. HostGator makes sure that your database version is up-to-date and compatible with applications such as WordPress.
     
  12. Get a reliable hosting provider.

    This is probably the most important factor. Make sure that you host your websites on reliable servers. HostGator not only offers a variety of affordable and feature-packed hosting plans but also guarantees secured 99.9% server uptime, up-to-date installations, and excellent support.

How to Troubleshoot WordPress

The WordPress Site Health feature provides debugging details that can be used for troubleshooting. Navigate to the Info tab to see the detailed information about your WordPress install.

You may also visit these helpful articles to know more about handling WordPress issues.