I have been dealing with server issues over at PCMech for a little while now. Yesterday, I think we finally made some headway. We ended up replacing the APC PHP opcode cache with eAcellerator as well as upgraded the motherboard and processor.

WordPress is a fantastic product, but when you add some plug-ins to it it can become a huge beast which uses a lot of server resources. Especially when your blog is hit by a lot of traffic.

A few tips on optimizing server load on a heavily trafficked WordPress blog:

1. Use a PHP opcode cache. I know it’s technical, but basically an opcode cache stores compiled PHP code in a cache so that it does not have to be re-compiled every time it is run. PHP, by nature, is compiled in real-time otherwise. Using an opcode cache can significantly speed up your site.
2. Apache calls are, by nature, memory intensive. And it gets worse the more dynamic your site is (and WordPress is pretty dynamic). One way to offload some load is to offload your images and movie files to another server.
3. Separate the database server from the main server. At PCMech, we have a server just for MySQL and another for the main site files.
4. Deactivate any plug-ins you’re not using. You might not save the day doing this, but it does help reduce load.
5. Use a WordPress cache plug-in like WP Super Cache. This can, too, work quite well. The only thing you have to be careful with is anything which is dynamic on a per-user basis. In my case with PCMech, I cannot run a blanket cache like this because I have premium members who see things differently than everybody else.

Luckily, most blogs won’t have to deal with this. WordPress can accommodate quite a bit of traffic all by itself. It is usually the high traffic blogs that have to worry about such things.