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Maintenance Tools

The Tools section provides utilities for managing cache, optimizing database, and maintaining your site's performance.

Cache Management​

Clear All Cache​

Manually purge all cached files from Performance Toolkit's cache directory.

Use when:

  • Content updated but cache not auto-purged
  • Before client testing or demos
  • After major site changes
  • Cache seems stale

How to use:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Clear All Cache
  3. Confirm in dialog
  4. Cache files deleted
  5. Next page visit re-caches

Impact:

  • Immediate effect
  • Pages re-cached on next visitor request
  • Small performance dip during re-caching
  • Cache hit rate resets to 0% briefly

Clear Cache for Specific URL​

If available, clear cache for specific pages/posts:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Clear Cache for URL (if available)
  3. Enter URL path (e.g., /blog/my-post/)
  4. Click Clear
  5. That URL re-caches on next visit

Cache Statistics​

Displays:

  • Total cached files
  • Cache directory size
  • Percentage of total disk used
  • Last cache purge timestamp
  • Cache hit/miss statistics

Database Tools​

Run Database Optimization​

Manually trigger database cleanup without scheduling:

Cleans:

  • Post revisions (keeps newest)
  • Auto-draft posts
  • Deleted post/comment trash
  • Orphaned metadata
  • Fragmented tables
  • Table indexes

Before running:

  1. Backup database — always have recent backup
  2. Low-traffic window — run during off-hours
  3. Monitor completion — usually 1-5 minutes

How to use:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Run Database Optimization
  3. Select what to optimize:
    • ✅ Remove post revisions
    • ✅ Remove auto-drafts
    • ✅ Empty trash
    • ✅ Delete orphaned metadata
    • ✅ Optimize tables
  4. Click Start
  5. Monitor progress
  6. View results when complete

Results show:

  • Files removed
  • Space recovered
  • Time taken
  • Any errors encountered

View Slow Queries​

If available, see database queries taking longer than 1 second:

SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE ...  [1.23 seconds]
SELECT * FROM wp_postmeta WHERE ... [0.95 seconds]

High slow query counts indicate:

  • Missing database indexes
  • Unoptimized queries
  • Inefficient plugins
  • Large database tables

What to do:

  1. Check if queries are from specific plugins
  2. Try disabling suspect plugins
  3. Run database optimization
  4. Contact hosting if persists

Asset Management​

Purge Minified Assets Cache​

Clear cached minified CSS/JavaScript files:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Purge Minified Assets (if available)
  3. All minified versions deleted
  4. Regenerated on next page view

When to use:

  • After updating plugin/theme CSS/JS
  • If CSS/JS changes not appearing
  • To refresh cached minified versions
  • After removing file minification exclusions

CDN Tools​

Purge Cloudflare Cache​

If Cloudflare is configured, manually purge cache:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Purge Cloudflare Cache
  3. All Cloudflare edge cache cleared
  4. Content re-caches on next global visitor request

When to use:

  • Content updated but Cloudflare cache not auto-purged
  • Before testing global performance
  • After DNS changes
  • When troubleshooting cache issues

Impact:

  • Immediate purge across all Cloudflare locations
  • First visitor after purge is slightly slower (cache miss)
  • Subsequent visitors normal (cache rebuilds)

Optimization Tools​

Refresh Performance Metrics​

Manually update System Status metrics:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Refresh Metrics (if available)
  3. Metrics recalculated
  4. Dashboard updates

Note: Metrics typically auto-update every few minutes; manual refresh rarely needed.

Generate Asset Report​

Create analysis of current CSS/JS files:

CSS Files: 12
  - external: 8 files, 245 KB
  - inline: 4 instances, 15 KB
  - deferred: 0 files

JavaScript Files: 18
  - external: 14 files, 580 KB
  - inline: 4 instances, 25 KB
  - deferred: 3 files

Useful for:

  • Understanding what assets are loaded
  • Identifying optimization opportunities
  • Finding unused dependencies
  • Debugging performance issues

Diagnostics​

Run Performance Diagnostics​

Scan site for common performance issues:

Checks:

  • ✅ Caching enabled and working
  • ✅ Minification configured correctly
  • ✅ Image lazy loading active
  • ✅ Database query count reasonable
  • ✅ Unused plugins installed
  • ✅ PHP version supported
  • ✅ Disk space available
  • ✅ Memory usage normal

Results:

  • List of found issues
  • Severity (critical, warning, info)
  • Recommended actions
  • Links to relevant settings

Example report:

WARNING: Database has 2,000+ post revisions (recommended cleanup)
INFO: 18 plugins active; 2 appear unused
CRITICAL: Only 5% disk space remaining
GOOD: PHP 8.1 installed

Testing Tools​

Performance Test​

Run lightweight performance test:

  • Access home page
  • Measure load time
  • Check cache effectiveness
  • Compare to baseline

Useful for:

  • Testing after optimizations
  • Before/after comparisons
  • Verifying performance claims
  • Troubleshooting slowness

Lighthouse Integration (if available)​

Run Google Lighthouse test directly from plugin:

  1. Go to Tools
  2. Click Run Lighthouse Test
  3. Select Mobile or Desktop
  4. Plugin runs test against your site
  5. Results display with recommendations

Provides:

  • Performance score (0-100)
  • Core Web Vitals
  • Specific recommendations
  • Links to fix each issue

Settings Management​

Export Settings​

Backup your Performance Toolkit configuration:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Export Settings
  3. Downloads JSON file with all settings
  4. Save safely

Why export:

  • Migrate site to new hosting
  • Document configuration
  • Share settings with developer
  • Rollback restore

Import Settings​

Restore settings from export:

  1. Go to Performance Toolkit → Tools
  2. Click Import Settings
  3. Upload previously exported JSON file
  4. Choose to merge or replace
  5. Settings restored

When to import:

  • Moving site to new hosting
  • Duplicating settings to another site
  • Reverting to previous configuration
  • Applying known-good settings

Maintenance Schedule​

TaskFrequencyReason
Clear cacheDaily (auto)Keeps content fresh
Monitor metricsWeeklyTrack performance trends
Database cleanupMonthlyRecovers space, speeds queries
Review recommendationsMonthlyAct on optimization suggestions
Check disk spaceMonthlyEnsure cache has room
Update pluginOn releaseBug fixes, new features
Purge CDNAs neededSite updates reflected globally

Automated Maintenance​

Tools available for scheduling:

  • Auto cache purge on content updates (enabled by default)
  • Scheduled database cleanup (if available)
  • Automatic metric refresh
  • Background minification updates

Troubleshooting​

Tool not working or showing error​

  1. Refresh page — try again
  2. Check error message — note exact error text
  3. Clear browser cache — old page cached
  4. Try again — transient errors pass
  5. Contact support — provide error text

Performance didn't improve after tools​

Tools manage existing optimizations; they don't add new ones:

  • Run diagnostics to find issues
  • Enable optimization features in main settings
  • Combine multiple optimizations
  • See System Status for improvement tracking

Can't find Tools page​

Tools located at: Performance Toolkit → (Main menu) → Tools

If not visible:

  • Ensure Performance Toolkit is activated
  • Verify administrator permissions
  • Refresh page

Best Practices​

  • ✅ Check maintenance tools monthly
  • ✅ Run database cleanup quarterly
  • ✅ Monitor cache statistics weekly
  • ✅ Act on diagnostic recommendations
  • ✅ Backup before and after major actions
  • ✅ Clear cache after content updates
  • ✅ Review performance metrics regularly

Remember: Tools help manage optimizations already configured. First enable optimization features in main settings, then use tools to maintain and monitor.

Performance Toolkit's tools keep your site optimized and healthy 24/7.

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