Speeding up WordPress by disabling wp-cron

Updated November 2, 2017

We’re always looking for ways to speed up WordPress installations

If you do any application monitoring you may have noticed that wp-cron.php can use up a considerable amount of resources. WordPress uses a file called wp-cron.php to mimic a server cron job. This file is used to preform automated tasks for example publishing posts, updates and email notifications.

The file wp-cron is called with every visit and refresh on your WordPress website. You can see how this could quickly use up server resources. So lets turn it off and create a server cron in cPanel to run as needed.

Disable wp-cron within your wp-config.php file

Open your wp-config.php file in your favorite editor and add the following line:

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', 'true');
 /* That's all, stop editing! Happy blogging. */

Add it right above the “That’s all, stop editing! Happy blogging” comment.

Next Create a cron job for wp-cron.php on the server

Login to your hosting control panel. cPanel provides a simple interface to create basic cron jobs. We are going to create a cron job to run wp-cron.php. It is common practice to set the wp-cron to run every 4 to 6 hours. We are going to set it to run every 6 hours in this example.

1. Login To cPanel

2. You can get to the cron jobs from cPanel –> Advanced Tab –> Cron jobs

3. Change “Common Settings” to “Once an hour”

4. Set “Hour” to “Every 6 hours”

5. Now set the “Command” so that wp-cron.php will run.

cd /home/USERNAME/public_html; php -q wp-cron.php

USERNAME is your cPanel username. You can view your home directory/username in the cPanel Stats panel. Located on the right column.

6. Finally Click “Add New Cron Job”

There you have it, on a high traffic WordPress site you have reduced the load drastically and this can lead to speeding up WordPress. Good luck and happy blogging.

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