Page cache is detected but the server response time is still slow

Hi thank you for replying.

The really strange thing is that I already have a fully configured plugin for caching and minifying, etc, but I will take a look. ??

“Reduce initial server response time / FCP / LCP / TTFB”

A high TTFB (Time To First Byte) is an indication of a slow or overloaded server, because this happens even before WordPress begins to do any job.

Indeed, it takes about 4 seconds to load the 7kb /readme.html static HTML file at the root of your site.

Note that no WordPress, PHP, database, or even JavaScript is involved in loading this file — it’s just a tiny 7kb static HTML file. And it’s taking this long to load!

Caching and asset optimization plugins can help, but only to the extent that the server can serve those cached and optimized assets quickly. And it seems your server is not doing a great job at that.

George, this is not the first time you have come to my rescue, I hope you are getting something for your amazing efforts!

Should I talk to my hosting provider about this do you think?

Thank you

Should I talk to my hosting provider about this do you think?

Unfortunately, I don’t think that conversation will likely go very far or yield any positive results for you.

That’s because this is the very business model of these large shared hosting providers: set up a giant server, and put thousands — sometimes tens of thousands — of sites on it. With such massive site density and automation, they cut labour costs to a minimum and can afford to charge $1-10/month.

The server/cluster that runs your site has over 20,000 sites on it! While the server itself may have the raw capacity to host this large number of sites, you can’t beat the laws of physics: if even only 50% of sites have just one incoming visitor at any time, you have 10 thousand requests to be served simultaneously, so these requests get queued up.

That’s why you’re seeing 4 seconds to serve a 7kb static HTML file… because the server was busy serving other requests.

Thanks for the insight, it’s very strange it never used to be like this. I have seen a lot of growth lately however, so I wonder if that is why.