Creating efficient WordPress Queries with WP_Query

Dive into the intricacies of optimizing WordPress queries with a focused exploration of WP_Query in this professional meetup session. The discussion will revolve around the principles of crafting efficient and resource-conscious queries to enhance the performance of WordPress websites.

Throughout this session, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of WP_Query and its role in tailoring content retrieval strategies. The emphasis will be on the meticulous construction of queries to minimize resource utilization while maximizing site responsiveness.

Designed for WordPress developers seeking to refine their skills, this meetup will provide a detailed examination of best practices, methodology, and real-world examples. Whether you are well-versed in WordPress development or just beginning your journey, the content will offer valuable insights into optimizing query performance.

Attendees can expect an in-depth exploration of the technical aspects behind query optimization, empowering them to implement strategies that improve the efficiency of WordPress websites. Join us for a professional discussion aimed at advancing your proficiency in WordPress development by mastering the intricacies of WP_Query.

Transcript

1. Creating efficient WordPress Queries with WP_Query - By Krishna Neupane - @krishneup 1
2. Introduction • Enable us to perform complex database queries in a safe, simple and modular manner. 2
3. Introduction • Enable us to perform complex database queries in a safe, simple and modular manner. • Can be created by initiating WordPress Query class 3
4. Introduction • Enable us to perform complex database queries in a safe, simple and modular manner. • Can be created by initiating WordPress Query class • Has properties & methods 4
5. Introduction • Enable us to perform complex database queries in a safe, simple and modular manner. • Can be created by initiating WordPress Query class • Has properties & methods • Offers large number of parameter options to perform query. 5
6. 6 Let’s see an example
7. 7 Can we improve this?
8. Only run the query you need, But how? 8
9. WP_Query makes following queries by default • Calculates pagination 9
10. WP_Query makes following queries by default • Calculates pagination • Queries post meta and taxonomy terms 10
11. WP_Query makes following queries by default • Calculates pagination • Queries post meta and taxonomy terms • Calculates results 11
12. We can improve by passing some parameters & techniques 12
13. When you need to retreive only last n posts, without pagination, it is useful to use undocumented (it is documented only on code) parameter ‘no_found_rows’ => true. This will increase performance. 13 When pagination is not needed
14. This is helpful when you need to show Posts without adding post meta information to the cache. This helps in performance. 14 Useful when post meta info will not be utilized.
15. This is helpful when you need to show Posts without adding post term information to the cache. This helps in performance too. 15 Useful when taxonomy terms will not be utilized.
16. Note: If a persistent object cache backend (such as memcached) is used, these caching parameter flags are set to false by default since there is no need to update the cache every page load when a persistent cache exists. 16
17. This is useful when only the post IDs are needed. 17 Specify return field parameters
18. Do not use posts_per_page => -1 What if we have 100,000 posts? This could crash the site. 18
19. Avoid post__not_in Helpful but can lead to poor performance on busy and large websites. Link - https://docs.wpvip.com/technical-references/code-quality-and-best-pract ices/using-post__not_in/ 19
20. 20 What’s the alternative techniques for post__not_in ?
21. 21 Let’s see it
22. Do not use $wpdb & get_posts() - unless you have a solid reason 22
23. Detect slow queries with Query Monitor plugin 23
24. Utilize Transients feature when possible 24
25. 25 Provide a way to override. Your developer users will thank you.
26. Using WP_Query for the search & filters 26
27. 27 Ways to pass search parameter for text search
28. But, wait, there’s a problem By default, the default search engine for WordPress searches only the title and post_content. 28
29. 29 Use Relevanssi plugin integration
30. 30 Supercharge further adding filters to the WP_Query My favourite combination : Search & Filter Pro + Relevanssi Relevanssi - https://wordpress.org/plugins/relevanssi/ Search & Filter - https://wordpress.org/plugins/search-filter/
31. WordPress 6.1 has WP_Query improvements 31 If the same database query is run more than once, the result will be loaded from cache.
32. Final point Happy engineering ! 32
33. 33 Reach me via Website: www.krishneup.com twitter: @krishneup Email: me@krishneup.com