5 replies
I ave a blog that is doing very well. ~10,000 hits a day. But is really slow, plus the free theme I used doesn't look very hot.

I want to do a total update of the blog and speed it up dramatically. I am going with a Genesis theme and a CDN to spruce it up. Can I simply switch out the theme and inactivate/delete most of the plugins or do I have to go nuclear to clean out the trash?
#blog #makeover #total #update
  • Profile picture of the author pvijeh
    Hey Mike,

    I am not a pro at these kinds of things-- but i will share a bit of my own experience.

    I recently undertook the exact same project you describe. I had been using woothemes Canvas-- but for a variety of reasons- wanted to try the Genesis + Epik child theme.

    In order to make the change-- I learned how to setup a development copy of my site on a local server hosted on my computer (using some software called WAMP).

    I am glad i did this-- because there were a number of things that needed to be tweaked after switching the theme.

    In all-- it took me about 30 hours of work, or maybe more-- to get the new theme working well / looking the way I want.

    Here is what i learned from the process:

    -- It is a good idea to try out theme changes on a development copy of your site because there is no other way to tell how smoothly the transition will go / how long it will take.

    -- creating a development copy of your site is very difficult if you are not a pro with mysql (i ran into tons of problems importing my database from the live site to my dev site, and then back again)

    -- If i were smart, i would have just hired someone to do the whole thing for me


    In summary- changing the theme turned out to be a TON more work than i had anticipated.

    There is really no way to tell how much work it will be in your case until you try it out-- which is why i recommend doing it on a development copy of your site first.


    Hope that helps-- and if you want more pointers on how to setup a dev copy of your site just let me know & ill point you toward some resources.

    Peter
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  • Profile picture of the author topnichewebsites
    Agree, take the whole thing on a offline server and get your new theme loaded and looking the way you want. You probably end up with less plugins. Sometimes easier to have someone do it for you as you get a better product in the end. PM me if you need more advise then that.
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  • Profile picture of the author RobinInTexas
    Try installing the P3 profiler http://wordpress.org/plugins/p3-profiler/ and see if you have some plugins that are hurting your performance.

    You seem to be on a shared server at bluehost which has a reputation for overselling and crowding sites.

    Most VPS plans offer a trial with a refund, see if that makes a difference. That amount of traffic should be able to generate enough revenue to justify a VPS or Dedicated server.

    If you look at other hosts, Hostgator, Hostmonster, Bluehost, Ipage, JustHost and FatCow are all heavily promoted hosts that are owned by EIG and most are hosted in the same few datacenters owned by EIG and are quickly gaining a reputation for bad customer service and lousy performance.
    See a complete list of EIG sites [to stay away from]here:
    Endurance International Group - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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    Robin



    ...Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just set there.
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  • Profile picture of the author pvijeh
    Also-- i think that "Total Blog Makeover" would be a great title for a reality TV show...

    Let me know if you want me to audition for the first cast.
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  • Profile picture of the author topnichewebsites
    LOL@pvijeh ... me too, i agree
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