Server resources
We check CPU, memory, swap and disk I/O during peak hours with tools like htop, vmstat and iostat, and identify the processes using them.
Free Audits
Free website speed and server performance review
You upgraded the server, the site felt faster for a few days, and now it is slow again. The cause usually sits elsewhere, like a query with no index or too few PHP-FPM workers. Before we suggest anything to speed up your VPS, we measure resource usage, web server config and the database, and show you where the bottleneck is.
Tools & technology
performance
- htop
- iostat
- Nginx
- Apache
- LiteSpeed
- PHP-FPM
- MySQL
- Redis
- PageSpeed Insights
- WebPageTest
5work areas
4deliverables
4steps
What is Performance Review?
A free review to speed up a slow VPS is a measurement of your server and website that finds the real bottleneck before you pay for more resources. It is meant for sites that stop loading at peak hours, servers with high load and no obvious culprit, or cases where doubling CPU and RAM did not help. PikoSystem checks CPU, memory and disk I/O during busy hours with htop and iostat, compares Nginx, Apache or LiteSpeed settings and PHP-FPM workers with real traffic, reads the MySQL slow query log for heavy queries and missing indexes, and measures TTFB and page weight with PageSpeed Insights. Server-side checks use read-only access and change nothing. You get a bottleneck report backed by measurements, fixes ordered by impact and risk, and a clear answer on whether an upgrade is needed.
When you need Performance Review
- The site is fine in the morning and stops loading when afternoon traffic picks up.
- Server load is high and I can't tell which process is behind it.
- We doubled CPU and RAM and the site is still slow.
- Saving a post in the WordPress admin takes several seconds.
What Performance Review includes
Web server and PHP
We compare your Nginx, Apache or LiteSpeed settings, PHP-FPM worker counts, OPcache and connection limits against real traffic.
Database
We go through the MySQL or MariaDB slow query log, find heavy queries and tables missing indexes, and compare innodb_buffer_pool_size with your data size.
Browser side
We measure TTFB, page weight, unoptimized images and render-blocking scripts with PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest, to separate a slow server from a slow page.
Caching and plugins
We check page caching, Redis or Memcached, and resource-heavy WordPress plugins.
What you get from Performance Review
- A bottleneck report backed by measurements (graphs and command output)
- A list of fixes ordered by impact and risk
- A clear answer on whether you need more resources
- Speed test results for your main pages
Performance Review: a practical guide
Website speed test results: how to read PageSpeed and GTmetrix
PageSpeed Insights shows two kinds of data. The top section is field data from real Chrome users over the last 28 days, and the lower section is a lab test run at that moment. The overall score summarizes only the lab test. The metrics that matter are LCP for how fast the main content appears, INP for how quickly the page responds to input, and CLS for layout shifts while loading.
Test location matters as well. PageSpeed and GTmetrix run from outside Iran, so a site hosted in the country looks slower there than it does to local visitors. Compare with a test from inside the country, and run each test at least twice to see the effect of caching.
Slow site on a local server? Look for external resources
When international links slow down, a site hosted in Iran can still load slowly. The usual cause is files pulled from abroad: Google Fonts, the reCAPTCHA script, JavaScript libraries from a foreign CDN or analytics code. The browser holds back rendering while it waits for them.
The WordPress admin hits the same problem on the server side, as plugin update checks and external API calls wait for their timeout. Hosting fonts and scripts locally and restricting outbound requests with WP_HTTP_BLOCK_EXTERNAL in wp-config.php removes that wait.
Slow VPS: is it your server or the host?
On a VPS, physical resources are shared with other customers. The st column in top or vmstat shows how much time your virtual machine spent waiting for a physical CPU. If it climbs during slow periods, a bigger plan on the same host will not help much.
For disks we check iowait and iostat output and measure real IOPS with fio. If the result is far below what the plan advertises, the fix is moving to another provider or service, since server optimization inside the VM cannot get past that ceiling.
Why is my WordPress site slow? Settings that are easy to miss
By default wp-cron.php runs on page visits, which adds load on busy sites or sites with many scheduled tasks. Setting DISABLE_WP_CRON and running it from a system cron job keeps that load under control.
The wp_options table is another source. Removed plugins often leave data behind with autoload enabled, and it gets read on every request. On WooCommerce stores, session and Action Scheduler tables can also grow large. Measure again after each change so you know what actually helped.
How Performance Review works
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01
Fill in the form
Send your site address, server specs and the times of day when things are slowest.
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02
External measurement
With no access at all, we measure page speed and server response times from outside.
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03
Inside the server
If you provide read-only SSH access or a remote session with a colleague, we review resources, logs and configs. Nothing is changed.
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04
Report and next steps
We send the report. Your team can apply the fixes, or you can hand that work to us.
Performance Review: frequently asked questions
Does the free review include fixing the problem?
No. We find the cause of the slowdown and report it without changing anything on the server. Optimization work is done as a project or under a support contract.
Why is my website slow if the server looks fine?
On many sites the cause is heavy images, too many plugins or slow database queries. In that case a CPU and RAM upgrade helps only for a short while. That is why we measure before recommending anything.
Can you review performance without server access?
Partly. Page speed, TTFB and browser-side problems can be measured from outside. To see resource usage, web server config and slow queries, we need read-only access.
Does this work on shared hosting?
On shared hosting we cannot see the server config, so the review covers page speed, the site database and plugins. If the host's resource limits are the cause, the report says so.
Related searches
- slow server
- why is my website slow
- website speed test
- server optimization
- speed up WordPress
- high CPU usage on server
- high server load
Related services
Free
Request a free audit
Give us your site address or server IP. The check makes no changes to your systems and you get the results as a written report.
- 01We agree on access. Most checks only need read-only access.
- 02We run the check without changing anything on your systems.
- 03You receive a report with issues ranked and fixes suggested.