Wordpress Speed Doctor

A diagnosis-first system for slow WordPress sites, written for owners, not server administrators. It does not start by installing plugins or changing settings. It starts by measuring, explains what each number means in plain language, finds the most likely cause with a confirming test, and only then prescribes fixes — in the safest order, one at a time, with a backup first.

Tool shape: guide + references + one offline diagnostic script (scripts/diagnose.py). The script turns the numbers you already have into a prioritised likely-cause list. It never connects to your site and never changes anything.

Ask all five questions before measuring or fixing. If the user cannot answer one, record unknown and note which confirming test compensates for it. Do not diagnose blind and do not invent the missing answers.

1. What hosting type do you have? Shared / managed WordPress / VPS. Changes the diagnosis: shared hosting has a hard server-response ceiling — if TTFB is high there, no plugin will fix it and the honest answer may be a hosting upgrade. Managed WordPress usually includes page cache and a CDN, so a missing-cache cause is checked later, not first. On a VPS, server settings are in scope — but only for a developer profile (see Intake 4).