Hire an AI WordPress performance reviewer

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• A baseline of what is slow and what is already fine
• Findings ranked by gain, each with evidence, the fix, the risk and a check
• A plugin cost list with keep, replace or remove for each
• A caching plan by layer, with the pages that must never be cached
• Image, script and hosting fixes for your developer

How it does the job well

• Every finding must cite evidence the user gave. If a cause is only likely, write "likely, confirm with <check>". Never invent scores, query counts or what a named plugin does. If the user lists a plugin you do not know, say so and ask what it does.
• Never advise caching the cart, checkout, account or any logged-in page for the public. List these pages and the check for each.
• Never advise removing a plugin without saying what it does for the site and how to test the page after removal.
• Never advise changing a live site first. Every fix goes to a copy, then is tested, then is released. Take a backup before any database change.
• Do not log in, run a command, install a plugin or change settings. Prepare drafts and ask first.
• Dynamic pages — cart, checkout, account, logged-in views — must never be page-cached or CDN-HTML-cached. Exclude them explicitly and verify at the edge. A cached cart or account page shows one user another user's data — a privacy breach, not a speedup.
• Keep the autoload lean — uncached, autoloaded options are a tax on every single request. Audit wp_options autoload size, stop plugins from dumping large uncached values with autoload = yes, and clean orphaned options. Bloated autoload loads on every request, cached or not, and silently slows the whole site.

Mistakes it avoids

• "Cache everything" advice with no list of what must stay uncached.
• Recommending a new speed plugin before measuring what is slow.
• Giving a speed gain as a number you cannot support. Say "expected to help" until the after test.
• Judging by desktop scores alone. Mobile on a slower connection is the test.
• Claiming code works without running it or its tests.
• Inventing APIs, package versions or settings instead of checking the installed ones.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: Your WordPress site scores badly on a mobile speed test and you do not know which plugin is to blame.

• Scope. The site, versions, host and the pages being fixed.
• Baseline. Speed scores and query counts per page, recorded before any change.
• Findings, ranked by gain. Each problem with the evidence, the fix, the risk and the check that proves it.
• Plugin cost list. Each plugin with what it adds to each page, and keep, replace or remove.
• Caching plan by layer. What to save in the object cache, the page cache and the CDN, and what to leave out.
• Pages that must never be cached. Cart, checkout, account and other personal pages, with how to check each.

How the work is checked

• The changed files build, and the relevant tests and linters pass. The commands and results are shown.
• Each change is explained in one line with its reason, and risky areas are named.
• Any check that could not run is reported as NOT_RUN with what it needs.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

Capabilities

• Fix the scope. It confirms the versions, host and pages. Anything missing is asked once, then marked MISSING.
• Read the baseline. It records speed scores and query counts before any change, so each fix can be proved.
• Cut database waste. It finds queries with no limit, large settings loaded on every page, and results worth saving for a short time.
• Cost out the plugins. It ranks plugins and theme files by what they add to each page, and says keep, replace or remove.
• Layer the caching. It sets what to save at each level, from repeated queries to whole pages for visitors and files on a CDN. It lists the pages that must stay uncached.
• Trim the front end and prove it. It checks image sizes, formats, scripts and hosting settings, then lists the before and after check for each fix.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id engineering-wordpress-performance only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/engineering-wordpress-performance/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• Your WordPress and PHP versions, and the kind of hosting (shared, VPS or managed)
• The addresses of the slowest pages
• A mobile speed test for each (PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse) with the main scores
• Your plugin list and theme or page builder name
• Query Monitor readings for a slow page, such as the number of queries and the slowest ones (optional)
• Your caching setup, such as a cache plugin, object cache or CDN (optional)

Helpful context (optional)

• A saved PageSpeed report for each slow page.
• A screenshot of the slow queries and the queries by plugin in Query Monitor.
• Your host's PHP and cache settings page.

Tools and access

• Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini with file upload: It can read a saved PageSpeed report, a plugin list export or a Query Monitor screenshot next to your description.

Functions and deliverables

• WordPress performance reviewer: Find why your WordPress site is slow. Get ranked fixes for plugins, caching, the database, images and hosting, each with a before and after check.
  • A baseline of what is slow and what is already fine
  • Findings ranked by gain, each with evidence, the fix, the risk and a check
  • A plugin cost list with keep, replace or remove for each
  • A caching plan by layer, with the pages that must never be cached
  • Image, script and hosting fixes for your developer
  Source: Michael Sitarzewski and Agency Agents contributors.
• Website performance fix ranker: Rank your store speed fixes by orders gained per hour of work. Give it your audit problems and sales numbers. You get a plan for this week and next month.
  • A ranked fix list with expected gain as a range, effort, risk and who does it
  • The money at stake written as orders and revenue per month
  • A plan: top three this week, next five next month, the rest parked with a reason
  • What to measure before and after each fix
• WordPress code checker: Share a WordPress plugin or theme you may review. Get potential security, translation and speed issues to check before release.
  • Security issues with severity
  • Translation gaps
  • Performance problems
  • Suggested code fixes
  • Review checklist result
  Source: sickn33.
• Django database performance reviewer: Trace Django queries to find supported performance issues. Get evidence, proposed fixes and limits where size, usage or timing could not be checked.
  • Confirmed performance issues ranked by impact
  • The code location of each
  • A concrete fix such as select_related or an index
  • A clear statement if nothing serious was found
  Source: sickn33.
• AI project context organiser: Share your project and next task. Get a short rules file, a focused file list and a clear handoff for later sessions.
  • A ready rules file for your project
  • A list of which files to load for each task
  • Rules for when to reset or trim the session
  • A checklist for spotting drifting answers
  Source: Addy Osmani.

Tasks you can use it for

• Your WordPress site scores badly on a mobile speed test and you do not know which plugin is to blame.
• You have installed a caching plugin and the site is still slow.
• Pages that list posts or products take seconds to load, or the admin area feels slow.
• A developer or host says "upgrade your plan" and you want proof of the real cause first.

Limits to check before starting

• You run a WooCommerce shop and want plain fixes in order without code detail. Use the WooCommerce speed repair planner.
• Your site runs on Drupal. Use the Drupal Performance Engineer agent.
• You want a shop built or its checkout fixed. Use the WooCommerce checkout engineer.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Download the pack from this page and add it to your AI as a skill. If you cannot, paste SKILL.md into a new chat, then paste references/source-agent.md.
• Run a free speed test on your slowest pages, such as PageSpeed Insights, on the mobile setting. Copy the main scores and the problems it names.
• Optional but very useful. On a copy of your site, install the free Query Monitor plugin, open a slow page and copy the number of queries, the total time and the slowest queries. Your developer can help. The AI does not need to run any code.
• Paste the scores, plugin list, theme, host and cache details into the AI. Type "Find the real causes. Rank them by gain. Mark anything I did not give you as MISSING."
• Check the plugin list findings first. Ask for the evidence line for any plugin it wants removed.
• Give the fix list to your developer. Test each fix on a copy of the site, run the speed test again, and check the cart and account pages still work.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/engineering-wordpress-performance for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.