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Index WP MySQL For Speed

By OllieJones

Performance & Optimization / Caching Solutions

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Index WP MySQL For Speed Review - In-Depth Analysis

Speed up your WordPress site by adding high-performance keys to your MariaDB / MySQL database tables.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

7.09/10

User Rating

4.8/5 (based on 99+ reviews)

Active Installations

50,000+

Update Frequency

Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

7.1 / 10 (High Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

This plugin helps improve the efficiency of your MySQL database by adding high-performance keys to selected tables. It is particularly beneficial for larger sites with many users and content.

After installation, you can access the Index MySQL Tool under the Tools menu to add keys. For large tables, using WP-CLI is recommended to avoid timeouts.

The plugin monitors database operations to identify slow queries, allowing you to optimize performance. It supports various WordPress and WooCommerce tables, ensuring your site runs smoothly.

Comparing to Alternatives

Index WP MySQL For Speed is a specialized plugin focusing on optimizing MySQL indexing to enhance WordPress site speed, particularly for large databases and logged-in users. It stands out by targeting database performance directly, unlike many alternatives that focus on caching or front-end optimization.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Effectively improves database query speed, especially for large sites and WooCommerce stores.
User-friendly interface with clear options and easy revert functionality.
Significant reduction in CPU load reported by users.
Includes a debug tab to help understand MySQL configuration issues.
Free to use with no paid version, making it accessible for all users.

Weaknesses

Has a known high-severity security vulnerability fixed only in recent versions.
Limited to database indexing optimization, lacking caching or front-end speed features.
May cause compatibility issues with some themes like Woodmart.
No pro version or advanced premium features available.

User Sentiment Analysis

With a high overall rating of 4.8 out of 5 from 99 reviews, users overwhelmingly praise the plugin's effectiveness and ease of use. Negative feedback is minimal and not related to functionality but rather compatibility and security concerns.

Positive highlights

"Working well with a large database (46GB)" - strictlymedicinal
"Divided by 2 my CPU load" - fff654
"Life saver! Speeds up site especially for logged-in users" - Amin
"An essential plugin for every WordPress site" - supton
"A must-have for large WordPress sites" - Philipp

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Security vulnerability with a high CVSS score fixed only in version 1.4.18.
Potential interference with certain themes causing slow server responses.
Limited scope focusing only on MySQL indexing without broader optimization features.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Site owners with large WordPress databases or WooCommerce stores looking to improve backend query performance and reduce server load without investing in premium plugins.

Not ideal for

Users seeking comprehensive speed optimization including caching, front-end optimization, or those concerned about potential security risks if not updated promptly.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers full functionality for MySQL indexing optimization, suitable for most users without restrictions.

Final Verdict

Index WP MySQL For Speed is a powerful and user-friendly plugin that delivers significant performance improvements for WordPress sites with large databases, especially WooCommerce stores. Its focus on database indexing optimization fills a niche not covered by many other speed plugins, making it a valuable tool for backend performance enhancement.

However, users should be aware of its limited scope and the past security vulnerability, ensuring they keep the plugin updated. Those needing broader optimization features or with compatibility concerns might consider alternative plugins, but for database speed improvements, this plugin is highly recommended.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free Index WP MySQL For Speed plugin.

Index

MySQL

Performance

Screenshots

FAQ

Yes. You already knew that.

Sometimes the Index WP MySQL For Speed plugin for WordPress generates errors when you use it to add keys. These can look like this or similar:

Fatal error: Uncaught ImfsException: [0]: Index for table 'wp_postmeta' is corrupt; try to repair it

First, don’t panic. This (usually) does not mean your site has been corrupted. It simply means your MariaDB or MySQL server was not able to add the keys to that particular table. Your site will still function, but you won’t get the benefit of high-performance keys on the particular table. Very large tables are usually the ones causing this kind of error. Very likely you ran out of temporary disk space on your MariaDB or MySQL database server machine. The database server makes a temporary copy of a table when you add keys to it; that allows it to add the keys without blocking your users.

It’s possible to correct this problem by changing your MariaDB or MySQL configuration. Instructions are here.

Yes. On multisite instances, you must activate the plugin from the Network Admin dashboard. After network activation, the Index MySQL tool is available for use by the administrator on each site.

If you have many subsites, you may prefer to use WP-CLI to add the high-performance keys to each site in turn. Commands like these will work, if you mention each blogid in turn.:

wp index-mysql enable --all --blogid=1  wp index-mysql enable --all --blogid=2  wp index-mysql enable --all --blogid=3

If you start the name of the index with the characters index_wp_mysql_protect_ this plugin ignores it and leaves it in place. For example if yoo want an index on wp_posts.guid you can create it like this:

ALTER TABLE wp_posts ADD KEY index_wp_mysql_protect_guid ON wp_posts(guid);`

Notice how index_wp_mysql_protect_guid, the name of the key, starts with those characters.

Contributors and developers

“Index WP MySQL For Speed” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

OllieJones

rjasdfiii

Free Version Docs

WPS

7.09

Very Good

Ratings

4.8 out of 5 | 99

Version

1.6.0

Last updated

1 week ago

Active installations

50,000+

WordPress version

7.1.3 or higher

PHP version

5.6 or higher

Languages

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Index WP MySQL For Speed Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (99)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (1)

Previous Versions

WPS

7.09

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