Optimization Detective vs Optimal State – Advanced Optimization, Performance & Security Suite

This plugin captures real user metrics about what elements are displayed on the page across a variety of device form factors (e.g. desktop, tablet, and phone) in order to apply loading optimizations which are not possible with WordPress’s current server-side heuristics. This plugin is a framework dependency which does not provide optimization functionality on its own. For that, please install the Image Prioritizer and Embed Optimizer dependent plugins (among others to come from the WordPress Core Performance team). There are currently no settings and no user interface for this plugin since it is designed to work without any configuration. Your site must currently have the REST API accessible to unauthenticated frontend visitors since this is how real user metrics are collected about pages on your site; nevertheless, exploration is underway for providing alternative mechanisms for collecting the metrics. Also, please note that no metrics are currently collected from Safari since it does not yet support the Largest Contentful Paint metric, but support for this Core Web Vitals metric is coming this year via Interop 2025. Please refer to the full plugin documentation for a technical introduction, filter/action hooks, and extensions that show use cases and examples. You can also watch the talk from WordCamp Asia 2025: Boosting Performance with Optimization Detective.

Optimal State is a complete performance suite that does it all: database optimization, automated backups, page caching, brute force protection, 2FA, search & replace, and advanced cleanup. All in one lightweight plugin. Why pay for 4-6 separate plugins? Optimal State replaces WP Rocket, UpdraftPlus, WP‑Optimize, Perfmatters, Better Search Replace, Loginizer and more — saving you money, reducing conflicts, and simplifying your workflow. ▶ Live Interactive Demo | 📕 User Manual What Makes Optimal State Different? 🚀 All‑in‑One, Not a Collection of Features Unlike plugins that bolt on random features, Optimal State is engineered as a unified performance system. Every component works together, not against each other. 💰 Replace 6+ Premium Plugins Stop paying for multiple subscriptions. Get everything you need in one plugin: UpdraftPlus → Database backup & restore (with safety rollback) WP Rocket → Page caching, browser caching, performance tweaks WP‑Optimize → Database cleanup, table optimization, autoload optimization Better Search Replace → Serialization‑safe search & replace Perfmatters → Heartbeat control, emoji removal, header cleanup Loginizer → Brute force protection, IP blocking WP Crontrol → Review, pause, or delay cron jobs Plus → 2FA, legacy plugin scanner, integrity scanner, index manager 🔬 Built on Real Database Science Our proprietary health scoring algorithm (0–100) analyzes 3 key areas: Performance (40%), Cleanliness (35%), and Efficiency (25%). It tells you exactly what to fix and when. 🛡️ Enterprise‑Grade Safety Every destructive operation includes: – Automatic safety backup – Emergency rollback system – Zero‑downtime restore (temp table swap) – Database validation before restore – Maintenance mode during critical ops What You Can Do With Optimal State 🗄️ Database Optimization – One‑click optimization cleans 20 types of database bloat in seconds – Real‑time health score (0‑100) shows your database condition at a glance – Table defragmentation recovers wasted disk space – Autoload optimization speeds up every page load (critical for TTFB) – Table repair fixes corrupted tables automatically – Legacy plugin scanner removes ghost data from uninstalled plugins – Delete unused tables safely (with protection for active plugins) 💾 Backup & Restore – Create GZIP‑compressed database backups with integrity checksums – Restore any backup with automatic safety rollback – Keep up to 10 backups with automatic rotation – Upload and restore external backups (up to 5GB) – Zero‑downtime restore using temporary table technology – Protected backup directory prevents unauthorized access ⚡ Caching System – Server‑side page caching delivers lightning‑fast HTML – Browser caching with automatic .htaccess rules (Apache) – Database query caching for Redis/Memcached – Mobile‑specific cache for separate mobile layouts – Smart cache preload from sitemap – GDPR‑compliant cookie detection (supports 20+ consent plugins) – Intelligent auto‑purge on content updates 🔍 Search & Replace – Serialization‑safe — handles PHP serialized data correctly – Dry run mode previews all changes before execution – Table‑specific operations for targeted updates – Partial or whole‑word matching – Essential for domain migrations 🎛️ Performance Features – Bad bot blocker blocks resource‑hungry crawlers – Font loading optimization eliminates render‑blocking fonts – Lazy load images and iframes – Heartbeat API control reduces server load by 60%+ – Post revisions limit (save 30‑50% database space) – Trash auto‑empty after X days – Disable XML‑RPC (block brute force attacks) – Remove emoji scripts (save 12KB per page) – Clean WordPress headers (hide version, RSD, WLW, shortlinks) 📊 Analytics & Monitoring – PageSpeed Insights integration (Core Web Vitals) – Performance metrics dashboard – Detailed database statistics – Activity log (last 250 operations) – Track optimization impact over time ⏰ Automation – Schedule daily, weekly, or monthly optimization – Email notifications with detailed reports – Custom time selection (run during low traffic) – Combined backup + cleanup operations – View all WordPress cron jobs and adjust them 🔒 Security – Emergency rollback on restore failure – Maintenance mode during critical operations – Database validation before restore – User access control (restrict plugin to specific admins) – Settings export/import – Brute force protection for login page – IP number blocker (block entire site access) – Two‑Factor Authentication (2FA) Perfect For 🛒 E‑commerce Stores – WooCommerce session cleanup, Action Scheduler optimization, order transient removal, product index optimization 📝 High‑Traffic Blogs – Revision control, comment spam removal, transient cleanup, cache preload 🏢 Agencies & Developers – Staging/production migrations, bulk cleanup, settings export/import 🔒 Membership Sites – User metadata optimization, scheduled maintenance, login protection 🌐 Any WordPress Site – Slow admin, bloated database, poor performance, or security concerns Replaces These Popular Plugins UpdraftPlus → Backup & Restore WP Rocket → Caching & Performance WP Super Cache → Page Caching WP-Optimize → Database Cleanup Better Search Replace → Database Search & Replace Perfmatters → Performance Optimization Heartbeat Control → Heartbeat Management WP Control → Cron Jobs Management WP Revisions Control → Revision Limits Clearfy → Performance Tweaks Advanced Database Cleaner → Deep Database Cleanup Autoptimize → Performance Features Loginizer → Login Page Protection What Makes Optimal State Different? Unlike WP-Optimize: We include professional backup/restore and advanced caching—not just basic cleanup. Unlike UpdraftPlus: We optimize your database for performance, not just backup. Backups are 40-60% smaller due to optimization. Unlike WP Rocket: We tackle the root cause (database bloat) instead of just caching around the problem. Combined approach = better results. Unlike Perfmatters: We provide complete database management, automated backups, and intelligent cleanup—not just toggle switches. Unlike Loginizer: We provide a user-friendly, straightforward control panel that requires no technical expertise. The Optimal State Advantage: One plugin, one interface, one optimization strategy. No conflicts, no compatibility issues, no subscription fatigue. Technical Specifications Minimum Requirements: WordPress 5.5+, PHP 7.4+ Tested Up To: WordPress 7.0 Server Compatibility: Shared hosting, VPS, dedicated, cloud (AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.) Hosting Compatibility: Bluehost, SiteGround, WP Engine, Kinsta, Cloudways, all major hosts Multisite: Not currently supported Database Support: MySQL 5.6+, MariaDB 10.1+ Cache Support: Redis, Memcached, APCu compatible External Services and Resources Optimal State utilizes the following third-party services and open-source libraries to enhance functionality and user experience: Google PageSpeed Insights API – Performance measurement tool that analyzes web page content and generates suggestions to make that page faster. The plugin’s PageSpeed integration uses this API to fetch and display Core Web Vitals metrics and optimization opportunities. When you use the PageSpeed feature, your site URL is sent to Google’s servers for analysis. Use of this API is subject to Google’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. API Documentation: https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/v5/get-started Terms of Service: https://developers.google.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy GTranslate Widget – Website translation service that provides automatic language translation functionality. The plugin loads the GTranslate popup widget from cdn.gtranslate.net to enable multi-language support in the admin interface. When the widget is loaded, it may connect to GTranslate’s servers to provide translation services. Use of this service is subject to GTranslate’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Service Website: https://gtranslate.io/ Terms of Service: https://gtranslate.io/terms-and-conditions Privacy Policy: https://gtranslate.io/privacy-policy Note: The PageSpeed Insights feature is optional and only activates when you manually request a performance analysis. No data is sent to external services without your explicit action. Credits Developed by Luke Garrison Icons by Dashicons (WordPress Core) Performance metrics based on Google PageSpeed Insights Contributing: Interested in contributing to Optimal State? Feature requests, bug reports, and code contributions are welcome. Visit our support page for contribution guidelines. Support and Documentation Getting Help User Manual: Comprehensive documentation built into the plugin (user manual included) FAQ Section: Common questions answered in detail Live Demo: Interactive preview to explore features before installation Email Support: Priority support for Pro version users Useful Links Live Interactive Demo Support Page User Manual Feature Requests We actively develop Optimal State based on user feedback. If you have a feature request or enhancement idea, please contact us through the support page. Many current features were implemented based on user suggestions.