Slow Page Load Problem on GoDaddy

Hi,

I need your help. I'm at wits end as to why Zen Cart is performing so horribly (in terms of speed) on my site. (http://www.searchlighttrains.com) I have enabled GZIP and I do use ImageHandler2 to bring down the file sizes for photos. IH2 shaved off a couple of seconds. Still parse times on the db can be as much as 27-30 seconds. I think this has something to do with the DB but I cannot for the life of me figure it out. On a good day the page loads within 3 seconds and on the worst of days it is almost 40 seconds before it is loaded. GoDaddy does not think it is the server and I agree as I have tested other pages on this server with no issue.

What am I missing? This is a pretty barebones install with very few additions tacked on and most of the default boxes and other band hogs have been disabled. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Luther Brefo
Searchlight Models

GoDaddy does not think it is the server
hmmm... totally disagree...search forums here for more posts about godaddy servers and zencart..
TIPS

1. Logo, top left is 40k in size..reduce..
2. Turn off category count in category sidebox, also admin category count...

Misty, thanks for the tips. Disabling the category count helps shave off maybe a quarter of a second to a full second depending on the page being viewed. This is a noticeable improvement. As for the logo image, it is timed consistently at half a second and I don't want to use a lower quality image. However, I have noticed that building the store is taking the most time. 5KB of data is taking more than 90 percent of the page load time.

This still worries me:

Parse Time: 5.363 - Number of Queries: 281 - Query Time: 0.21502130499268

The site seal takes about 1.5seconds to bring down and this is for a 161K SWF that is off site which is not bad for that in my opinion.

I'm still perplexed as to why this is so inconsistent. Is the database structure that convoluted and fubar that it slows down so much? With only 189 products or so in the catalog, what's going to happen when it is 1800 items?

YSlow is recommend I make fewer HTTP requests. The template I am using is Cherry Zen and at this time is making five different requests for style sheets and 17 css background images. I am a fan of using as few stylesheets as possible to accomplish the task but I'm not sure I have any feasible options here.

It is also suggesting I add an expires header to just about everything that is loaded, especially the template items. What?

It also suggests that a few things are not being gzipped. For example, the SSL cert seal is not being gzipped ( I don't think I have any control over that). The rest are a JS image hover script and more Cherry Zen style sheets.

The final suggesting is to configure Etags. What?

I don't see how any of these would affect performance with the exception of maybe the first one. Any thoughts.

Switch to Classic Template just to test template issues ... does the speed improve if you click the All Products link 3 times?

For grins and giggles turn off the sidebox with the secure certificate ... does the speed improve if you click the All Products link 3 times?

LKB1:

... However, I have noticed that building the store is taking the most time. 5KB of data is taking more than 90 percent of the page load time.

This still worries me:

Parse Time: 5.363 - Number of Queries: 281 - Query Time: 0.21502130499268

The site seal takes about 1.5seconds to bring down and this is for a 161K SWF that is off site which is not bad for that in my opinion.

I'm still perplexed as to why this is so inconsistent. Is the database structure that convoluted and fubar that it slows down so much? With only 189 products or so in the catalog, what's going to happen when it is 1800 items?

No, it has nothing to do with your database ... the "Query Time 0.2150" indicates that the database portion of the entire page parse time is only 0.2150 seconds .... That's a small fraction of a second. The REST of the time is waiting on the webserver itself to build and serve the page.

This is a CLASSIC problem of an overloaded server ... that is, a server whose resources are overcommitted by having way too many accounts running on the same computer, or way too many processes running on the amount of CPU/RAM available.

And, it's a classic problem with the host you mentioned you're using.

LKB1:

YSlow is recommend I make fewer HTTP requests. The template I am using is Cherry Zen and at this time is making five different requests for style sheets and 17 css background images. I am a fan of using as few stylesheets as possible to accomplish the task but I'm not sure I have any feasible options here.

It is also suggesting I add an expires header to just about everything that is loaded, especially the template items. What?

It also suggests that a few things are not being gzipped. For example, the SSL cert seal is not being gzipped ( I don't think I have any control over that). The rest are a JS image hover script and more Cherry Zen style sheets.

The final suggesting is to configure Etags. What?

I don't see how any of these would affect performance with the exception of maybe the first one. Any thoughts.

Those are all trying to put bandages on an infected wound instead of cleaning out the infection from the wound. Including the first one.

DrByte is confirming exactly what I suggested in my initial post in this thread...suggest you save time/heartaches by visiting
http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=infopages&pages_id=10

Add to slow page loads - corrupt database backups (known issue at goDaddy-no alert to members), databases moved to alternate servers with no notice to site owners, unable to run add on scripts (like change database prefix since goDaddy INSISTS on using zen_ and not allow alternate setup at database creation), lack of consistant (if at all) access to cPanel, shall I continue?

Oh yeah! One more ~ a support staff that has -0- knowledge, leads you down a wrong path, causing your site to crash when you follow the db import procedures THEY give, then blame it on zen cart scripting!

Ok - I'm off my pulpit now (sorry for ranting, but those guys really need some techincal training!)

Tina

Am I experiencing the same load time problem? www.centro-online.com

charmedbytina2:

Add to slow page loads - corrupt database backups (known issue at goDaddy-no alert to members), databases moved to alternate servers with no notice to site owners, unable to run add on scripts (like change database prefix since goDaddy INSISTS on using zen_ and not allow alternate setup at database creation), lack of consistant (if at all) access to cPanel, shall I continue?

Oh yeah! One more ~ a support staff that has -0- knowledge, leads you down a wrong path, causing your site to crash when you follow the db import procedures THEY give, then blame it on zen cart scripting!

Ok - I'm off my pulpit now (sorry for ranting, but those guys really need some techincal training!)

Tina

Hey, I'm a new Zen Cart user and have signed up with Go Daddy in December on the recommendation of a friend and i'm finding my store extremely slow loading albiet intermittant. I wish I had found the Zen Cart forums before I setup with Go Daddy I just transferred from Domain Direct and they were just awful to deal with so i was hoping for a good experience with Go Daddy.

Can you recommend a good host for Zen Cart as I'm lost.

Thanks in advance.

cwhittaker:

Can you recommend a good host for Zen Cart as I'm lost.
At the top of this page you'll see a link to recommended hosts.
Here it is again for easy reference: http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php?main_page=infopages&pages_id=10