Every website owner wants a fast site, but diagnosing real performance bottlenecks goes far deeper than clearing caches or disabling a few plugins. So what actually makes a site fast, and what should developers, agencies, and site owners focus on first? In this episode of The Melapress Show, Robert Abela sits down with Remkus de Vries, performance expert and long-time WordPress community leader, to break down the layers of caching, the realities of troubleshooting slow sites, and the decisions that determine long-term performance. Remkus shares a practical, experience-backed framework for understanding what truly moves the needle on modern WordPress websites. They cover: -Which caching layers genuinely make a difference and which ones people obsess over unnecessarily -A clear, high-level approach to diagnosing performance issues without senior engineering skills -How far non-technical users can optimize a site before deeper diagnostics are needed -The real performance culprits Remkus sees in large-scale sites: slow queries, autoloaded options, object cache misses, and bad architecture -How to choose plugins based on sound engineering principles, not fear or myths -The biggest performance mistakes plugin developers make and how to avoid them -The early project decisions (themes, CPTs, custom tables, ACSS vs Blocks, architecture) that impact long-term speed -The highest-impact improvements listeners can apply in the next 24 hours Whether you’re a developer, agency owner, or WordPress site operator, this episode will give you a practical, actionable playbook for diagnosing, improving, and future-proofing performance on any WordPress site. Learn more about Remkus de Vries: LinkedIn: YouTube: @remkusdevries Website: Learn more about Robert & Melapress: Robert Abela: Melapress: 👍 Like, comment, and subscribe for weekly conversations on WordPress performance, security, and best practices.