Memberside Optimizer
The member directory is the screen most likely to slow down as a community grows. Optimizer is the fix for that specific problem.
The problem it solves
Section titled “The problem it solves”Ultimate Member stores profile fields as user meta. A directory that filters and sorts across several of those fields becomes a query with a join per field, and that query gets slower with every member you add.
At a few hundred members nobody notices. At tens of thousands, the directory is the slowest screen in the app, and it is usually one of the first screens a member opens.
What it does
Section titled “What it does”Optimizer maintains a wide lookup table: one row per member, one column per searchable field. The directory reads from that table instead of assembling the same answer from user meta on every request.
The table is kept current in the background as members change, rather than rebuilt on a schedule, so it does not go stale between runs.
When you need it
Section titled “When you need it”Look at Site Health, specifically the endpoint breakdown.
Optimizer is the answer when the Directory group is slow and the others are not.
Optimizer is not the answer when everything is slow — that is the site or the host, and speeding up one query will not be felt.
Setting it up
Section titled “Setting it up”Optimizer is part of the Memberside plugin on your own site rather than a service your app connects to. Configure it under Memberside → Services.
The first build of the lookup table runs in the background over your existing members and takes a while on a large site. The directory keeps working from user meta while it runs, so there is no downtime — it gets faster when the table is ready rather than switching over abruptly.
Media mirroring
Section titled “Media mirroring”Optimizer also mirrors local WordPress avatars to a CDN, leaving Gravatar alone for the reason given under Media CDN: a Gravatar URL is already served from a CDN.
When it does not work
Section titled “When it does not work”| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| The directory is no faster | The lookup table is still building | Give it time on a large site |
| Everything is still slow | The bottleneck is the site, not the directory query | Look at hosting and heavy plugins |
| A member’s profile change is not reflected | The table updates in the background | It catches up shortly |
| A field cannot be filtered on | It is not in the lookup table | Check the field is configured under Memberside → Services |