Cobalt WP Boost: A Free WordPress Plugin Solution For Low Memory Limit Problems

PLEASE NOTE: This plugin is no longer available.

Seth and I are always looking for simple solutions to WordPress problems and one escalating issue with WordPress is the continued memory limit of 32 megabytes and yet growing number and size of WordPress, Themes and Plugins.  Whether you’ve received a low memory error or was just unable to install all the plugins necessary to do what you wanted with your WordPress website, this 32mb limit starts to become a hindrance to progress.

Here are some common scenarios:

• You try to run the WordPress Automatic Upgrade program and it spits out a low memory error.  You end up having to de-activate ALL your plugins to get it to run and then have to re-activate and sometimes even re-setup your plugins when the update has been completed.
• You already have a good amount of essential plugins installed and active and you go to activate one more plugin that you need for you site and then WordPress spits out another low memory error.  So you end up skimming through your plugins to see if there are any you can live without so you can activate this new plugin.  You find there are none and end up having to drop a useful function on your site because there just isn’t enough room for them to all play nicely.
• Every time you load your WordPress Dashboard it’s just slow and sometimes renders memory errors instead of drop-down menus.
• Or, the drop-down menus are completely frozen so you have to click on the menu headings just to go to another page in your WordPress Dashboard.

Those are just a few of the common problems associated with low memory in WordPress.

What Is This Whole PHP/Wordpress Memory Limit Thing?

Different web hosts provide different limitations on different server resources for their users.  One of these limitations is a PHP Memory Limit.  This is the total amount of memory is what you as a user on your server and eat up with your website.  It’s kind of like if your computer has 2 gigabytes of ram then that’s how much memory you have to use with your Operating System, programs, etc..  And with this limit, once you surpass it you will get an error telling you that you cannot pass go and you cannot collect your $200 (or something like that ).

What WordPress does is force this limit when running a WordPress website to 32 megabytes.  This way, if you host is super stingy and only provides its users with 32mb of memory to work with you won’t have a problem.  But these days, most solid web hosts are going to allow at least 64mb if not significantly more.  And when WordPress first set this limit to 32mb the themes, plugins and WordPress itself were much lighter.  I mean, a few years ago the number of people trying to run a full CMS (Content Management System) website using WordPress as the platform was quite small.  But these days everybody and their brothers, daughters, dogs, nephew is cranking out a CMS site or 10.  So 32mb just doesn’t make so much sense anymore.

But Isn’t Small And Light The Way To Go?

When you can go small and light then that’s the way to go, for sure, but these days it’s really not always feasible.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve seen my share of bloated messes, with 50 large plugins causing all kinds of chaos both in the Dashboard and in the site itself.  We’re big fans of keeping it light whenever possible, but this doesn’t have to mean you need to bow to this 32mb limitation when a few extra megabytes will get you a whole lot more functionality.

Isn’t There Already A Solution To This Problem?

Yes there is.  But it requires you to add custom code to a core WordPress file and this is something many people, like myself, would prefer not to do.  But hey, if that’s your style, more power to you!

How Does The Cobalt WP Boost Plugin Solve This WordPress Memory Limit Problem?

The Cobalt WP Boost Plugin is a free, simple, light WordPress plugin that first shows you some useful information about your WordPress website such as your PHP version, WordPress version and your current PHP and WordPress memory limits.  Then it goes a step further and tells you how much memory your WordPress installation is actually using.  Finally, it provides you with the option to increase your WordPress Memory Limit to either 64mb or 128mb.

Just by changing a drop-down menu to your desired memory limit and clicking the save button you can double or even quadruple this often hindering resource limitation.  Now your WordPress Memory Limit has been increased and so has your possibilities.  No more need to de-activate plugins to run the WordPress Automatic Upgrade program.  No need to drop that super useful plugin so you can activate another super useful plugin.  This isn’t a plugin that forces you to eat up more of your servers resources, but it does raise the bar and let YOU choose how much or little you’re going to use.

Can Everyone Use This Plugin?

In a perfect world my answer would be yes, but unfortunately there are still some web servers who restrict their users to 32mb.  And if you were to try and set the limits above this threshold with the Cobalt WP Boost Plugin you would probably be met with a memory error that might even require you to FTP into your server and delete the plugin to get rid of the error.  So it is very important you know for certain that your web host will allow an increase to either 64mb or 128mb.  If they do then you should find the Cobalt WP Boost Plugin to be a great new tool to add to your WordPress arsenal, but if not, then you either can’t use this plugin or it’s just time to find a better web host.

If I Have The Latest Version Of The Frugal Theme Do I Need This Plugin?

As of Frugal version 3.3 you will find this same functionality built right into the Frugal Theme.  The main difference is that currently we only allow you to increase your WordPress Memory Limit to 64mb with Frugal and 128mb with the Cobalt WP Boost Plugin.  We may change this down the road, but for now we decided to go a bit more conservative with Frugal to reduce the potential of people pushing the limit higher than their web host allows.  But if you are using the Frugal Theme and you need to go higher than 64mb you can certainly use the Cobalt WP Boost Plugin to do so.  Both the Frugal Theme and the Cobalt WP Boost Plugin work fine together and whichever is set to the higher limit, that is the one that goes into effect.

How Do I Get The Cobalt WP Boost Plugin?

It’s super easy!  Just sign up for the Frugal Theme Newsletter by using the form in the sidebar.

See it in action!

Here you can see that with 32mb you can easily start to push the limits and start of feel cramped.

But with a few mouse clicks your breathing easier and able to do what you want with your WordPress Website.