Optimise WordPress VPS: Nginx, PHP-FPM, Security

1. PHP & Server Configuration Fixes

Increase PHP limits (Elementor safe values):

upload_max_filesize = 128M

post_max_size = 256M

memory_limit = 512M

max_execution_time = 300

max_input_vars = 5000

Update .user.ini or main php.ini as appropriate.

Ensure Imagick, cURL, and GD are correctly configured.

Fix PHP-FPM settings for stability:

pm.max_children = 8

pm.max_requests = 500

Optimise idle workers

Confirm OpCache is properly configured and not fragmented.

2. Install & Configure Redis Object Cache

Install Redis server and PHP Redis extension

Enable persistent object caching

Configure Redis through wp-config.php

Validate with WordPress health tools

Ensure no negative impact on PageSpeed

3. Nginx Performance Tuning

Add or update:

a) Static File Caching
location ~* \.(css|js|jpg|jpeg|gif|png|webp|svg|ico|woff2)$ {
expires 30d;
access_log off;
}

b) Compression

Enable gzip

Enable Brotli if available

c) Disable XML-RPC
location = /xmlrpc.php { return 403; }

4. Database (MariaDB) Optimisation

Enable slow query log

Tune my.cnf for WordPress

Reduce max_connections from 250 → 50

Verify table indexes & charset (utf8mb4)

Clean and optimise tables

5. WordPress-Level Server Improvements

Disable WP-Cron and replace with system cron every 5 minutes

Limit post revisions to 10

Disable file editor in wp-config.php

Ensure .htaccess and file ownerships are correct (even though site uses Nginx)

6. Security Hardening (Server + WP)
Server:

Add security headers:

X-Frame-Options

X-Content-Type-Options

Referrer-Policy

Permissions-Policy

Block sensitive files:

wp-config.php

.env

SQL, log, and backup files

Fail2Ban setup:

SSH brute force

wp-login brute force

XML-RPC attacks

WordPress:

Review Solid Security configuration

Remove inactive plugins safely

Ensure only necessary PHP extensions loaded

Enable automatic OS security updates

7. Monitoring & Logging

Set up logrotate for:

Nginx

PHP-FPM

Redis

MariaDB

Optional: install monitoring (Netdata / Monit)

DELIVERABLES

The selected freelancer must provide:

Confirmation of every item completed

Before/After diagnostics

Redis status verification

MariaDB tuning summary

PHP-FPM status overview

Nginx config backups

Security headers test

GTmetrix & PageSpeed before/after (must stay at 97–99)

REQUIREMENTS

Must have 5+ years real sysadmin experience

Must understand performance tuning for WordPress on Nginx

Must understand how to optimise without using NitroPack

Must NOT break any existing caching behaviour

Must back up config files before changes

Must be available for follow-up questions