Most the hits on a WordPress blog (or any blog) are on the home page. This requires database activity and processor time. To speed things up, install the free wp-cache plug-in.
It saves requested pages to disk so the next time someone requests the page they get the saved version. thus eliminating much processor and database usage. It is way easy to install. Make wp-config writeable by the server (chmod 777), copy the files in, activate and that’s it. It refreshs pages every hour by default and cleans up expired pages. A true gem of a program.
Also, you might want to delete this line in your template.
â┚¬Å“<?php wp_get_archives(‘type=monthly&format=link’); ?>â┚¬ÂÂ
Then Blue Coat won’t descend upon your site slurping down every page it can find and max out your bandwidth. More on this on my tech blog.
Both tips from the always amazing and helpful Jamie at Intoxination. Go read his blog now.
Unfortunately, making wp-config 777 also makes it writable by anyone with login access to your host. My ISP (Pair) offers a wrapper that lets WP run as me, which lets me run with more cautious permissions–for example, wp-config.php, which has sensitive information, is 600, readable only by me.