High CPU usage is usually caused by uncached dynamic requests, abusive crawlers, expensive plugins, poorly optimized database queries, or background jobs running too frequently.
Common symptoms
- The site slows down during traffic spikes
- The account hits resource limits regularly
- Admin pages are much slower than before
Troubleshooting steps
- Review recent application changes such as new plugins, themes, cron jobs, or imports.
- Enable page caching where appropriate and reduce unnecessary dynamic processing.
- Inspect access patterns for aggressive bots, login abuse, or repeated expensive endpoints.
- Optimize database-heavy pages and remove plugins that duplicate similar functionality.
- Schedule heavy maintenance tasks during off-peak hours.
Additional notes
- Resource spikes can come from legitimate traffic, so avoid blocking before you verify the pattern.
- A plugin update can introduce performance regressions even if the site remains functional.
When to contact support
Contact support if limits are reached persistently and you need help identifying the heaviest requests.