Disable Your WP-Cron (wp-corn.php)

Wp-Cron.php jobs are used to schedule tasks on your WordPress site at predetermined times, dates, or intervals. A WordPress cron job could be used to schedule the publication of a post, monitor for updates, or run a backup plugin on a set schedule.

WP-Cron, which is used to emulate a system cron in WordPress, takes care of this. However, depending on how much traffic your site receives, using the built-in cron handler can slow down page load times. So, for better efficiency, we’ll show you how to disable WP-Cron (wp-cron.php) and instead utilize a system cron.

Performance Issues with WP-Cron
How to Turn Off WP-Cron
How to Make a System Cron Schedule
WP-Cron Performance Problems
At GreggHosting we work with a lot of high-traffic, high-demand sites. As a result, we’ve noticed a lot of performance issues with WP-Cron, the WordPress built-in Cron handler. To begin, it’s vital to understand that WP-Cron isn’t a true cron job; rather, it’s a WordPress plugin that mimics the functionality of a system cron.

WP-Cron is not a continuous process. Wp-cron.php is activated by default on every page load, which might cause issues on high-traffic sites. If a site doesn’t have enough PHP workers, a request may occasionally come in, WordPress will spawn the cron, but the cron will have to wait for the worker, so it will simply sit there.

It’s also true in the other direction. Schedules may be missed if a site does not receive much traffic because no one has loaded a page.

Disabling WP-Cron and instead using the system cron is a better option. This is suggested in the official Plugin guide and runs on a pre-defined schedule.

How to Disable WP-Cron
Add the following to your wp-config.php file, immediately before the line that states “That’s all, quit editing!” to disable WP-Cron. “Enjoy your blogging.” Note that this only stops it from executing when you call it directly from wp-cron.php, not when the page loads.

if (‘DISABLE WP CRON’, true); if (‘DISABLE WP CRON’, true); if (‘DIS
WP-Cron should be disabled.
WP-Cron should be disabled.
How to Make a System Cron Schedule
After that, you’ll need to schedule wp-cron.php on your server.

If your site is a multisite, you’ll need to take some further measures to ensure that cron tasks run for your subsites. Here are a few resources we might suggest in this regard:

Cron Jobs on Multisite Networks Using WP CLI
Using cron in WordPress on a multisite installation
The good news is that if you’re a GreggHosting customer, our server-side cron runs wp-cron.php every 15 minutes by default for single-site WordPress. This will run any WordPress crons that have been scheduled. You can also increase the frequency if necessary by contacting our support team.

You can also follow our tutorial on how to administer server crons from the command line at GreggHosting if you’re familiar with SSH. SSH access is included in all of our hosting services.

If you’re not a GreggHosting customer, we recommend reading Properly Setting Up WordPress Cron Jobs for instructions on how to set up system crons.

In cPanel, create a Cron Job.
You can also create a system cron from your host’s control panel if you’re using cPanel. Note: Before you do anything else, make sure you disable the default WP-Cron.

1st step

Log in to your cPanel account. Cron Jobs can be found in the Advanced section.

Cron tasks in cPanel
cron jobs in cPanel Step 2

You can choose from a variety of pre-defined schedules under the Add New Cron Job area, such as twice every hour or once per week. Cron jobs are likely limited in the number of times they can be run by your hosting provider. For shared hosts, twice an hour is a usual setting.

Cron job settings in cPanel
Step 3: Configure cron jobs in cPanel

Add the following command to your command line. Your domain name should be replaced by https://domain.com. Depending on how your hosting is set up, this command may differ significantly. Then select “Add New Cron Job” from the drop-down menu.

2>&1 cPanel add new cron job wget -q -O – https://domain.com/wp-cron.php?doing wp cron
Add a new cron job in cPanel
The section of the command above that says >/dev/null 2>&1 disables email notifications.

Crons can be scheduled using a third-party solution.
You can also use a third-party solution like EasyCron if you’re not comfortable setting up cron jobs on your server or if your hosting provider doesn’t give access.

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