Speed Up WordPress

I am a big fan of WordPress obviously, but one of its shortcomings is the fact that it lives on a far away sever which makes editing and writing content less snappy than it should be.  When I’m developing a theme or a site for a client, I use a local copy of WordPress for development and it always amazes me how fast everything works.  

What if you could have a local copy of WordPress on your computer that works with your server?  Good news, you can and it’s easier than you think.

If you are using WordPress 2.7 or higher, you can use Google Gears to speed up WordPress.  Click on the “turbo” link in the top right corner.  WordPress will ask you if you want to use Google Gears to install some of the WordPress core files on your computer which will intern greatly speed up your admin panel.  You’ll save time creating posts, editing pages and doing pretty much everything routine on your WordPress install.  Not too bad.

Google Gears works with Safari, Firefox, Chrome and Internet Explorer (sorry Opera).  You can learn more here.  

Many of you know by now that I’m a Mac user.  I made the switch 2 1/2 years ago and have never looked back.  To further enhance my WordPress experience on my desktop, I’ve started using another free program called Fluid.  This basically turns any web application (like WordPress) into one that behaves more like a desktop app.  Now the two sites I work with most often live on my doc where I can access them quickly and easily.  If you are a Mac user and work with web apps often be sure to check out Fluid.