X‑Ray in DirectAdmin
Summary
This guide explains how to use X‑Ray inside DirectAdmin. X‑Ray is a diagnostic tool that analyzes your website’s performance, identifies slow plugins, themes, queries, and scripts, and helps you pinpoint the exact cause of slow loading times or high resource usage.
Overview
X‑Ray allows you to:
- Scan your website for performance issues
- Identify slow plugins and themes
- Detect heavy database queries
- Analyze PHP execution time
- View slow requests and bottlenecks
- Get actionable optimization recommendations
It is one of the most powerful tools for troubleshooting WordPress and PHP‑based websites.
Requirements
- DirectAdmin user-level access
- X‑Ray enabled by your hosting provider
- A PHP-based website (WordPress recommended)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Access X‑Ray
- Log in to DirectAdmin
- Go to Extra Features → X‑Ray
- Select the domain you want to analyze
You will see the X‑Ray dashboard.
2. Start a Scan
- Click “Start Scan”
- Choose scan type:
• Full Scan
• Page Scan
• URL Scan
Full Scan analyzes the entire site.
Page/URL Scan analyzes a specific page.
3. Choose Scan Mode
You can scan:
- Frontend pages
- Admin dashboard
- AJAX requests
- API endpoints
Useful for diagnosing:
- Slow WooCommerce pages
- Slow admin panel
- Heavy AJAX calls
4. View Scan Results
After the scan completes, you will see:
- Slowest plugins
- Slowest themes
- Slow database queries
- PHP execution time
- Memory usage
- I/O usage
- External requests
Each item includes:
- Execution time
- Number of calls
- Impact score
5. Identify Slow Plugins
X‑Ray ranks plugins by performance impact.
Common slow plugins include:
- Page builders
- Backup plugins
- Security plugins
- WooCommerce add‑ons
You can disable or replace heavy plugins to improve performance.
6. Identify Slow Database Queries
X‑Ray shows:
- Query time
- Query type
- Affected tables
- Plugin/theme responsible
Useful for diagnosing:
- WooCommerce slow checkout
- Large wp_options table
- Slow search queries
7. Analyze PHP Execution
X‑Ray highlights:
- Long-running PHP scripts
- Memory-heavy operations
- Functions causing delays
This helps developers optimize code.
8. View Slow Requests
X‑Ray logs:
- Slow page loads
- Slow AJAX calls
- Slow API requests
Each entry includes:
- URL
- Execution time
- Memory usage
- Responsible plugin/theme
9. Apply Optimization Recommendations
X‑Ray provides suggestions such as:
- Disable unused plugins
- Optimize database tables
- Reduce external scripts
- Enable caching
- Update outdated plugins/themes
Troubleshooting
Scan Not Starting
- Site may be blocking X‑Ray requests
- Security plugins interfering
- Firewall rules blocking scans
Slow Plugins Not Showing
- Caching may hide performance issues
- Disable caching temporarily
Database Queries Missing
- Database access restricted
- Query logging disabled
Scan Shows High CPU Usage
- Heavy plugins
- WooCommerce traffic
- Bots or attacks
- Missing caching layer
Scan Shows High Memory Usage
- Large themes
- Page builders
- Plugins with memory leaks
Security Notes
- X‑Ray does not modify files
- It only analyzes performance
- Safe to run on production sites
- Does not expose sensitive data
Related Articles
- [Resource Usage](ca://s?q=Resource_Usage)
- [AccelerateWP](ca://s?q=AccelerateWP)
- [cPGuard Security](ca://s?q=cPGuard_Security)
- [Site Summary & Logs](ca://s?q=Site_Summary_and_Logs)
- [Select PHP Version](ca://s?q=Select_PHP_Version)