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Most WordPress sites carry dozens of active plugins — but on any given page, only a handful are actually needed. The rest load anyway, burning memory, database queries, and response time on every single request.

ALTOS fixes that. It gives you per-screen control over which plugins load on each admin page and each frontend page type. The result: 30–50% faster admin, fewer queries, less memory — with no permanent deactivation required.

ALTOS operates at the WordPress core level via the MU-plugins mechanism, intercepting the plugin-loading pipeline before WordPress fully initialises. It cleanly skips heavy code paths on screens where they are not needed — while preserving admin menus, dependency relationships, and safety guards.

Key features

  • Per-screen admin control — Set rules for each admin screen (Dashboard, Posts, Pages, Settings, WooCommerce, Custom Post Types, …).
  • Frontend Optimizer — Opt-in per-page-type control for the frontend (homepage, single posts, archives, WooCommerce pages, …).
  • Three states per rule — Enabled (always load), Disabled (never load), Defer (load after the main page).
  • Conditional rules – Skip a plugin only on mobile or desktop devices, or only for specific users.
  • Smart menu preservation — Admin menu entries stay accessible for blocked/deferred items via an automatic snapshot system.
  • Hierarchical rules — Global > group > screen, with intelligent inheritance.
  • Automatic mode with suggestions — Confidence-scored recommendations from real performance samples; you review and apply manually.
  • Dependency cascade detection — Catches dependent items when a parent is blocked.
  • Request-type optimisation — Separate rules for AJAX, REST API, WP-Cron, and WP-CLI.
  • Update Optimizer — Three strategies to reduce update-check overhead without breaking badge counts.
  • Per-plugin performance metrics — Real-time load time, DB queries, memory.
  • Developer tools — Admin drawer, admin-bar integration, REST endpoints, extensive filters/actions.
  • Built-in translations — Czech, Slovak, Polish, German, French, Spanish.

Typical impact

  • 30–50% faster admin pages.
  • 20–40 fewer database queries per admin page.
  • 1–5 MB less memory per blocked item.

Safety by default

  • Manual mode requires explicit rules — nothing is changed without your action.
  • Automatic mode only suggests — never applies on its own.
  • The loader protects itself from being blocked.
  • Page-builder bypass for Elementor, Bricks, Divi, Beaver Builder during active editing sessions.
  • Emergency recovery URL for one-click bypass if a misconfiguration breaks the admin.

External Services

This plugin does not contact any external services. It does not send analytics, telemetry, license checks, or any other network requests. All rules, samples, snapshots, and configuration are stored exclusively in your own WordPress database.

The “Update Optimizer” feature exclusively throttles the standard WordPress update-check HTTP requests to api.wordpress.org — it never adds new endpoints and never sends additional data.

Privacy

ALTOS stores all of its data in your own WordPress installation:

  • Rules and configuration are stored in the WordPress options table.
  • Performance sampling data is stored in a plugin-owned custom table ({prefix}sapm_sampling_data) with 30-day retention.
  • No personal data about visitors or administrators is collected.

The plugin does not transmit any data to external services and does not contact any external endpoints other than throttling WordPress’s existing api.wordpress.org update checks when the (opt-in) Update Optimizer is enabled.

Screenshots

Administration: per-screen plugin rules with three states (load, block, defer) and hierarchical groups.

Administration: per-screen plugin rules with three states (load, block, defer) and hierarchical groups.

Conditional Rules: skip a plugin by device (mobile or desktop), by WordPress role, or for one specific administrator.

Conditional Rules: skip a plugin by device (mobile or desktop), by WordPress role, or for one specific administrator.

Frontend Optimizer: opt-in per-page-type rules, admin bypass, WooCommerce protection and an emergency recovery URL.

Frontend Optimizer: opt-in per-page-type rules, admin bypass, WooCommerce protection and an emergency recovery URL.

Update Optimizer: three strategies plus per-plugin updater endpoint blocking.

Update Optimizer: three strategies plus per-plugin updater endpoint blocking.

Request-type rules for AJAX, REST API, WP-Cron and WP-CLI, with per-plugin performance sampling.

Request-type rules for AJAX, REST API, WP-Cron and WP-CLI, with per-plugin performance sampling.

Quick Plugin Management drawer: per-plugin load time and query counts with one-click Enable, Block or Defer on any admin screen.

Quick Plugin Management drawer: per-plugin load time and query counts with one-click Enable, Block or Defer on any admin screen.

Plugin Details

Active Installs
10
Total Downloads
306
Version
1.4.1
Requires WP
6.0
Requires PHP
7.4
Tested Up To
7.1
Added
2026-06-16
Last Updated
2026-09-16 6:39pm GMT

Ratings

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