Slow requests (I think)

[jameslawther]

WordPress version: 3.2.1
Enterprise Child Theme: 1.0.1
www.squawkpoint.com

Hi,

I have a problem in that my site is painfully slow to load (can take 4 or 5 minutes)

I have been trying to work out what is causing it but don't really have the know how so all thoughts and suggestions are welcome.

Here are the symptoms:

- It can take up-to 5 minutes to load my site, sometimes this is quicker but always at least a minute.
- The problem is the same if I log in directly to my WP dashboard or to the site itself
- Once the site has appeared it then takes a similar amount of time to move from page to page
- In the admin area it is also slow to flick about (but not as slow)
- I first noticed the problem on Thursday night, before that it was fine
- When accessing the site the throbber on firefox rotates very slowly anticlockwise for a couple of minutes, when it changes direction the page loads almost immediately.
- When my site does load it looks fine except for the Genesis latest tweets widget which returns the text "The Twitter API is taking too long to respond. Please try again later."


Things I have discounted so far:

1. I have tried different browsers, problem persists, so not that
2. I have tried different internet connections, not that
3. I have tried different computers, not that
4. I have tried different continents (friend in the US I am in the UK), not that
5. I tried using the wordpress defaut theme Twenty Ten, then the site loads quickly. I have spoken to my hosting company, blue host, so not that
6. I have run google page speed on the site once loaded. My logic is that this will show me if there is a problem with the site design. I get a fairly respectable result (89/100), so not that.
7. At this point I also tried deactivating all my plugins (no real logic but worth a go) and not that

So I come to the conclusion that the problem must be something to do with the time it takes my site to recognise a request sent to it from a browser. When it finally responds it comes in like a train.

The only thing I have changed is I tried experimenting with the plug in viperproof to show my twitter followers on Thursday. I couldn't get it to do what I wanted and removed it.



All thoughts gratefully received

Ta

JL