phpbb speed

tweety · PR0 Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 94

i have many mods -most are only used by logged in members

can i speed up site for guests by setting conditions in php files, like the page header

example

if ( $userdata['session_logged_in'] )
{
MOD CODE GOES HERE
}

i am meaning code such as mod include files

is there any bad to doing this - i am not seeing?

HB · phpBB SEO Team Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 809

tweety · PR0 Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 94

thanks HB

is the code above what you would use

HB · phpBB SEO Team Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 809

Yes, I would test for $userdata['session_logged_in'] in code (e.g., to skip a SQL query) and add BEGIN/END statements in the templates where necessary:

tweety · PR0 Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 94

thanks HB

tweety · PR0 Joined: 24 Jan 2007 Posts: 94

HB which code did you obvious finding is good to make log in condition.

HB · phpBB SEO Team Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 809

You mean what options are presented to logged in users that are not available to guests on my site?

If so, I have just a few. For example, the "related topics" list shown at the bottom of each thread. It's a costly SQL query, so at one time I limited it to logged in users. But later I changed it to show a limited number of related topics thinking that it may help SERPs (by showing links to related topics). Logged in users also see a list of who's logged in the last 24 hours. Skipping that for guests saves one query (and I personally I don't think guests have the right to know who's logged in today -- if they want to know, they should join).

There are a few other minor tweaks to the templates based on logged in state. For example, I don't bother showing the "jump to" section and access rights verbiage at the end of the page. I figure it lightens the page weight, which may please search engine. And besides, I'm less concerned about providing guests lots of navigation aids because long-time visitors will join anyway. For guests that come and go, a clean and fast site is more important than fancy navigation, IMO.

In the end, checking logged in status is about lowering the number of SQL calls necessary to show a page by showing the guests less "nice to have" information. Looking from another viewpoint, limiting guest features is also a way of "rewarding" those who join.