Getting Started

System Requirements

What you need to run Speed in China on your WordPress site.

Minimum Requirements#

Requirement Minimum Version
WordPress 5.1 or higher
PHP 7.4 or higher
MySQL 5.7+ or MariaDB 10.3+

Server Requirements#

  • Outbound HTTPS — Your server must be able to make outbound HTTPS requests. The plugin communicates with the Speed in China API (hosted on gauchoplugins.com), which proxies requests to the Globalping API.
  • WP-Cron — Required for scheduled testing. If your host disables WP-Cron, you'll need to set up a system cron job instead. The plugin uses WP-Cron intervals of monthly, weekly, daily, and hourly.
  • File write access — Required for Google Font localization. The plugin downloads font files to wp-content/uploads/sic-fonts/. Your web server must have write permissions to the uploads directory.

What's NOT Required#

  • WooCommerce — Not needed. Speed in China is a standalone plugin.
  • Chinese hosting — Your site can be hosted anywhere in the world. The plugin tests how your site loads from China, regardless of where it's hosted.
  • ICP license — Not needed for speed testing. An ICP license is only required if you host your site in China.

Local development — Speed tests require a publicly accessible URL. If you're developing locally (e.g., .local or localhost), the plugin will use gauchoplugins.com as a fallback test target when WP_DEBUG is enabled.