diff --git a/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh b/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
index e5edda5..f22f866 100755
--- a/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
+++ b/modules/website/wordpress/wordpress-cron-manager.sh
@@ -440,23 +440,26 @@ safe_add_cron_job() {
     local cron_time="$2"
     local cron_cmd="$3"
 
-    # Check if user has valid crontab access
-    if ! crontab -u "$user" -l >/dev/null 2>&1; then
-        # User might not have a crontab yet - try creating one
+    # OPTIMIZATION: Single crontab -l call instead of 3 separate calls
+    # Check existence, read content, and validate in one operation
+    local current_crontab
+    current_crontab=$(crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null)
+    local crontab_exit=$?
+
+    if [ $crontab_exit -ne 0 ]; then
+        # User doesn't have a crontab yet - try creating one
         echo "# WordPress cron jobs" | crontab -u "$user" - 2>/dev/null || return 1
+        current_crontab="# WordPress cron jobs"
     fi
 
     # CRITICAL FIX: Check if exact job already exists to prevent duplicates
-    if crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null | grep -qF "$cron_cmd"; then
+    if echo "$current_crontab" | grep -qF "$cron_cmd"; then
         # Job already exists, don't add duplicate
         return 0
     fi
 
     # Add the job to crontab
-    # CRITICAL: Must verify crontab -l succeeded before piping back
-    # If crontab -l fails, we would pipe only the new job, losing existing jobs!
-    local current_crontab
-    current_crontab=$(crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+    # CRITICAL: crontab -l already verified to have succeeded above
     (echo "$current_crontab"; echo "$cron_time $cron_cmd") | crontab -u "$user" - 2>/dev/null
     return $?
 }
@@ -467,16 +470,18 @@ safe_remove_cron_jobs() {
     local user="$1"
     local pattern="$2"  # Pattern to match jobs to remove
 
-    # Check if crontab exists and contains the pattern
-    if ! crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null | grep -q "$pattern"; then
+    # OPTIMIZATION: Single crontab -l call instead of 2 separate calls
+    local current_crontab
+    current_crontab=$(crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null) || return 0
+
+    # Check if pattern exists in crontab
+    if ! echo "$current_crontab" | grep -q "$pattern"; then
         # Pattern not found - nothing to remove
         return 0
     fi
 
     # Remove jobs matching pattern
-    # CRITICAL: Must verify crontab -l succeeded before piping back
-    local current_crontab
-    current_crontab=$(crontab -u "$user" -l 2>/dev/null) || return 1
+    # CRITICAL: crontab -l already verified to have succeeded above
     echo "$current_crontab" | grep -v "$pattern" | crontab -u "$user" - 2>/dev/null
     return $?
 }
@@ -1586,13 +1591,21 @@ disable_wpcron_in_config() {
         return 1
     fi
 
-    # First, remove any existing DISABLE_WP_CRON lines (anywhere in file)
+    # First, always create a backup before any modifications
+    # BUG FIX: Create backup regardless of whether DISABLE_WP_CRON exists
+    if ! cp "$wp_config" "${wp_config}.wpbak" 2>/dev/null; then
+        print_warning "Could not create backup of $wp_config"
+        return 1
+    fi
+
+    # Remove any existing DISABLE_WP_CRON lines (anywhere in file)
     # This ensures clean placement even if previously added in wrong location
     if grep -q "$WP_CRON_DISABLED_VAR" "$wp_config" 2>/dev/null; then
-        remove_disable_wpcron_from_config "$wp_config" || true
-    else
-        # Create backup even if no existing line
-        cp "$wp_config" "${wp_config}.wpbak"
+        if ! remove_disable_wpcron_from_config "$wp_config"; then
+            # Restore backup if removal failed
+            mv "${wp_config}.wpbak" "$wp_config"
+            return 1
+        fi
     fi
 
     # Now add it in the proper location - before "stop editing" comment