Research shows that 43% of websites are now generated through WordPress. If we put it in other words, it has taken a significant spot in the online marketplace.
Whereas the search engines continuously track and rank the quick-operated pages.
So lack of speed could be a nightmare for your visitors. Nowadays, website owners are focusing more on WordPress speed optimization. There are numerous ways to boost your WordPress page speed. In this article, we have featured the simplest ones. Let’s dive deeper.
We will first start with the most common question,
What is WordPress Speed Optimization
WordPress speed optimization is the schedule of actions that work on operating your WordPress site on the web. This process includes all those steps which make your page reachable to the audience. These steps include robust web hosting, using a caching plugin, decluttering heavy content, etc. There is a famous saying on WordPress site speed.
“You need speed to keep your WordPress visitor engaged.”
Does WordPress Page Speed Matter?
Research says when it takes more than 3 seconds to load a page, the viewers change their minds regarding a purchase. In the meantime, fast-loading pages have maximum chances to increase conversion rates. Page speed matters to ensure the following factors:
1. Better User-Experience
Fast-loading pages prove the site is efficient enough to load the contents. This is a sign of highly active pages. Page speed provides a better user experience to the users.
2. Increases Conversion Rate
A case study by StrangeLoop revealed that a 1-second delay in page load time could lead to a 7% conversion loss. In contrast, a quick loading page can enhance conversion significantly.
3. Helps in Search Ranking
Search engines like Google penalize slow-loading pages for their low traffic. If your site is smooth enough, then search engines will keep it ahead on that list.
4. Improves Customer Satisfaction
Statistics say a one-second delay can decrease customer satisfaction by 16%. So page speed is essential to stick the audience to your site. Often visitors leave the page if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
5. Increases Revenue/Sales
The report says a 1-second delay in page loading cost Amazon about a 1.6$ dollar loss in a year. In the meantime, better speed can increase your sales. Your audience will purchase more for a better experience.
6. Boost SEO with Responsiveness
A better ranking is dependent on your page speed. If your WordPress site gets listed on top, this enhances your page optimization speed. Quick loading is a sign of responsive sites as well.
Undeniable Factors That Make Your WordPress Site Slow
For beginners, tracking the factors delimiting your WordPress page speed optimization is pretty difficult. That’s why we have enlisted the factors here that might make your WordPress page slow:
1. Cheap Web Hosting
If your web hosting is not configured correctly, that could make your WordPress site slow. Another reason could be using a shared server. Hosting multiple sites with a single server can make the site weak enough to run slowly.
2. Website Containing Hidden Apps
Research says 50% of malware stays hidden on mobile. Like hidden apps, malware threats also remain hidden on mobile. These apps consume a larger amount of storage and bandwidth, which makes your website slow.
3. Installing Too Many Plugins
Numerous WordPress plugins serve different purposes. You should use only the necessary ones. Installing too many plugins can make your WordPress load slowly because most of them are not optimized for performance.
4. Outdated WordPress
Outdated WordPress can impact your site performance. These versions pose potential security threats as well. Updated WordPress is optimized to provide sound performance and to load faster on any device.
5. Poor Quality Plugins
Since 2016, there have been more than 18000 plugins launched. 3% were never updated or optimized for any software or performance. This questions their credibility. Using not-optimized plugins can be one of the factors that affect your site’s speed.
6. Using Non-Optimized Images
An image may speak louder than words, but a thousand images can be heavy on your WordPress page speed. Posting images that are not optimized forces your site to slow down. Too much content takes more than 3 seconds to load.
7. Loading External Scripts
External scripts can impact the WordPress site speed as well. Using scripts such as font loaders, ads can take extra effort to load your WordPress pages.
5 Easy Ways to Track Speed of Your WordPress Page Speed
Checking your WordPress site speed is one of the mother concerns to knowing the health of your website. We have featured the most straightforward tools to test our website speed. Here goes:
1. Google Pagespeed Insights
Google Pagespeed Insights is an intuitive tool to test your website’s speed by comparing it against Google Core Web Vitals. The best part of this testing tool is that it rates your site speed on a scale of 0 to 100. Based on the results, the tool will provide you with improvement suggestions.
2. Pingdom
Like Google Pagespeed insights, Pingdom rates your site on a scale of 0 to 100. You can test your website based on the location. The result will show our performance grade, page load time, page size, content size, and the total number of requests, along with suggestions.
An Example to Check Your Site Speed Through Pingdom
Although we have featured several tools to check the speed of your website, here we have attached the process of how you need to proceed with the process on Pingdom. Watch the steps listed below:
Step 1: Type Your Website Domain on the Search Bar
Go to the search bar option and type the domain name of your respective site.
Step 2: Specify the Zone
After typing the domain name, select the location where you are operating your test and click on the “Test now” button.
Step 3: Get the Performance Report
The tool will give you an immediate result with your site’s speed with relevant suggestions.
3. GTmetrix
GTmetrix is an insightful tool for beginners that reveals your WordPress site’s speed performance with relevant tips. The results break down several ways, including a speed visualization that displays your page load as a timeline of screenshots.
4. WebPage Test
WebPage Test speed testing tool provides more insightful results with resilient questions like “Is it quick?”, “Is it usable?” and “Is it resilient?”.The report will help you to identify the issues and how to solve them.
5. Uptrends
Uptrends will break down the result into specific categories such as your Google PageSpeed score, load time, page size, and core web vitals. Moreover, the suggestions in the report indicate the responsible factors affecting your site’s performance.
WordPress Page Speed Optimization: 15 Easiest Hacks
There are numerous hacks to speed up your WordPress page. As a beginner, you might feel baffled to pick the one that works. So, here we have attached the easiest possible hacks to redeem your WordPress site.
1. Optimize Images Before Uploading
Using the raw files can affect the performance of your site. Compression is necessary to make your images compatible with the site. Nowadays, you can use several tools to optimize the images before posting.
You can reduce the image size both manually and automatically. There are several automated tools to compress images. We have listed the best ones below.
Optimal
Optimal is a well-built plugin that supports pictures of all formats and devices. With a real-time cloud base management system, this plugin reduces the size of your images by keeping the actual quality.
Key Features
- Supports all image format
- Cloud-based image library
- Supports Elementor
EWWW Image Optimizer
EWWW Image Optimizer tool employs all the modes using your own server. On top of that, images are automatically fitted according to the page width.
Key Features
- Secured communication
- Lazy loading
- Best compression ratio
Smush
Smush is a free plugin that optimizes images with more than 2x multi-pass lossy compression. This fast operating plugin can compress 50 images at a click.
Key Features
- Lazy loading
- Bulk image compression mode
- Detects incorrect image size
2. Utilize an Effective Caching Plugin
Your WordPress will fall weak if multiple visitors visit at the same time. To prevent this, installing a caching plugin could be a lifesaver. Caching plugins create a copy of the site every time multiple clients visit your site. The server retrieves the information from a MySQL database and PHP files whenever a user visits your site.
Best Caching Plugin
To facilitate you with better choices, we have made a brief list of the best caching plugins. We have enlisted them based on their performance and user satisfaction.
WP Rocket
If you are looking for an active and efficient cache plugin, WP-Rocket is the right match for you. This plugin starts working right after activation. It offers cache preloading and GZIP Compression.
Key Features
- Combines CSS and JS files
- Automatic database cleanup
- Lazy loading
WP Fastest Cache
WP Fastest Cache is one of the well-rated plugins with advanced attributes. The user can combine and minify CSS and JS files. The admin can delete the CSS and files too.
Key Features
- Provides Cloudflare support
- Block cache for a specific purpose
- Supports mobile devices
WP-Optimize
WP Optimize is an efficient, well-performed cache plugin that caches your site, cleans your database, and compresses your images. This famous tool is simple yet highly effective in terms of operation.
Key Features
- Cleans the database
- Compresses images
- Create space
3. Go for a Lightweight WordPress Theme
A theme with numerous plugins and enormous page size may look appealing. But themes that carry more elements take much time to load. To avoid this situation, it’s better to use a lightweight theme. Default WordPress themes could be a wise choice to make.
4. Keep a Minimum level of External Scripts
Featuring too many external scripts on pages, slow downs your page. Because those extra ads take extra server attention to getting featured. So try to keep a balance there. Use only the essentials such as Google analytics.
5. Sort out the Inactive Plugins
Another hack to speed up your WordPress site is deactivating inactive plugins. To declutter them, Install a plugin named ‘Query monitor’ to verify the inactive plugins. Then deactivate those plugins manually or employ a tool to do so. For deactivation, you can use automated plugins as well.
6. Activate GZIP Compression
Use a bulk compression mode to speed up your WordPress.GZIP Compression mode is the best in that case. It compresses files in various ranges so that when the visitor clicks on the page, the browser will first unzip the files. To activate this mode, you can use a plugin or add the following codes to yours. htaccess file.
AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/plainAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/htmlAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/xmlAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/cssAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xmlAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/xhtml+xmlAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/rss+xmlAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/javascriptAddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE application/x-javascript7. Keep the WordPress Database Clean
Clearing unwanted data is a good move for WordPress speed optimization. To erase the extra burden on your website, it is mandatory to delete spam comments, fake users, old drafts of your content, and maybe even unwanted plugins and themes.
8. Alleviate the Hotlinking
Hotlinking is another striking cause that can make your WordPress run slowly. If you use resources from elsewhere, those sources can add extra load to your site. To avoid this, add the following codes to your .htaccess file.
RewriteEngine onRewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?EXAMPLE.com [NC]RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?google.com [NC]RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?feeds2.feedburner.com/EXAMPLE [NC]RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ – [NC,F,L]9. Employ a Content Delivery Network(CDN)
CDN alleviates the loads on data centers to run smoothly. This network enables visitors to access the data center from different locations. It stores the copy of the website in various places, so the visitor can access the website from the present location.
10. Invest in Better Web-Hosting Provider
Web hosting plays an essential role in your WordPress page performance. A solid server is able to tackle the heavy traffic load. Speed won’t be an issue for well-built web hosting. You should pick the best one for you.
Best Web-Hosting Provider
Several web hosting providers are floating on the web. We recommend the following as the best.
Hostinger
Hostinger leaves a good impression on the visitors with a range of identifiable navigational icons. This service lets you create almost 100 websites with more than 25000 visitors’ accessibility.
Key Features
- Premium service
- User-friendly
- Free- backup
Bluehost
This is the one for you if you are looking for a hosting service. Bluehost is a WordPress recommended. It offers great analytics and SEO tools to track the rank of your website.
Key Features
- Beginner-friendly
- Co-operative Customer Service
- 30 days money back warranty
- Free domain service
GreenGeeks
GreenGeeks use renewable energy to power their web hosting services. Apart from their nature-based approach, they provide top-notch services as well.
Key Features
- Fast speed
- Nature-friendly
- Top-notch service
11. Update Regularly
To keep your site well-maintained, it’s mandatory to update your WordPress frequently. Updated versions are built to enhance your performance under any situation. The backdated version can make your site slow. So always keep an eye on the features update to maintain the speed of your website.
12. Split the Comments
Getting a lot of comments is a good indicator of an optimized site. But these comments could drown the speed meter. So split the comments into the page. To do that, follow the steps listed down:
Step 1: Go to the Settings menu and click on the discussion option.
Step 2: Check on the break comments into pages.
13. Avoid Uploading Audio/ Video Files Directly
Using the raw audio/ video files directly will charge your site overage fees. Upload your media files through Youtube, DailyMotion, SoundCloud, etc.; These are well-known hosting services for displaying your media files. You can use the WordPress built-in video embed service to flaunt your videos.
14. Go for Faster Plugin
Poorly coded or backed plugins can bloat your website from performing well. Use well-structured plugins. Pick the plugins that offer easy-to-use features and a good performance indicator.
15. Use an Optimized Theme
You must pay special attention to the theme to balance the speed quotient. Don’t rush over the themes offering flashy layouts and unusual plugins. It’s better to go for simpler plugins that are well-coded and optimized for speed.
FAQ
How do I optimize my WordPress site for speed?
You can optimize your WordPress site speed by following the instructions given below:
1. Use a simple and well-performed theme
2. Avoid using poorly coded plugins
3. Update the WordPress site regularly.
How do I fix a slow WordPress site?
There are numerous hacks you may use to redeem your slow WordPress site. We suggest the following:
1. Use a solid web-server to handle heavy traffic.
2. Post optimized images
3. Use the necessary plugins only
Does CDN impact site speed?
CDN(Content Delivery Network) is an international service that can enhance your WordPress site speed greatly. If you have a global user base, this can increase the loading speed and improve the user experience as well.
What are the top 3 things that slow a WordPress site down?
Your WordPress site can run slow for several reasons. But the top 3 are listed below:
1. Using weak web hosting can drive your WordPress site slowly. Weak servers take more than three seconds to handle the heavy traffic.
2. Malware invasion can make your site slow. This malware can affect your system anywhere at any time
3. Using too many plugins might cause your WordPress to perform well.
Why is WordPress so hard?
WordPress is hard because it combines extremely complex functionalities with a flexible content management system. The emerging power and stiff customizability make WordPress hard to understand.
Bottom Line
In this era of digitization, ranking your site on top is getting competitive. In that case, speed is vital in proving your website activity. So, WordPress page speed optimization is mandatory if your site is running slow.
Here we have featured the simplest hack to help you improve your site’s speed. We believe this info will help you to build an active WordPress page. Best of luck!