Is your WordPress website running slow? A slow website not only increases bounce rate but also lowers your search ranking. If you are wondering what slows down a website, it’s the large images, too many plugins, and poor hosting. Don’t worry, it can be fixed.
Read ahead and learn the simple steps on how to speed up WordPress website. The best part? You don’t need to have tech skills to fix a website that is running like a sloth.
9 Useful Practices to Speed Up a WordPress Website
The thought of optimizing a website’s speed can be intimidating for a beginner. But don’t worry, let’s learn how to speed up WordPress website together.
1- A Good WordPress Hosting
The behavior and performance of your WordPress website depend on its hosting. A reliable hosting service keeps track of the website’s performance and optimizes it when needed. Never go for shared WordPress hosting, as it slows down the site if the other website gets a lot of traffic.
Also, some reliable WordPress hosting companies offer automatic backups, updates, and advanced security systems to provide better website performance and protection. Hostinger is one of the most reliable and affordable web hosting platforms that provides 24/7 support. You should consider getting WordPress hosting from Hostinger if you don’t want to compromise on your website’s performance.
2- Install a WordPress Caching Plugin
The WordPress caching plugin is a lifesaver. Displaying results that users are looking for involves multiple steps, and it is a long process.
So, if you have developed a Website through WordPress, you should get this plugin to keep everything smooth and speed up WordPress website. Some reliable caching plugins that we recommend to everyone are LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket, and WP Super Cache.
3- Optimize Website Images
Images add visual appeal to your online content and boost engagement. However, if you have not optimized images, this might be the reason why your WordPress website is running slowly.
We recommend optimizing images using a image converter tool before uploading them to the website. Instead of using traditional image formats like JPEG and PNG, use WebP.
- It reduces image size without compromising its quality.
- Offers faster web page loading.
In short, it allows you to upload high-quality images in smaller files and improves your website’s performance and user experience.
Helpful Tools to Boost Your WordPress Performance
- Hostinger – A reliable and fast hosting provider that ensures your WordPress website runs smoothly with minimal downtime.
- Image Converter – Convert images into web-friendly formats (like WebP) to reduce file size and improve page load speed.
- Image Resizer – Quickly resize large images to the right dimensions for your site without losing quality.
4- Update Everything
To offer the best experience to your users, keep everything on your website updated. From WordPress core to plugins and themes, you should update everything occasionally. Always use the latest plugin versions as they help keep the site running efficiently.
Also, for better performance, always use the latest version of PHP, the scripting language of WordPress websites.
5- High-Quality WordPress Plugins
When choosing WordPress plugins, remember quality over quantity. If you use many plugins, your site’s speed will slow down. Also, check if there are any unused plugins. Delete them to speed up WordPress website.
WordPress works on plugins. You should only install high-quality plugins as they are the best for the user experience. They are not only performance-friendly but also user-friendly.
6- Use a Lightweight Theme
Check your WordPress theme, is it too heavy? If yes, it burdens your web server and slows your WordPress website. An easy way to fix this issue is to use a simple theme.
There is no need to pick a cool theme with unnecessary details to make your site attractive. Keep things simple and choose a theme with all the necessary features.
7- Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
The geographical location of your user also affects the website’s loading speed. The problem is neither your website nor the user’s location, but the web hosting server’s location. Solve this problem by using a Content Delivery Network.
A CDN is a network of servers. It includes all the servers used by people all around the world. The servers store the static files of your website. So, whenever a user visits your website, this network will connect them to the server that is closest to them. Hence, the site will load faster, enhancing users’ experience.
You can also try lazy loading your content if it contains many images. This will load the content gradually as you read or scroll instead of loading the whole page simultaneously.
8- Don’t Host Videos on Your Server
The more space you consume on your server, your website loads slower. So, to keep the performance of the WordPress website in A1 condition, you need to utilize storage wisely. Using a video hosting service is a smart way of adding a video to your content.
You can add the video from online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia. This practice will let your website load faster. Also, your user can see the same video without compromising their experience.
9- WordPress Database Cleanup
Is your WordPress website old? If yes, you might have a lot of data in your database. Everything eats up your space, from spam comments to unused files, themes, plugins, and unpublished content. So, to ensure your website is performance-friendly, clean up your database every once in a while.
Cleaning up can be tiring, especially if you are doing it manually. We recommend using plugins like WP Optimize and Advanced Database Cleaner. They are best for audit performance and cleaning up the database from non-essential data.
Helpful Tips to Speed Up WordPress Website
Apart from the practices mentioned above, the following tips will help you speed up WordPress website by many folds.
- Decrease the CSS and JavaScript file sizes. They make the website interactive, but larger files can slow down the website. You can also use Autoptimize for this purpose.
- A simple web page design and content are better than a complex design that is only visually appealing. It loads faster, will not overwhelm visitors, and offers a better user experience.
- Are you publishing a lengthy blog post? Split it into pages. It loads faster and does not burden the site server.
- Limit post revisions as they affect WordPress website performance by taking up its database space.
Conclusion
Speeding up a WordPress website is not a complicated process. All you need to do is implement effective strategies to speed up WordPress website, such as optimizing images, using reliable hosting, and simple themes.
Also, using a caching plugin effectively improves users’ experience, website performance, and speed. Please don’t waste time thinking who will fix your website; you can do it yourself by following the practices mentioned in this guide.