In Speed

Last updated on January 16th, 2020

How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

You may spend hours perfecting the content and design of your WordPress website. But what if your website doesn’t load fast enough?

How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

Online studies claim that 50% of users will abandon a website if it takes longer than 4-6 seconds to load. Moreover, Google also factors site speed into its search algorithm. It’s in your best interest to have a fast-loading website. (Fun fact: if your page loads in under 3 seconds it is faster than about half of the web.)

The speed you need

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How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

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Here are six ways you can make your WordPress website faster.

1. A Good Hosting Service

For most businesses, shared hosting will be sufficient. However, if you plan on posting a lot of content, then investing in your own bandwidth allocation and a stable uplink is definitely worth it. We recommend the hosting service Kinsta, which is reliable and offers affordable plans. It also offers stellar customer support — something you will be grateful for in times of need!

Here is a list of other hosting services you can choose from.

2. Lean Setup

Every element you add to your website could potentially make it slower. Try to opt for simpler themes and frameworks. Social media widgets, too, can slow down your site. Limit yourself to the plug-ins that are essential. Focus on creating great content and serving it quickly to your audience.

Recent studies suggest that people are increasingly browsing the web on their mobiles. Focus on optimising your mobile website as well. For instance, do not use hotlinking as this lowers mobile loading speed.

How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

3. Caching

Caching is the process of storing data temporarily so that future requests for it can be served faster. It can be deployed at both the plug-in and hosting level. Effectively caching your website can substantially reduce its loading time. What’s more, some of the best caching plug-ins on WordPress are free to use!

How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

W3 Total Cache, for example, is a certified ‘A-grade’ caching plugin by WebPageTest. It is also approved by Google developers.

For advanced caching, WordPress Rocket (starts at $49 annually) is great at improving site speed. It is also easier to setup and work with than W3 Total Cache.

4. Image Optimization

Heavy images are often the key culprits for slow-loading websites. We recommend you install the free WP-SmushIt plugin. It allows you to optimise upto 50 images at a time, decreasing their sizes without compromising quality.

TinyPNG is another popular free tool that provides solid results. Their website has optimised over a billion images to date!

5. Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Think of a CDN as a middleman for data. It serves the static files on your website (like Javascript, CSS and HTML) to your audience from servers that are geographically closest to them. This helps your website load much faster.

How To Speed Up Your WordPress Website

Two major techniques used by CDNs are: forward(pull) and reverse proxy. The pull method (or forward proxy) uses your web browser, whereas the reverse proxy method extracts information via your web server.

We recommend the reverse proxy method via Sucuri, an affordable CDN provider that also keeps your website safe from malware. If you’re seeking an even more affordable solution, Jetpacks’ Site Accelerator is great at quickening image load times.

6. Continual Testing

In order to speed up your website, you need to know what’s slowing it down. That’s why testing it regularly is crucial. (Initially, this is usually many times a day.)

Share your website’s link with as many people as possible. A larger viewership will widen your understanding of what works and what doesn’t. Test your site at different internet speeds (Wi-Fi, mobile), devices (phone, tablet, laptop), and browsers. Don’t shy away from trial and error. In fact, it’s pivotal if you want your site to be the fastest possible for everyone.