How to Speed Up WordPress
Determine if your blog is slow to load., Open your WordPress blog., Get a good host., Use a lean theme., Use a caching plugin., Optimize images., Complete updates., Do regular cleanups.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Determine if your blog is slow to load.
Do this by checking the loading time yourself from different computers and using different browsers.
Borrow a friend's computer and visit your neighbor's computer too, to see what is happening elsewhere. -
Step 2: Open your WordPress blog.
Calculate the time it takes to load completely.
If it takes more than 5 seconds, continue with the below steps.
If not, your blog has a good speed already and you're good to carry on as usual. , A good web host is worth the money spent.
You will have a better loading time and good access to help if there are any problems.
Research your hosting provider.
Do a bit of research on different hosting companies and learn about their response time and customer support before you make your choice or shift to a new one. , A WordPress website sometimes takes more time to load because of its template.
The template could have lots of graphics or bulky code that make it heavy.
Choose a simple theme instead if you are experiencing slow loading.
Select a theme with a built-in portfolio functionality.
A theme should display and style your content, whereas a plugin can be used to add functionality.
Instead of going for premium themes, such as ThemeForest and Mojo themes, start with a free default WordPress theme and add features and styles along the way as you discover a need for them.
Show only around four to five posts on the home page. , A caching plugin can reduce a WordPress database call and makes WordPress faster.
Use W3TC or WP super cache.
However, do watch your plugin usage.
Delete the plugins you do not require, as every badly coded plugin (even a deactivated one) poses a security threat.
Select only the plugins you need and regularly update them.
While using cache plugins can speed up your WordPress, spend some time figuring out what’s working and what’s not.
The most popular ones are WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache.
Do not enable everything.
Do it just for the basic things, such as page cache, browser cache, minimize, or try enabling the CDN option. , Uncompressed and non-optimized images can massively slow down websites.
You can avoid this by:
Optimizing your images before you upload them & crop them.
Use Wp Smush.it., it is a plugin that compresses your images Avoid image based advertisements.
Advertisements can be text, image, or java-script based.
Go for the text or link option to prevent slow loading ads.
If you are still keen on using images, see if you can host them yourself.
Host videos externally.
Host videos on Youtube or any video hosting provider to remove strain from your server. , Create a backup.
If you use WordPress products created with WordPress – updating your WordPress installation, WordPress theme, and plugins can be effortless.
Every update brings better performance and functionality improvements with it. , Keep the site as clean as possible so that it runs well.
Some of the things you might try include:
Optimize your data base to remove junk from it.
Use the WP optimize plugin for automating this task.
Validate your page and remove any unwanted JavaScript.
Adding expire header in blog makes no refresh a static component, which saves precious bandwidth.
Consider using minified resources for making less http calls.
Use auto optimize for automating this project.
Delete spam and unwanted posts. -
Step 3: Get a good host.
-
Step 4: Use a lean theme.
-
Step 5: Use a caching plugin.
-
Step 6: Optimize images.
-
Step 7: Complete updates.
-
Step 8: Do regular cleanups.
Detailed Guide
Do this by checking the loading time yourself from different computers and using different browsers.
Borrow a friend's computer and visit your neighbor's computer too, to see what is happening elsewhere.
Calculate the time it takes to load completely.
If it takes more than 5 seconds, continue with the below steps.
If not, your blog has a good speed already and you're good to carry on as usual. , A good web host is worth the money spent.
You will have a better loading time and good access to help if there are any problems.
Research your hosting provider.
Do a bit of research on different hosting companies and learn about their response time and customer support before you make your choice or shift to a new one. , A WordPress website sometimes takes more time to load because of its template.
The template could have lots of graphics or bulky code that make it heavy.
Choose a simple theme instead if you are experiencing slow loading.
Select a theme with a built-in portfolio functionality.
A theme should display and style your content, whereas a plugin can be used to add functionality.
Instead of going for premium themes, such as ThemeForest and Mojo themes, start with a free default WordPress theme and add features and styles along the way as you discover a need for them.
Show only around four to five posts on the home page. , A caching plugin can reduce a WordPress database call and makes WordPress faster.
Use W3TC or WP super cache.
However, do watch your plugin usage.
Delete the plugins you do not require, as every badly coded plugin (even a deactivated one) poses a security threat.
Select only the plugins you need and regularly update them.
While using cache plugins can speed up your WordPress, spend some time figuring out what’s working and what’s not.
The most popular ones are WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache.
Do not enable everything.
Do it just for the basic things, such as page cache, browser cache, minimize, or try enabling the CDN option. , Uncompressed and non-optimized images can massively slow down websites.
You can avoid this by:
Optimizing your images before you upload them & crop them.
Use Wp Smush.it., it is a plugin that compresses your images Avoid image based advertisements.
Advertisements can be text, image, or java-script based.
Go for the text or link option to prevent slow loading ads.
If you are still keen on using images, see if you can host them yourself.
Host videos externally.
Host videos on Youtube or any video hosting provider to remove strain from your server. , Create a backup.
If you use WordPress products created with WordPress – updating your WordPress installation, WordPress theme, and plugins can be effortless.
Every update brings better performance and functionality improvements with it. , Keep the site as clean as possible so that it runs well.
Some of the things you might try include:
Optimize your data base to remove junk from it.
Use the WP optimize plugin for automating this task.
Validate your page and remove any unwanted JavaScript.
Adding expire header in blog makes no refresh a static component, which saves precious bandwidth.
Consider using minified resources for making less http calls.
Use auto optimize for automating this project.
Delete spam and unwanted posts.
About the Author
Alexis Evans
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow lifestyle tutorials.
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