26 Ways to Speed Up WordPress Websites

A website that loads quickly has become more important than ever. According to Google, conversions can fall by up to 20% for every second delay in mobile page load. Most users expect web pages to load within 5 seconds; any longer and they may lose interest and navigate away from the site.

With this in mind, you should speed up your WordPress website to ensure a smooth user experience. Websites that load quickly tend to have higher engagement rates and increased customer loyalty. In this article, we will present tips and tricks to speed up WordPress websites. Both new and existing websites will benefit from these techniques, ultimately driving more conversions and revenue.

Table of Contents

1. Run Performance Tests
2. Use Website Caching
3. Limit Image Size
4. Use WebP Images
5. Lazy Load Images
6. Web Hosting Environment
7. Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources
8. Use a Content Delivery Network
9. Enable GZIP Compression
10. Minify CSS, HTML, and JavaScript
11. Implement Prefetching and Preloading
12. Optimize Fonts
13. Limit External Scripts
14. Reduce Calls to the Database & Use Database Cache
15. Use an Opcode Cache
16. Limit Plugins and Themes
17. Install High-Quality Plugins Only
18. Use a Lightweight Theme
19. Update WordPress, Themes, and Plugins
20. Limit Post Revisions
21. Disable Hotlinking
22. Don’t Host Videos on Your Server
23. Simply Page Designs and Content
24. Avoid Redirects
25. Schedule Tasks for Low-Traffic Periods
26. Paginate Posts & Comments

1. Run Performance Tests

Use a free online tool like PageSpeed Insights to test your page speed and identify areas for improvement. Optimize the homepage first, as it is likely the most visited page on your site. Remember that each page on your site has a different page speed score. The Core Web Vitals include important metrics for website optimization, improved SEO rankings, and an enhanced user experience.

2. Use Website Caching to Speed Up WordPress

When visitors access your website, their browsers download all page content each time. Website caching instructs the browser to store that content for future visits instead of loading it from the external source each time. Our WordPress caching plugin W3 Total Cache includes a setup guide to help you enable the right options for your website.

Each setting provides several options to choose from. Each option displays the impact it will have on your site, allowing you to make informed decisions.

Types of Caching

Website caching exists for several website elements. Many website owners find it confusing to understand the differences and to know what to enable. W3 Total Cache provides Premium Services to ensure a professional will speed up WordPress for you.

3. Limit Image Size

Added: Websites commonly feature images as their most frequent content type, aside from plain text. You should include at least one image on each page and post of your website to achieve better SEO results. While images and other media can significantly reduce page speed, you can fix this issue relatively easily.

Use images in the exact size you need, because bigger images take longer to load. You can use free online tools to help, like imageresizer.com. Before you upload the image to the Media Library, use a service like tinypng.com or imagecompressor.com to decrease the file size.

4. Use WebP Images

WebP images average 26-30% smaller file sizes than jpeg or png, without sacrificing quality. Most modern browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera, support WebP. Many free online tools are available to convert images to WebP. If you convert fewer than 25 images per day, Cloud Convert is a good option.

If you manage an existing site that requires converting a large number of images, consider using W3 Total Cache’s WebP Image Conversion service. The Media Library will display which images have been converted to WebP, and you can easily revert to the original image format if needed. Users on browsers that do not support WebP will see the original image format.

5. Lazy Load Images

Lazy loading means the browser loads images only when the user reaches them on the page. WordPress now adds a loading=“lazy” tag implemented by the browser. However, this implementation is browser-based and is not fully supported by all browsers.

Enable Lazy Loading with a multi-purpose plugin like W3 Total Cache. W3 Total Cache’s implementation uses lightweight JavaScript. It delivers a better user experience to those without a compatible browser.

6. Web Hosting Environment

Regularly assess your hosting server’s performance and consider upgrading your hosting plan if necessary. A reliable and well-configured hosting environment can significantly speed up WordPress websites. Many hosting companies provide WordPress hosting on servers explicitly designed to run the WordPress software. These services frequently include server configurations optimized for WordPress, advanced caching mechanisms, and expert support, all aimed at delivering a seamless and efficient hosting experience for WordPress users. Investing in a quality hosting solution can noticeably impact your site’s speed, security, and overall performance.

7. Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources

If you conducted a PageSpeed Insights test, you may have noticed that it recommended removing render-blocking resources. Removing render-blocking resources is vital to speed up WordPress and enhance user experience on your website. When a web page loads, the browser must process various resources such as stylesheets (CSS), scripts (JavaScript), and other elements. “Render-blocking” refers to resources that prevent the browser from rendering or displaying the page until fully loaded and processed.

It’s easy to eliminate render-blocking CSS with W3 Total Cache Pro. Our support article describes in-depth how to enable the feature and how to tell if it’s working.

8. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

CDNs like Bunny CDN store copies of your website’s static content (such as images, stylesheets, and scripts) on servers distributed around the world. When someone wants to visit your website, they get the content from the nearest location.  Reducing the physical distance means the user gets content faster. In addition, CDNs often come with built-in security features, such as DDoS protection and web application firewalls. This helps safeguard your website from malicious attacks and ensures a more secure online environment.

W3 Total Cache serves entire web pages from a CDN with Full Site Delivery (FSD). This means that the CDN acts as a proxy server, retrieving web pages from the origin server, caching them, and delivering them to end users. FSD CDNs speed up WordPress website load times by reducing the time it takes for the server to generate and deliver the HTML content of a page.

9. Enable GZIP Compression

Want to speed up your WordPress website’s performance? Use GZIP compression to reduce the size of your files before they reach the user’s browser. Smaller files result in faster loading times, leading to a smoother experience for visitors and improved SEO results.

10. Minify CSS, HTML, and JavaScript

Minify your site’s code to strip out unnecessary characters like spaces, line breaks, and comments, which do not affect the code’s functionality. This process reduces file sizes significantly, leading to faster load times and improved site performance. Using tools like W3 Total Cache, you can automate the minification of your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, making the process seamless and efficient while enhancing your website’s overall speed and user experience.

11. Implement Prefetching and Preloading

Preload critical resources like fonts, images, or key scripts to prioritize them for the browser and ensure faster loading when needed. This approach significantly reduces load times for important elements, enhancing user experience. Use DNS prefetching for external links to prepare the browser in advance, reducing connection times to external domains. These techniques streamline resource loading, making your website feel quicker and more responsive to users.

12. Optimize Fonts

Limit the use of custom fonts and choose system fonts whenever possible to enhance website speed and performance. System fonts are already installed on most devices and load instantly. If you use custom fonts, consider preloading or using asynchronous loading to ensure they render quickly without blocking other page elements. These strategies effectively speed up WordPress.

13. Limit External Scripts

Minimize the use of external scripts, like social media widgets, to reduce their impact on your website’s load times. Each external script adds to your page’s loading time, often delaying how quickly content appears to users. By limiting these scripts or loading them asynchronously, you can significantly improve your site’s performance and speed up WordPress, creating a better user experience.

14. Reduce Calls to the Database & Use Database Cache

Reduce the number of database queries to improve your site’s speed and performance. Caching frequently accessed queries helps your website load data faster, reducing the need for repeated requests to the server. By minimizing database queries and implementing effective caching, you can significantly enhance your site’s responsiveness and provide a smoother user experience.

15. Use an Opcode Cache

Opcode caching works by saving precompiled PHP code, which significantly reduces the time it takes for your server to execute scripts. This speeds up WordPress performance since the server doesn’t have to recomplie the code for every page request, resulting in faster load times for your visitors.

16. Limit Plugins and Themes

For best website performance, limit the number of plugins installed. Remember to deactivate and delete any plugins not in use. We recommend taking time to reexamine the plugins installed on your site. Are they all still necessary? Do you have two plugins doing the same task? Eliminating any excess code from your website will speed up WordPress.

With themes, it’s best practice to have one additional theme installed in case issues arise with your active theme. It’s unnecessary to have more than 2 themes installed.

17. Install High-Quality Plugins Only

Always choose well-coded plugins with excellent reviews and a history of regular updates to prevent performance issues on your site. Remember that just because a plugin appears in the WordPress.org repository doesn’t guarantee optimal code quality. To ensure the best performance, experiment with several plugins that serve the same purpose, comparing their impact on your site’s speed and overall functionality before choosing the right one.

18. Use a Lightweight Theme

Choose a fast and well-optimized WordPress theme to ensure your website runs smoothly and efficiently. Lightweight themes are designed for speed, helping your pages load faster and enhancing overall user experience. These themes minimize code bloat and include built-in optimization features, making them ideal for improving site performance.

19. Update WordPress, Themes, and Plugins

Always keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date. Staying current with updates ensures that your website benefits from the latest performance improvements and timely security patches. This proactive approach safeguards your website from vulnerabilities and maintains its optimal performance. Regularly updating WordPress core, themes, and plugins is fundamental to ensuring the security, stability, and overall health of your website.

20. Limit Post Revisions

WordPress automatically saves every revision of a post, which can cause your database to become unnecessarily bloated over time. To keep your site’s performance in check, consider limiting the number of post revisions. You can do this by using a plugin or by adding a simple line of code to your wp-config.php file. This small tweak can help keep your database lean, to speed up WordPress and improve overall efficiency.

21. Disable Hotlinking

Prevent other websites from linking directly to your images and files, a practice known as “hotlinking,” as it can consume your server’s bandwidth and slow down your site. Implementing measures to prevent hotlinking protects your resources and ensures faster loading for your visitors.

22. Don’t Host Videos on Your Server

To avoid potential slowdowns on your website, host videos on third-party platforms like YouTube or Vimeo instead of your own server. Utilizing these external video hosting services allows you to offer multimedia content to your audience without compromising website performance. This approach offloads the bandwidth-intensive tasks of streaming videos from your server, resulting in faster loading times and a smoother browsing experience for your visitors.

Leveraging the features and analytics provided by platforms such as YouTube or Vimeo enhances the visibility and engagement of your video content. This approach not only speeds up WordPress websites but also ensures a more efficient delivery of video content to your audience.

23. Simplify Page Designs and Content

Enhance user experience on your website and potentially improve search engine rankings by keeping your page layouts clean and minimal. By decluttering the design and maintaining concise text, you prevent overwhelming visitors and facilitate faster load times. This minimalist approach streamlines visual presentation and contributes to a more efficient user journey through the site.

24. Avoid Redirects

When a link on your website changes, use a redirection tool to automatically send visitors from the old page to the new one. However, these redirects require extra time as the browser loads two unique pages. Whenever possible, recode the links along with using a redirection plugin. It’s faster to send visitors directly to the correct page. Redirects are still necessary for search engines and users who bookmarked the old page.

25. Schedule Tasks for Low-Traffic Periods

Schedule resource-intensive tasks such as website backups or software updates during off-peak hours when your site experiences lower traffic. Performing these tasks during reduced user activity minimizes the impact on your site’s performance. This approach ensures that visitors have optimal access to your website during peak hours by avoiding any potential slowdowns or interruptions caused by resource-heavy operations. Strategically planning these activities contributes to a smoother user experience and more efficient management of your website’s backend processes.

26. Paginate Posts & Comments

To speed up WordPress, consider breaking lengthy articles into multiple pages, each with manageable content. This strategy enhances user experience by making it easier for readers to navigate through the content. Additionally, enable comment pagination to limit the number of comments displayed on a single page, further improving load times and overall performance.

 

Thanks for reading – we hope you found this information helpful! Please let us know in the comments below what you’ve personally found to help speed up WordPress. By sharing your experiences with the community, you’ll not only help others who may be struggling with similar issues but also provide valuable insights that can help us continue to improve our own understanding of WordPress optimization. So don’t be shy – let’s keep the conversation going and see what tips and tricks we can share to make our websites faster and more efficient!