Slow WordPress website is one of the major concerns among bloggers. A slow website is annoying to the readers. It causes less visitor count and a higher bounce rate.
Many different reasons make WordPress websites are slow.
I will give you 31 pro tips to make your web WordPress website faster.
Table of Contents
31 Pro Tips to Speed Up WordPress Website Load Time?
To make a WordPress website faster planning should be made at the initial level. If you have already started your blog and facing slow website speed with WordPress then implement these tips to make your website super fast.
#01 Delete Unused Plugins and Themes
WordPress automatically installs two or three themes and plugins with the installation. Most of us never use these pre-installed themes. Bloggers install their preferable theme and start working on it. But these preinstalled themes which are unused consume resources like database and disk space.
We can easily delete these unused themes and plugins to make our database lighter and a plugin section to delete these plugins.
Pro tip: At least one active theme is required to remove the unused themes. Remove only those plugins which are not in use.
#02 Clean Up Database
WordPress is a content management system that uses the MySQL database in the back end. Dynamics assets like text, images, categories, and tags are stored in this database. Whenever you install a new theme or plugin data regarding this are stored. Many of these data are not useful to run WordPress.
To keep the database lighter it is very necessary to clean up your database. There is an option in the Lightspeed cache plugin to clean up your database at regular intervals. Set the interval time and it will automatically clean up your database.
Pro tip: Do not delete any data manually it may break your WordPress site.
#03 Remove Render Blocking CSS and JS
All the styles on our website come from CSS. And all the interactive features come from JS. To completely display a page CSS and JS is required. CSS and JS block the rendering process of the web page. To make WordPress faster remove these CSS and JS.
To find render-blocking CSS and JS use Google page speed or use lighthouse in Google Chrome Browser. To delete render-blocking CSS and JS check the Google page speed report and delete the unnecessary plugins.
Pro tip: Thoroughly check after removing render-blocking CSS and JS. This may cause a malfunction of your website.
#04 Minify CSS, JS, and HTML
When a user visits your page CSS JS and HTML are served from the server. To reduce network load these CSS, JS, and HTML should be magnified. In the Lightspeed cache plugin, there is an option to minify.
Enable the options to make your website load faster.
Pro tip: Minification of CSS, JS, and HTML may break your page. Test thoroughly after implementation.
#05 Optimize Images to Next-Gen Formats
We often use images to make our articles informative. Images are served directly from the server to the user. It uses the network as a resource. If we optimize our image then network utilization will be lower and our website will load much faster.
Among all these available image options, WebP is the preferred format for Google. The size of WebP is much lower than Jpeg and Png. You may notice many popular newspapers use WebP format in their articles. Before uploading to WordPress You can convert the image to Webp. Many free tools are available on the Internet.
Pro tip: I use Freeconverter to convert my JPEG images to WebP.
#06 Lazy Load Images
In any article, images consume more size than text. When we use more than one image in an article images are displayed on the screen one after another. So when any audience opens our article all images should not be loaded at a time.
Images should load when the audience scrolls down. This improves page load time.
To implement lazy load there enable the options in the LightSpeedcache plugin.
Pro tip: Do not enable lazy load for the featured image.
#07 Limit Comments Per Page
If your article gets more attention and more comments then limit the number of comments on a page. When you do this only a few comments are loaded at first. This reduces network use and increases page load time.
WordPress has this built-in option to display the selected number of comments at first. The rest of the comments will be shown on the next page.
To enable this, go to the discussion tab of WordPress settings.
#08 Reduce Redirects
When you keep your website at the location www.yourdomain.com and a user request for yourdomain.com request is redirected from yourdomain.com to www.yourdomain.com. Now things get more complicated when you redirect all your traffic from HTTP to HTTPS. Now when the user requests yourdomain.com first redirect is yourdomain.com to https://yourdomain.com to www.https.yourdomain.com two redirects.
As redirect increases, it takes more time to load. To minimize the redirects. Use this recommended setting. Configure two things one at cloud flare and the second at your WordPress.
#09 Reduce Revisions of Posts
When you revise your post, WordPress keeps a copy of this post in the database. The purpose to store the copy of the revised post is to track changes. But there is a drawback to this functionality. When the database is filled with junk data it slows down.
So we need to configure WordPress.In such a way that copy of this revision deletes on a particular interval. You can do this by configuring the Lightspeed case plugin. In the plugin, there is an option for database optimization.
#10 Disable Pingbacks and Trackbacks
Many options in WordPress are built for good purposes, but people use them for bad purposes. Pingbacks and trackbacks are great feature features. When it is enabled a notification is triggered to the linked articles. And if someone links your articles then you get a notification when they update their article.
Spammers. Use this to send multiple relevant comments. These comments are stored in a database. And as the database is filled with junk it slows down. To prevent this, it is recommended to disable Pingbacks and trackbacks features in WordPress settings.
#11 Use CDN
CDN or content delivery networks keep a copy of your content on their server. Whenever any user sends a request for the content. The nearest server of the network serves the copy.
When you use CDN all your images and static file are served from a different server. This saves the resources of your server. There are many popular CDN Available in the market. I use free CDN by Jetpack.
To enable this, go to the performance tab of Jetpack and enable three toggle buttons.
#12 Enable Browser Cache
Enabling the browser cache is one of the best ways to save your server resources. When it is enabled.Audience browser.The content in the browser history.Therefore.When the audience visits the page again.Content or served from the browser history.
To enable browser cache to go to the settings menu of LightSpeedcache. The option is available under the browser cache.
#13 Enable Object Cache
Object cache stores the copy of your pages and posts. When a user requests these pages or posts. The copy is served. It saves the resources of the database.
To enable object cache go to the settings of the LightSpeed cache plugin. Under cache, there is an object cache option. Enable two toggle buttons.
#14 Choose a Lightweight Theme
A lightweight theme saves resources. This helps to load the website faster. Choose a lightweight theme like GeneratePress for your blog or website.
Here are the test results. GeneratePress is tested with basic installation and with sample content in GTmetrix.
#15 Enable Early Hints
an Early hint is a Cloudflare option. When you enable this option Cloudflare sends 103 early hint codes to the reader’s browser. It helps the browser to detect that the page exists.
This help to increase page load time.
#16 Don’t Upload Multimedia Directly on WordPress
To add videos to your article use platforms like YouTube. Upload your videos to YouTube and embed them in your article. This saves your valuable resources and increases page load time.
#17 Reduce External HTTP Requests
When you use many external resources make multiple requests. Which consumes server resources. To minimize external HTTP requests combine CSS and JS.
This option is available in the LightSpeed cache plugin under page optimization.
#18 Use the Latest Versions of PHP
WordPress is built on PHP. It releases updated versions every year. With each new release PHP optimize itself.
To make your website fast it is very important to update PHP versions. To update the PHP version go to Hostinger or whatever hosting you are using and check the latest PHP version.
#19 Enable GZIP Compression
Gzip compression helps to minimize the utilization of server resources. When a reader requests an article from the web server. It sends compressed information to the browser.
To enable gzip compression copy this code to your .htaccess file.
#20 Choose OpenLiteSpeed over Apache or Nginx
OpenLightSpeed is one of the fastest web servers compared to Apache or Nginx. A hosting service provider like Hostinger uses open light speed. To make your website fast choose a hosting service that provides OpenLightSpeed.
#21 Move to Dedicated Hosting
In shared hosting, multiple websites are hosted on the same server. In dedicated hosting, a single dedicated server is assigned to the user. In dedicated hosting, the performance of the Web server does not affect by others. If you need more speed on high-traffic websites then go for dedicated hosting.
#22 Choose a Good Hosting Provider
A good hosting service provider is very necessary for an up-and-running website. Choosing a hosting service provider that offers 99.99% uptime with 24/7 customer support for your WordPress website.
Server response time for a good hosting provider is always very minimum. The smaller server response maximizes website performance.
#23 Use Firewall at DNS Level
DNS-level firewalls are very important for high-traffic websites. If you install a firewall in your server then it consumes the resources of the same server. On the other hand, DNS-level firewalls do not require any resources from your local server. It helps to use all your resources for your audience.
#24 Host Your Website Nearest To The Audience
Hosting service providers provide many options to select a server location. If the majority of the audience of your website comes from a single country or area, try to select the location.
When your web content is served from the nearest location the network latency is much lower.
#25 Update regularly
To run a WordPress website, multiple plugins are used. These plugins often release updates that include optimization vulnerability fixes. Either set your configuration to accept updates automatically or check settings regularly and accept the updates manually.
Updating the website regularly makes it fast and protects it from vulnerabilities.
#26 Disable Hot Linking
If someone uses the image from your website using hot linking then the actual image is served from your server. It may increase your hosting cost. To prevent this hotlink go to your Cloudflare account. Under the scrape shield, you will find a toggle button to enable hotlink protection.
#27 Limit Plugin Usage
If you use multiple plugins in your WordPress, it may make it slow. So choose your plugins very carefully. Try to select those plugins which fulfill more than one requirement.
By limiting the usage of plugins you can make your website fast.
#28 Delay or Differ Load Javascript
When you insert an advertisement in your WordPress website multiple JavaScript is added. All these Java scripts are rendered blocking in nature. It makes your WordPress slow. To overcome this situation choose to delay or defer the JavaScript load.
This setting is available in the Lightspeed Cache plugin.
#29 Use Preconnect or Prefetch for Important Resources
Preconnect and Prefetch option helps to load your page faster. To enable these options, go to the HTML settings under the page optimization option of the Lightspeed cache plugin.
#30 Use Premium DNS
When you buy a domain from a domain registrar they provide initial DNS. These DNS are not premium in the category.
When a user requests your web page the DNS records declare the location of your web page. Premium DNS does the work more quickly.
You can use Cloudflare DNS which is an enterprise-class DNS service without any cost.
#31 Remove Expired Transients
Transients are one type of caching that WordPress stores. Transients are used for those data that are updated frequently. These transients are dumped in your database. That makes it slow.
To make your database faster and clear the expired transients use the settings available in the LightSpeed cache plugin. It will periodically check and delete the expired transients.
What Impacts WordPress website speed? (10 Mistakes)
WordPress is one of the most preferred tools for bloggers. Without any knowledge of programming a Blogger can set up a blog easily. To add different functionality to a blog or website, many plugins are settings available in WordPress.
The wrong setting impacts WordPress website speed.
Here I will discuss 10 common mistakes that a beginner makes.
#01 Hosting Environment
As the Blogger choosing the right hosting environment is very essential for a fast website. Multiple hosting providers are available today. While choosing the hosting provider, a few things should be considered. Price of time and support. These three things play a major role in setting up a WordPress blog.
Hostinger is one of the most used hosting providers for WordPress. Millions of bloggers believe in Hostinger, I also personally use Hostinger for all my blogs.
#02 Page Size
For a fast WordPress blog page size of any post should be less than 33 kilobytes. Page size depends on the theme that you choose. To maintain the recommended page size an optimized theme is required.
Generate press is one of the most optimized themes for WordPress. It uses only 24 kilobytes after a full installation.
#03 Malware
Malware can make your WordPress website slow. To prevent malware Hostinger provides a free malware scanner tool.
To use the malware scanner on your website, go to the security menu of your Hostinger hosting panel.
#04 Too Many Plugins
Too many plugins can make your WordPress websites very slow. You can use only two plugins that have all the required options and functionality for a professional blog. These plugins are jetpack and Lightspeed cache.
#05 Unoptimized Plugins and Themes
Unoptimized plugins and themes may slow down your WordPress website. Choose only those plugins and themes that are updated regularly. Also, consider those plugins and themes that most bloggers believe.
#06 Outdated Core, Plugins, and Themes
WordPress core, plugins, and theme authors publish updates regularly. Install these updates in your WordPress on regular basis to make it fast and vulnerability free.
#07 Unused CSS and Js
Unused CSS and JS make your WordPress slow. Uninstall all those plugins that you are not using. With this, you can get rid of unused CSS and JS. Using the Google page speed tool you can detect all those unused CSS and JS that are causing problems to your WordPress website.
#08 Ads and Pop-Up
Ads and popups can make your WordPress slow. Ads and pop up use JavaScript to load. Either use fewer ads and pop up in your WordPress or use delay or defer in LightSpeed cache settings.
By doing this you can make your website fast without deleting ads and popups.
#09 Not Optimizing Image
Unoptimized images take up more space in your server. This higher size uses more network resources. Optimize Before uploading any images to your WordPress.
There are many tools like Xconvert available that can optimize your images.
#10 Not Using CDN
If you serve your images from your server then it will slow down your WordPress website. Choose a CDN that can deliver your images outside of your server.
I use Jetpack which provides me with free CDN services.
How do I speed up WordPress without plugins? (13 Tips)
Without plugins, you can speed up your WordPress website. Yes, that is possible.
I will give you 13 advanced tips to make your WordPress fast.
#01 Compress Image Before Upload
After creating your infographic compress it using any online tool like Xconvert. This will help you to save your bandwidth.
#02 Minify CSS and Js in Cloudflare
In your cloud flare settings, minify CSS and JavaScript. This will also help you to save bandwidth.
#03 Enable Browser Caching in .htaccess File
Posting panel, go to the file manager in your hosting panel and modify the .htacces file. Enable browser cache. This will allow your reader’s browser to store a copy of the content. When your reader visits your content again, it will be directly served by his browser.
#04 Enable mod_deflate in .htaccess File
Enable gzip compression. To enable it, go to your hosting panel and modify the .htaccess file. This will save your bandwidth a lot.
#05 Remove Query Strings
To remove query strings, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and you will get rid of query strings.
#06 Remove RSD Links
To remove RSD, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and you will get rid of RSD links.
#07 Disable Emoticons
To disable emoticons, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and you will get rid of emoticons.
#08 Remove Short Links
To disable short links, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and you will get rid of short links.
#09 Disable Embeds
To disable embeds, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and you will get rid of embeds.
#10 Disable Self Pingback
To disable self-Pingback go to the writing section in WordPress settings. Uncheck the box.
#11 Disable Heartbeat
To disable Heartbeat, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and it will stop detecting Heartbeat.
#12 Disable Dashicons on Front-end
To disable Dashicons, go to the functions dot PHP file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and it will stop showing Dashicons on the front end.
#13 Limit Post Revisions
To disable post revisions, go to the wpconfig.php file of your currently active theme. You can modify it using the theme editor. Add these codes and it will limit post-revisions.
How to Increase WordPress Website Speed With Free Plugins?
Many plugins are available for WordPress to speed up. Most of these plugins are either paid or lack functionality.
I will suggest you two plugins Jetpack and Lightspeed cache. Both plugins are free and update frequently.
Total time: 2 minutes
#01 Jetpack
The Jetpack plugin can do many things for you. To make your word press fast use the CDN that jetpacks offer free.
I have already explained how to use Jetpack CDN for your WordPress site.
#02 LiteSpeed Cache
Light Speed cache plugin is one of the great plugins for WordPress. There are multiple options to make WordPress fast. Some of the options are minimized CSS and JS options. In this article, I have already explained how to use the Lightspeed Cache plugin for your WordPress site.
Do plugins make WordPress slow?
Each plugin comes with CSS, JS, and functionality. More CSS and JS means more load to your server and more functionality overloads the core of your word press.
You can check this by testing your web page with Google page speed. It is always recommended to use the least number of plugins.
Here is the list of plugins that I use for my blogs. With these plugins, I can do almost all the things that I need on my WordPress site.
Will deleting some plugins increase the website loading speed on WordPress?
If you have installed many plugins then you may increase your WordPress website speed by deleting some of these. And deleting some plugins may break your page or hamper your functionality. After deleting thoroughly check your website. So that your user doesn’t feel dissatisfied with the functionality.
How to test WordPress website speed?
To test your WordPress website speed, you can use the Google page speed insight tool. This tool can scan your whole web page and give you inputs that you can improve.
You can also use Google Chrome. There is an option, Lighthouse that can test your website for mobile and desktop environments.
Connect your WordPress website with the Google Search console. In the Core Web Vital section you will get many insights regarding your web page performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Even with all this above information, I know you have many questions. It is not possible for me to answer all these questions, but I have selected a few questions that are frequently asked.
Q: How to make a PDF load faster on a WordPress website?
To load your PDF faster on a WordPress website use CDN. I have mentioned Jetpack CDN in this article but Jetpack CDN does not support PDF. So you can use other CDNs that support PDFs also.
Before uploading a PDF to your WordPress website, compress it. It will free up space and less bandwidth will be used. This will also help you to load PDFs faster.
Q: Is it possible to get 100% of the speed of a WordPress website?
It is possible to achieve 100%.Score in Page speed for a WordPress site. To maintain a 100% score in Page speed we have to cut off all the plugins that are necessary for the functionality. But this should not be your goal. You should maintain a balanced approach. Make your website faster. But keep users in mind, they should be satisfied.
Q: If I remove unusual tags from my WordPress site then how does it affect the performance of my site?
Removal of unnecessary tags in the WordPress site is recommended to make it fast. In this article, I have already explained how to remove unnecessary tags through plugins or without plugins.
Q: How to increase the speed of a WordPress website without removing plugins?
To increase the speed of your WordPress website without removing plugins, you can do many changes. Like limit page revisions. Minimize CSS and JS. Remove unnecessary headers. In this article, I have explained this in detail.
Conclusion
The speed of a WordPress website is very important for better ranking and user experience. Many paid and free plugins are available in the market to make your WordPress website fast. Use these plugins and test your website thoroughly after each and every change. Besides speed writing, good content is also very important for a blog. Audiences may prefer to visit a slow website that has good content. But ordinary content websites will not be preferable to the audience however it is fast.
Kingsuk Nandi
Kingsuk Nandi Founder of Right SEO Tips
Hi there, welcome to Right SEO Tips – where we discuss the most effective SEO tips. I am really glad, you are here!
I am Kingsuk Nandi, a professional blogger, and developer. My goal is to share my experiences with SEO and Blogging.