WordPress Speed Optimization Guide: How to Improve Your Website Performance?

WordPress is the most popular content management system used by millions of websites worldwide. However, many users of WordPress complain about its web rage. This problem affects not only the performance of your site, but also different areas such as Paid Advertising and SEO. In this article, we will discuss what you can do to speed up your WordPress website.

Testing Website’s Speed

The first step before making the necessary optimizations to your website is to conduct a WordPress speed test. Google’s test tool, PageSpeed Insights, is the most widely used speed testing tool. Additionally, GTmetrix and Pingdom Speed Test are also commonly used speed testing tools. By using these tools, you can identify what is slowing down your website or which sections can be optimized. Afterwards, you can decide what optimizations to speed up WordPress website.

Choosing a Fast and Reliable Hosting Provider

The choice of web hosting is one of the most important factors affecting website speed. If you choose a faster and more reliable hosting provider, you can get very good speed results on your website with minimal optimization. The choice of a reliable hosting provider depends on how quickly your hosting provider responds to any hosting-related issues you may encounter and how optimal their solutions are.

Using the Latest Version of PHP

WordPress is a PHP-based content management system, so updating your PHP version can affect your website speed. Additionally, the latest PHP version can provide a faster and more reliable site experience. WordPress recommends at least PHP version 7.4 for a website.

Choosing a Optimized Theme for Speed

Your WordPress theme should be chosen with consideration for the areas you may update or add to your website later on. Additionally, you should consider any potential speed decreases and optimization processes when adding new areas to your website. Themes with fewer styles and scripts should be preferred, as they provide faster websites with less dependency, even with more areas added.

Not Hosting Audio or Video Files in WordPress

Audio and video files take up more space compared to images. Therefore, it is more appropriate to use free video hosting sites rather than hosting these files in WordPress. By doing so, you can avoid slowing down your website with videos pulled from your preferred hosting platform.

Optimizing Images

Images are prevalent on many sections of our websites, which can impact website speed depending on the amount of visual space. Optimizing images on your website is a crucial step in boosting website speed.

Using Gzip Compression

Gzip compression is a method of compressing website files to improve site speed WordPress. Large website file sizes can slow down your website, but WordPress supports gzip compression, and many hosting providers automatically optimize gzip compression.

Optimizing Database

Your website database is where all your data is stored in WordPress. The more data stored, the slower your website may be. Optimizing your database can help to speed up your website. Popular database optimization plugins include WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, and WP Rocket.

Keeping WordPress Version and Plugins Up to Date

Keeping your WordPress version and all the plugins on your website up to date is important for both the security and speed of your website. New updates come with faster website performance and new features that can be added to your website. Therefore, it is recommended to keep your WordPress version and all plugins up to date.

Using CDN

CDN stores your website’s files and data on a network, allowing data to be transferred from the nearest location to you. This will significantly contribute to website speed. Some of the most commonly used CDN tools include Cloudflare, MaxCDN, and Amazon CloudFront.

Using Lazy Load

Lazy Load delays the loading of images on your website, thereby speeding up your website’s loading time. As users scroll to the section they want to view, the images are gradually loaded. This way, your website will load faster. This feature is built into some themes or plugins. If your theme does not have this feature, you can use a plugin that enables the Lazy Load feature.

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In our WordPress Speed Optimization guide, we mentioned how to improve your website’s performance. As a result, we have seen that website speed significantly affects User Experience (UX) and your website’s rankings on search engines. Therefore, shared tips can provide you with effective ways to increase the speed of your website. Applying these tips will help your website load faster and provide a better User Experience.

Additionally, you should take steps such as regularly testing your website, choosing a fast and reliable hosting provider, and removing unnecessary themes and plugins to ensure the security of your website. Remember, a fast website increases user satisfaction and is an important factor in the success of your business. Contact us today to boost your website’s speed and overall performance!