Speeding up your WordPress site

There are many guides about speeding up wordpress sites. I have distilled it all in to 3 simple steps.

  • Get a fast web host with a Litespeed webserver. No matter what you do with your site, if your host is slow, your site will be too.
  • Get a good cache plugin. Databases are slow, so caching and serving a static page is much faster.
  • Convert images to webp format. You can use this free plugin for it.

By doing those 3 things, you can get your website super fast on the page speed insights.

View the current page speed insights

Longer Version

Speeding up your WordPress website can significantly improve user experience and search engine rankings. Here are some steps you can take to speed up your site using hosting and caching plugins:

  1. Choose a high-quality hosting provider: A good hosting provider is the foundation of a fast WordPress site. Choose a reputable hosting provider that specializes in WordPress, offers fast servers, and provides excellent support. Some popular hosting providers include SiteGround, Kinsta, and WP Engine.
  2. Use a caching plugin: A caching plugin stores the static version of your site’s content, reducing the number of requests and database queries needed to serve your content to users. Some popular caching plugins for WordPress include:a. WP Rocket: A premium caching plugin that offers user-friendly features, easy setup, and great performance. b. W3 Total Cache: A popular free caching plugin with a wide range of features and customization options. c. WP Super Cache: Another free caching plugin that’s simple to set up and offers good performance.
  3. Optimize your images: Compressing and resizing your images can significantly reduce their file size, leading to faster page load times. You can use plugins like ShortPixel, Imagify, or Smush for image optimization.
  4. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN serves your website’s files from servers distributed around the world, ensuring faster load times for users regardless of their location. Some popular CDN providers include Cloudflare, Fastly, and KeyCDN.
  5. Minify and concatenate CSS and JavaScript files: Minifying and combining your CSS and JavaScript files reduces their size and the number of HTTP requests needed to load your site. Many caching plugins, like WP Rocket and W3 Total Cache, have built-in features for this.
  6. Use a lightweight theme: Choose a lightweight and well-optimized theme to reduce the amount of unnecessary code and assets. Some popular lightweight themes include Astra, GeneratePress, and OceanWP.
  7. Optimize your database: Regularly clean up your database by removing unnecessary data, such as post revisions, spam comments, and expired transients. You can use plugins like WP-Optimize or WP-Sweep to automate this process.
  8. Limit the number of plugins: Only use essential plugins, as too many plugins can slow down your site. Keep your plugins up-to-date and delete any that you’re not using.
  9. Enable GZIP compression: GZIP compression reduces the size of your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files before they are sent to the user’s browser. Most caching plugins include GZIP compression options.
  10. Lazy load images and videos: With lazy loading, media files only load when they are visible to users, which speeds up initial page load times. Many caching plugins, like WP Rocket, offer built-in lazy load features.

By following these steps and using hosting and caching plugins effectively, you can significantly improve the speed and performance of your WordPress website.