How To Improve WordPress Site Speed: 12+ Proven Techniques

A] Why is Regular Optimisation of WordPress Website Needed?

Website speed is a new ranking signal, propelling website owners to take necessary actions to match new set standards by search engines. Other than that, slow website speed heavily hampers user experience, resulting in a high bounce rate. It frustrates users and springs them to press the back button. Regular WordPress speed optimisation is the only way to keep your website up to mark in terms of website speed. So, it is vitally important to make your WordPress website faster with the help of website optimisation techniques illustrated below.

B] WordPress Speed Optimisation: Exploring 12+ Proven Techniques

1. Choosing a Powerful Hosting

The capacity of your hosting majorly decides the speed of your website. If your WordPress website is hosted on a low computing resource despite a high website size, be ready to face significant speed issues. Therefore, it is vital to choose a hosting that matches your current requirements and withstand any fluctuating needs. Majorly, 3 web hostings are there: Shared, VPS, and Dedicated. Shared web hosting is great for those just starting. Others are best fit for large and high-traffic websites.

2. Using a Lightweight yet Attractive Theme

The theme is another crucial factor that makes your website slow if it is not optimised properly. Unused codes and redundant design elements put extra load on the server, leading to content loading delay. High-quality images and attractive designs are great for user engagement, but they decrease your website speed. So, choose those themes that are lightweight yet attractive. Some of them are: GeneratePress, Astra, Neve, Hestia, and Kadence. Or, if it feels tedious, then opt for website optimisation services to optimise your existing theme up to the mark.

3. Updating to Latest WordPress Version

WordPress is a continuously evolving open-source CMS platform, known for fixing common bugs and embedding new features through frequent updates. Though updating to the latest version of WordPress doesn’t significantly improve your website speed, it notably helps you secure your website and keep performance intact. So, make sure to update your WordPress version whenever it arrives.

4. Deleting Unnecessary or Rarely Used Plugins

Plugins are just like mini-software ready to offer a variety of features just by installing and configuring them. But, if you are one of those who heavily rely on plugins for every small feature, be ready to compromise on your website speed. Because every plugin takes space in the database, leading to recurrent code execution on the server. So, to undo this redundant code execution, go through the installed plugins section and filter out the plugins that have not been used for a long time or are rarely used. Then, delete those plugins and check your website speed. It should have improved compared to before.

5. Reduce CSS and JavaScript File Sizes

Large CSS and JavaScript files slow down page loading speed by increasing the time it takes to render content. To improve speed, minify these files using tools like WP Rocket, Autoptimize, or Fast Velocity Minify. Minification removes unnecessary characters, spaces, and comments, reducing file size and optimising WordPress website speed. Additionally, consider combining multiple CSS and JavaScript files to minimise HTTP requests, leading to further performance optimisation. If it seems complex and extremely technical, you can hire a WordPress developer in India to delegate this task to an expert person without being heavy on pocket.

6. Connect to CDN Network

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) distributes your website’s static content across multiple global servers. This ensures that users load your website from the server closest to them, reducing latency and load times. Popular CDNs like Cloudflare, KeyCDN, and StackPath help WordPress website load faster by caching assets and improving server response times.

7. Always Optimise Image Before Uploading

High-resolution images drastically slow down page speed if not optimised properly. Before uploading images, use compression tools like TinyPNG, ShortPixel, or Smush to reduce file size without compromising quality. Additionally, opt for modern image formats such as WebP, which provides better compression than PNG and JPEG. Doing so allows you to optimise and accelerate your WordPress website and thus increase its speed.

8. Use Caching Plugin

Caching plugins significantly improve WordPress speed by storing static versions of your website and reducing the need for repeated database queries. Plugins like WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, and WP Super Cache help store frequently accessed data in their browser, improving loading times for returning visitors.

9. Give a Try to Lazy Load

Lazy loading defers the loading of images, videos, and iframes until they are needed, reducing initial page load time. This is particularly useful for websites with heavy media content. You can enable lazy loading using plugins like Lazy Load by WP Rocket or a3 Lazy Load. Give it a try!

10. Use the Latest PHP Version

PHP is the backbone of WordPress and each new version brings speed and security improvements. Running an outdated PHP version slows down your website and exposes it to vulnerabilities. Always update to the latest stable PHP version through your hosting control panel.

11. Limit External Script Addition

External scripts like font libraries, ads, and analytics tools add extra HTTP requests, which can slow down page speed. Limit the number of external scripts or use asynchronous loading to prevent them from blocking page rendering. Google Tag Manager can help manage and load only necessary scripts efficiently.

12. Limit Comments Per Page

If your blog receives a high volume of comments, displaying them all at once increases database queries and page size. Limiting the number of comments per page reduces the server load. You can adjust this setting in WordPress by following this path: Dashboard > Settings > Discussion > Break comments into pages.

13. Load JavaScript Deferred and Delay JavaScript Execution

JavaScript-heavy websites often face rendering delays. By deferring JavaScript loading, the browser prioritises rendering essential content before processing scripts. You can enable this using WP Rocket’s Defer JavaScript option or plugins like Async JavaScript to delay non-essential scripts and improve WordPress site performance.