WordPress is the most popular Content Management System (CMS) across the web world. From one-page websites to complex e-commerce websites, WordPress caters to one and all. The internet is full of WordPress websites, and users have too many of them to choose from. They are impatient also. If the page they try to open doesn’t load within 2-3 seconds, they will most likely close it. Page loading speed is a critical element in deciding the success of any WordPress website. So how do we ensure a good page loading speed for websites developed on WordPress? Here are some handy tips:

1. Select a premium, high-quality hosting plan

Selecting the right hosting plan is one of the first and the most crucial choices you have to make for your website. The web host is like a home for your website. It plays a significant role in determining the performance of your website and its page loading speed. It also determines how your website will handle high-traffic situations.

When a user comes to your website, your host’s server determines how quickly the information is passed on to them. It is a fact that some servers are simply slow. However, the plan that you choose might cap your maximum speed. Therefore, your site will never go faster than the permissible limits. All your other speed-enhancement efforts will go down the drain if you opt for a poor-quality hosting plan. It’s quintessential that you pick a hosting provider and plan that suits your requirements. 

2. Keep your WordPress software, plugins and themes updated

Today, we all are flooded with update notifications on our devices and systems. Due to the high number of update requests, we usually turn a blind eye towards most of the notifications. However, in the case of WordPress, you should always ensure that you regularly update all the aspects of your site as soon as possible. Be it the core updates for your WordPress installation or new versions of your WordPress theme or plugins. Update all of them regularly. 

Not only the new updates will ensure that your site is safe against potential threats, but it will also ensure that the WordPress website remains as fast as possible. Developers at WordPress are constantly improving the core software to be faster and better optimized. Installing regular updates will ensure that every aspect of WordPress is running at its best.

For example, each core update features improvements to how your site handles code and delivers content. The same goes true when updating plugins and the theme. You should also ensure that your site uses the latest version of PHP. This will considerably enhance the speed of your website. 

3. Use image optimization

Images or media files consume the maximum resources available for your website. Pictures and videos are a great way to enhance the look and feel of your website, but they also require a lot of server space and bandwidth; especially if your site contains high-quality images.

Large file sizes increase the page loading time and bandwidth usage, which hampers the overall user experience. Image optimization is a process that compresses the size of an image file without noticeably affecting its quality. The process can be fully automated and is easy to implement. It is better to optimize your images before uploading them. There are many free plugins and online tools which can quickly optimize your images.

4. Implement Caching 

Implementing caching to reduce the number of requests that your site handles is a smart way to speed up your website. When a website is accessed for the first time, a copy of all the requested files is temporarily saved on the server. These cached files are then showed the next time the site is visited. This makes sure that your site’s files need not be requested and loaded directly from the server every time somebody visits your site. By considerably cutting down on the resources required to run your site, caching can speed up your site.

Caching may sound technical, but on a WordPress website, it’s easy. There are plenty of free plugins that can be used for caching. One of the most popular caching plugins for WordPress is WP Super Cache. It’s effortless to configure through WP Super Cache and is completely free.

Allgood said, there’s one thing that you need to carefully consider while implementing caching. Caching displays a saved version of your site to visitors; therefore, there’s a risk of showing outdated information. The risk is higher when your website contains dynamic elements, like Twitter feeds or a shopping cart, which can also be affected by caching.

5. Only Use High-Quality Themes and Plugins

The importance of regularly updating WordPress software, themes and plugins have already been highlighted. However, it’s equally important to choose the right tools to start with. People believe that having a lot of plugins installed can slow down their site. That’s a big misconception. The number of plugins may not always matter, but their quality does. Security, SEO, and e-commerce related plugins require more resources as they add more code and functionality to your site. Therefore, it’s essential to research to select the plugins you wish to use. The plugins should not drain more resources than they require.

WordPress themes can also affect your site’s speed. Many themes market themselves as “optimized” or “quick loading” without being either of them. With an excess of unwanted functionality or requiring more files than usual to function, a lot of these themes can cause your site’s performance to suffer.

Must read on what website builder you should use

You must carefully research while choosing well-coded themes and high-quality plugins. Check user reviews and ratings, look at the developer’s update history, and test the themes on the latest WordPress version.
We all know how important it is to have a good page loading speed, and with these tips, you can ensure that your WordPress website achieves the required page load time. Want to know more? Talk to our experts now!