Slow websites are painful — and not just when you’re waiting for that recipe to load while balancing a boiling pot and a hungry toddler.
If you own a WordPress site or are in charge of managing one, a slow website can be painful to your goals. Visitors will get tired of waiting for pages to load, and leave your site without making a purchase or inquiry, and they may not come back to give you a second chance.
But if you’re tired of poor performance, it’s not all gloom and doom. You don’t need to be an expert in web development to make your WordPress website run faster. You don’t need hours of extra time or a huge budget approval from management.
There are plenty of optimization strategies that are easy to implement and highly effective! And, in many cases, you can install a WordPress plugin to do most of the work.
Below, we’ll take a look at the main causes of slow WordPress websites and discuss the importance of prioritizing page speed for mobile visitors. Then, we’ll show you how to measure your WordPress site speed and walk you through a 22-step guide to improve it.
Common causes of slow WordPress site speed
There are many reasons why a WordPress website may be slow. Sometimes, it’s simply an internet issue or a bad connection.
But the problem could also stem from the website itself. Some common causes of slow load times include:
- A low-quality hosting service
- Having too many WordPress plugins on your site
- Images that are not optimized
- A bloated theme or plugin
Sometimes, it’s a combination of several factors, like large image files and a busy server. Fortunately, most website speed testing tools can help you identify the main cause. This way, you can take the necessary steps to speed up your WordPress site.
Why you need to prioritize mobile site speed
When working on your site’s performance, it’s important to remember that the majority of people visit your pages on their mobile phones. In fact, over 60 percent of global internet users browse the web on a mobile device.
Search engines have a vested interest in sending their visitors to reliable websites, so they keep close tabs on performance issues. According to Google, the average mobile web page takes 8.6 seconds to load. But if you want to be successful, you’ll want the mobile version of your WordPress site to load much faster than that.
Research by Google shows that the bounce rate increases by 32 percent as page load time goes from one to three seconds. This means that lots of people who visit your site using a mobile phone will leave if it takes longer than that to load.
Prioritizing mobile site speed is even more important if you have an online store. In 2023, mobile ecommerce sales made up 60 percent of all online purchases worldwide. This shows that more and more people are using their mobile phones to get shopping done.
With this in mind, you’ll want to make sure that your mobile site offers a seamless shopping experience. Ideally, your product pages should load in under three seconds, even if they contain lots of images.
Likewise, if you have a blog or a business site, you’ll want to provide a smooth user experience for mobile visitors. If your posts or pages take a long time to load, many visitors will likely leave your site without checking out your content. This can lead to a decline in views, clicks, sales, and form submissions.
Begin by benchmarking your site
Before you start working on optimizing your site, you’ll want to establish a benchmark for how it’s currently performing. That means running a website page speed test.
This is useful because it gives you a clear indication of how much work your site needs. And it can also help you measure your progress as you complete the work.
There are several tools you can use, including GTMetrix. This combines results from two other speed test tools: YSlow and Google PageSpeed Insights.
After you enter your URL, GTMetrix will run a test and provide a performance report with an overall grade.
It also shows you how long it takes your site to fully load, the total page size and requests, and other essential details.
You’ll want to make a copy of this report or note down any key metrics. This way, when you run the test again after implementing the steps in this guide, you’ll be able to see the difference in the results.
How to improve site speed on WordPress (22 steps)
Now that you know how to measure your page speed, let’s look at the most effective way to improve it. Here’s a 22-step guide to a faster website:
1. Choose a fast SSD hosting provider
As mentioned earlier, your hosting provider could be the reason your site is slow. This scenario is more likely if you opted for an entry-level plan. If that’s the case, it might be time to upgrade to a more advanced plan or switch hosts altogether.
To set your site up for optimal loading times, you should look for a company that offers fast SSD hosting. SSD stands for “solid-state drive” (where “drive” is a shortening of “disk drive”).
Solid-state disk drives tend to be more reliable than hard disk drives (HDD). Plus, SSD hosting offers lower latency. That means it can deliver your content to visitors more quickly.
Most reputable web hosts offer SSD hosting. Still, you’ll want to take your time shopping around, so you can find a plan that suits your needs and budget.
2. Use the latest PHP version
PHP is one of the programming languages that WordPress is built on. The developers often release newer versions of PHP to make the software run faster and improve performance.
If your WordPress site is running on an older version of PHP, you might experience slow load times. You can check to see which version it’s using by navigating in your WordPress dashboard to Tools → Site Health → Info and selecting the Server tab.
WordPress recommends using version 7.4 or higher. At the time of writing, the latest version is 8.2.
It’s also important to note that many hosting providers will automatically update your site to the most recent PHP version. Some will even let you switch versions from your hosting account, which means it’s a quick way to possibly speed up WordPress.
3. Use a lightweight theme
Next, you’ll want to make sure you’re using a lightweight theme. While complex WordPress themes with lots of features and tools may seem like the best choice to make your site stand out, they can slow things down unnecessarily.
Ideally, you’ll want to select a block theme, which enables you to use the WordPress Site Editor.
As you may already know, the Site Editor lets you customize your theme and build layouts with blocks. This way, you won’t need to use a theme that comes with a lot of extra features and custom widgets — you can simply use the elements that are already available in WordPress.
As such, you can reduce the number of unused design elements and features on your site. This will keep your pages lightweight, leading to faster loading times.
4. Install a speed optimization plugin
Using a speed optimization plugin can help you automate crucial tasks, like deferring non-essential scripts. Jetpack Boost is a free tool that enables you to enhance your site’s performance with minimal technical knowledge.
It also gives you a performance score across mobile and desktop devices.
With Jetpack Boost, you get access to several useful features, including lazy loading and CSS optimization. We’ll take a closer look at these strategies (and how to implement them) later in the guide.
5. Install a WordPress caching plugin
Additionally, you’ll want to install a WordPress caching plugin. Caching is the process of storing static versions of your pages in a visitor’s browser.
When they revisit your site, the browser can serve the stored content. This way, it won’t have to request the information from the web server again, helping your site load faster. You can use a plugin like WP Super Cache to implement this on your WordPress website.
This free WordPress plugin will automatically serve cached files of your website. Once you install and activate it, navigate to Settings → WP Super Cache. Then, go to the Easy tab, select Caching On, and click on Update Status.
If you go to the Advanced tab, you can configure more settings. For instance, you might choose to enable caching for all visitors or disable it for logged-in WordPress users. For optimal performance, you’ll want to select the recommended settings.
6. Use a content delivery network
A content delivery network (CDN) is a group of servers distributed across the globe. When someone visits your website, the content is delivered to them from the server that’s closest to their geographical location. This helps reduce latency, resulting in faster loading times.
Jetpack Boost comes with a WordPress CDN. To enable it, go to Jetpack → Settings and select Performance. Then, scroll down to Performance & speed and toggle the switch for Enable site accelerator.
Now, Jetpack will automatically serve your images and static files from its global network of servers.
7. Avoid hosting videos directly
Videos can make your website more engaging, but every video file you upload to WordPress will add more weight to your site.
The best solution is to host your videos on a third-party platform and then embed them into your site. Jetpack VideoPress lets you host your videos on world-class WordPress.com servers, rather than your own.
VideoPress uses a global CDN, so your videos will load quickly for your visitors, no matter their location. Plus, you can easily manage all your videos from a centralized dashboard.
8. Compress and optimize your images
Like videos, images can put pressure on your loading times, especially if they’re not optimized. So, if you have a media-heavy website, you’ll want to compress your images to reduce their impact on WordPress performance.
Jetpack CDN has a built-in image compression tool that uses Photon technology to optimize images. It first re-encodes each image to a lighter format, then optimizes it based on the specific device and screen size a visitor is using.
The best part? Setup is super simple and the tool is completely free. Don’t sleep on image optimization — it can go a long way towards improving WordPress site performance.
9. Implement lazy loading
When you implement lazy loading, your images will load as a website visitor scrolls down the page. For instance, if you have a photo of your latest team-building event, that image will only load once the visitor arrives at that specific point on the page.
Lazy loading can therefore help improve site speed, as the browser doesn’t have to request all images at once. WordPress has this feature built in and enabled by default, but if you want more granular control, you can use a plugin or turn on lazy loading manually.
Jetpack Boost, for example, includes lazy loading. After installing the tool, simply go to Jetpack → Settings → Performance, and toggle the switch for Enable Lazy Loading for images.
That’s it — your site should now offer a smoother user experience.
10. Optimize CSS loading
Cascading Style Sheets, or CSS, is the scripting language that determines the styling of your page. The browser must download CSS files before it can show the page to a site visitor. If these files are too big, it will take noticeably longer for the page to load.
You can accelerate the process by generating critical CSS, which prioritizes the most important CSS files. This way, the browser won’t get stuck loading unnecessary CSS before displaying content.
Jetpack Boost automates the process for you. All you have to do is enable the settings for Automatically Optimize CSS Loading.
Now, Jetpack Boost will automatically optimize your CSS loading every time you make HTML or CSS changes to your site.
11. Defer Non‑Essential JavaScript
Another effective way to improve your WordPress site speed is to defer non-essential JavaScript. Essentially, this means delaying the loading of unimportant scripts.
Once again, you can simply enable this setting in Jetpack Boost.
Non-essential JavaScript is a render-blocking resource, as it acts as an obstacle in the rendering of your content. By deferring it until after the page has loaded, you can help reduce the pressure on the server and thus improve load times.
12. Reduce DNS lookup time
DNS stands for domain name system (DNS) and it’s a directory that contains a record of all domains and their corresponding IP addresses. For example, your domain might be something like Jetpack.com, and its IP address could be something like 12.345.678.9.
DNS lookup is the process of translating a domain name into an IP address. When an internet user enters your site’s URL in the browser, the browser will run a request to a DNS resolver to get the IP address. Without this, it won’t be able to display your site.
Typically, this process only takes a fraction of a second, but in some cases, it might take more time. You can use a tool like DNS Speed Benchmark to measure your website’s DNS lookup time.
You can reduce your DNS lookup time by using a CDN, ideally one that can prefetch DNS lookup results. With DNS prefetching, DNS lookups are prioritized, then cached so that it loads faster when a visitor returns to the website.
If you’ve enabled Jetpack CDN (as shown in step 6), you’re already covered. This comes with DNS prefetching to help speed up your site.
13. Preload key requests
When you preload key requests, you’re instructing the browser to download all essential files first. Typically, these consist of web fonts, CSS, and JavaScript.
To preload requests with fonts in WordPress, you can simply copy and paste this code into the <head> section of your page:
<head>
<!-- ... -->
<link rel="preload" href="/assets/Font-Name.woff2" as="font" type="font/woff2" crossorigin>
</head>
If you want to preload CSS, you’d add this code to the <head> section of your page (while remembering to substitute “styles.css” for the name of the stylesheet):
</head>
<link rel="preload" href="styles.css" as="style" />
</head>These are just two of many options, however. Read our guide on preloading key requests in WordPress for more, actionable tips!
14. Compress files with GZIP
As you may already know, GZIP is a file format that’s used to compress files and make them smaller. When you enable GZIP compression on your WordPress site, you can facilitate faster content delivery as there is less data involved.
This is where WP Super Cache comes in handy again. This plugin offers a setting that will compress all pages on your site to speed up WordPress.
Go to Settings → WP Super Cache → Advanced, and just check the box for Compress pages, so they’re served more quickly to visitors. (Recommended).
Then, click on Update Status.
15. Optimize your WordPress Heartbeat API
The WordPress Heartbeat API is a feature that enables the browser to communicate with the web server when you’re logged into the dashboard. It can save drafts automatically, show you that another author is currently editing a post, and handle other tasks in the admin panel.
While Heartbeat is a useful feature, it may lead to slower loading times. If it checks your post every 15 seconds, that means a request is sent to the server every 15 seconds.
You can increase this interval to reduce the number of requests. To do this, you’ll need to add the following code to your functions.php file:
<?php
// Limit WordPress Heartbeat API to 60 seconds
add_filter('heartbeat_settings', 'limit_heartbeat_interval');
function limit_heartbeat_interval($settings) {
$settings['interval'] = 60; // Set the interval in seconds
return $settings;
}
?>You can replace “60” with any other value you want.
Also, keep in mind that editing your site’s files can be a delicate task, so you should only attempt it if you’re comfortable with coding. And, if you do try out this method, you should always back up your WordPress site beforehand, using a tool like Jetpack VaultPress Backup.
16. Keep WordPress updated (turn on automatic updates)
WordPress regularly releases updates that contain enhancements and bug fixes. That’s why it’s important to check your WordPress dashboard to see if there’s a new version available, and if there is, update your site.
Additionally, you’ll want to run any available updates for the plugins and themes on your site. Running your WordPress website using the latest software versions is better for security and performance.
If you’re too busy to keep tabs on your WordPress plugins, you can enable automatic updates. All you have to do is go to Plugins → Install Plugins and click on Enable auto-updates for each plugin.
Now, your plugins will automatically update to the latest release. Note that, while the WordPress software updates automatically with minor releases, you’ll need to initiate the update manually when there’s a major release.
17. Disable unused plugins
Plugins add more functionality to your site, but they can also add weight. The more tools you have on your site, the higher the chances of experiencing slow loading times.
So, if there are any plugins that you no longer need, you can go ahead and disable them. It’s also a good idea to delete them from your site. Simply click on Deactivate, then select Delete.
18. Limit or disable post revisions
Every time you save a post, it stores a copy, which is called a “post revision”. That means if you save a post 50 times, you’ll have 50 separate revisions of that post. These revisions will take up storage space on your website, contributing to slower loading times.
If you want to disable post revisions, you’ll need to add the following line of code to your wp-config.php file (before the line that says, “That’s all, stop editing!”):
define ('WP_POST_REVISIONS', false);Alternatively, you could limit the number of revisions per post. To do this, simply add the following code to the wp-config.php file:
define( 'WP_POST_REVISIONS', 3 );You can replace “3” with any number you want. When you’re ready, save and close the file.
19. Clean up and optimize your database
Your WordPress database contains essential information, including comments, posts, page content, and revisions. As you can imagine, this database will get larger as your site grows, which can have a negative impact on your loading times.
The good news is you can use a plugin like WP-Optimize to clean up your WordPress database. Once you install and activate it on your site, go to WP-Optimize → Database → Optimizations. Then, look for Optimize database tables and hit Run optimization.
You can also use this plugin to delete all post revisions, trashed posts and comments, spam, and more.
20. Clean up your media library
As mentioned earlier, images can take up a lot of space on your site and lead to slower loading times. Therefore, you’ll occasionally want to go through your WordPress media library and delete any unused or unoptimized photos. In a sense, this is a part of image optimization because it makes your entire media process more efficient.
In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Media → Library. Then, click on Bulk select and start selecting the photos you want to delete.
When you’re ready, click on Delete permanently.
21. Be careful when using a slider
Sliders may look nice on your page, but they can be harmful to the user experience. They might slow down your site, and they don’t always look good on mobile devices.
Therefore, if you’re using a slider on your site, take some time to consider alternatives that might work better. For example, you could use a gallery or a hero image to highlight important graphics or information.
22. Use a lightweight social sharing plugin
If you have an active blog, you probably use a social sharing plugin to distribute your content on other channels. Unfortunately, many of these WordPress plugins load lots of scripts, which can slow down your WordPress website.
The solution is to use a lightweight tool like Jetpack Social.
This plugin will automatically share your posts and products to your connected social media pages. You can even schedule your social posts, customize photos with the plugin’s social image generator, and more.
Frequently asked questions
Improving website speed is a popular topic of conversation in the WordPress community. Why? Because it’s critically important for meeting the goals of any site. Below are some of the most common questions.
Why is site speed important for WordPress websites?
Data from Google shows that many users exit a page if it takes longer than three seconds to load. This could translate into lost sales and conversions. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure that your pages load quickly and provide a smooth user experience.
Why is mobile speed even more important?
The majority of internet users browse the web from their mobile phones. This means that a large portion of your visitors will be viewing your pages from this type of device.
Your mobile site should therefore be optimized for smaller screens. This will help it load quicker on mobile devices, which can lead to higher conversion rates and a better user experience.
What is the easiest way to speed up a WordPress site?
The easiest and most effective way to speed up your WordPress site is to use a speed optimization plugin paired with a caching tool. This will enable you to automate important tasks like deferring non-essential scripts, optimizing CSS, and storing static copies of your pages.
Are there any free plugins to improve site speed on WordPress?
Yes, Jetpack Boost is a comprehensive optimization plugin that offers a lot of handy features, including lazy loading and a content delivery network. There’s also WP Super Cache, a free caching plugin that serves static HTML versions of your content.
How can I measure the current speed of my WordPress site?
You can check your current page speed by running a test with a tool like GTMetrix. All you have to do is enter your URL, and GTMetrix will analyze your site and generate a report. This will include key metrics like the time it takes for your site to fully load.
How does slow site speed impact user experience?
If your website is slow, visitors will need to wait more than a few seconds until they can interact with your page. This can cause them to abandon your site altogether. For instance, if a checkout page takes a long time to load after a potential customer clicks on the ‘buy now’ button, it could completely derail the sale.
What factors contribute to slow site speed on mobile and desktop?
There are many things that can cause slow loading times. These factors include large image files, heavily-coded WordPress themes and plugins, and a poor hosting service. Having too many plugins on your site can also slow it down.
What type of theme should I prioritize to improve my site speed?
Ideally, you’ll want to use a block theme. This type of theme makes use of native WordPress blocks, minimizing the number of additional features. Therefore, block themes tend to be lightweight as they don’t contain heavily coded elements.
What is caching, and how can it improve WordPress site speed?
Caching is the process of storing copies of your pages in the visitor’s browser. This way, when they revisit your site, their browser won’t need to fetch the content from the server again.
Instead, the browser will serve the previously cached copies. This means your site will be delivered more quickly, as parts of it are stored in the visitor’s browser.
Does the choice of a hosting provider really affect site speed?
Yes, your hosting service could have an impact on your page speed. If you opt for a basic shared hosting plan, the web server that your site is hosted on might have limited resources, which could lead to slow loading times. Ideally, you’ll want to choose a web host that offers fast SSD hosting.
How can I prioritize mobile site speed over desktop for my WordPress site?
You can prioritize mobile site speed by removing any elements that add bloat, like sliders, videos, and unoptimized images. The mobile version of your WordPress site should have a clean and simple layout, and it should contain the most important content only.
Jetpack Boost: The easiest speed optimization plugin for WordPress
Slow loading times can frustrate your site visitors, prompting them to exit a page without making a purchase or engaging with your content. While every website is different, there are several optimization measures that almost anyone can use to speed up WordPress sites.
For starters, you’ll want to use a lightweight theme and remove any unused plugins on your site. Additionally, you can install a caching plugin like WP Super Cache to deliver your content faster. If you have a lot of images or videos on your site, it’s best to compress them or host them on a third-party platform.
Jetpack Boost comes with most of the features you need to speed up your WordPress site. These include optimized CSS loading, a CDN, and lazy loading. Get started today!
Jetpack 