{"id":39841,"date":"2022-08-12T15:00:50","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T13:00:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/?p=39841"},"modified":"2022-08-12T09:23:36","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T07:23:36","slug":"how-to-speed-up-wordpress-website","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-speed-up-wordpress-website\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Speed Up Your WordPress Website &#8211; The Ultimate Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Loading speed is one of the key traits that will determine how well your website performs whatever purpose you put before it. Amazing visuals, top-notch copy, awesome design, and easy navigation can only do their magic if the visitor sticks around until the website loads, and few things are as effective at chasing visitors away as slow loading speeds are. This is one of the main reasons you should always be on the lookout for new and better ways to speed up your WordPress website.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]It\u2019s not only the visitors who dislike slow websites. Google\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-optimize-wordpress-website-for-google-core-web-vitals\/\">Core Web Vitals<\/a>, which affect your website\u2019s rankings with the search engine, include speed-related metrics. Speed issues can also be a signal there\u2019s a problem with your website. So even if you don\u2019t subscribe to the kaizen-like approach to web development that would have you consistently work on improving your website, loading speed will eventually cross your radar.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]When that happens, knowing all the different things you can tinker with to speed up your website can save you lots of time and trouble. In this article, we\u2019ll try to give you a comprehensive list of things you can do to speed up WordPress, or more precisely, your WordPress website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]To zero down on the issue that troubles your website, <strong>we\u2019d recommend that you run some diagnostics first<\/strong> \u2013 tools such as <a href=\"https:\/\/pagespeed.web.dev\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PageSpeed Insights<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/tools.pingdom.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Pingdom Website Speed Test<\/a> might be just what you need for the job. Also, you should <strong>keep in mind that we won\u2019t offer some of the more complex or drastic solutions to speed issues with your website<\/strong>. But if you\u2019re wondering <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-create-wordpress-static-site\/\">how to create a static website<\/a> and what are <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-static-site-generators\/\">the best tools to do it<\/a>, you\u2019ll be able to read up on it on our website. You might also want to check out our <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-maintenance\/\">website maintenance guide<\/a> \u2013 you just might find that regular maintenance saves you from having to troubleshoot website speed issues.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The things you can end up doing to rectify the speed issues with your website include:<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#host-and-hosting-plan\">Check Your Host and the Hosting Plan<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#plugins\">Mind the Plugins<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#different-wordpress-theme\">Opt for a Different WordPress Theme<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#out-of-date\">Update Out-of-Date Stuff<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#wordpress-settings\">Fine-Tune WordPress Settings<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#use-a-cdn\">Use a CDN<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#optimize-images\">Optimize Images<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#caching-plugin\">Use a Caching Plugin<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#lazy-loading\">Consider Lazy Loading<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#embrace-pagination\">Embrace Pagination \u2013 for Content and Comments Alike<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#large-media-files\">Don\u2019t Host Large Media Files<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#google-fonts\">Do Host Google Fonts Locally<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#database\">Optimize and Maintain Your Database<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#css-and-javascript\">Optimize CSS and JavaScript<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#number-of-revisions\">Limit the Number of Revisions<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;5px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"#gzip-compression\">Enable GZIP Compression<\/a><\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=&#8221;new-top-picks-banner&#8221;][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;80px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"host-and-hosting-plan\"><\/a>Check Your Host and the Hosting Plan<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Check-Your-Host-and-the-Hosting-Plan.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Check Your Host and the Hosting Plan\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Check-Your-Host-and-the-Hosting-Plan.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Check-Your-Host-and-the-Hosting-Plan-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Check-Your-Host-and-the-Hosting-Plan-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Check-Your-Host-and-the-Hosting-Plan-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Your pick of hosting for your website is one of the most impactful decisions about it you can make. It\u2019s serious business, <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-choose-wordpress-hosting-provider\/\">choosing your website\u2019s host<\/a>, and you should approach it with proper respect. That means you should, in general, avoid free hosting <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/pros-and-cons-of-free-wordpress-hosting\/\">even though it has its pros<\/a>, find out what\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/shared-hosting-vs-managed-wordpress-hosting\/\">the difference between shared and managed hosting<\/a>, for example, or between <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/vps-vs-dedicated-server\/\">VPS and dedicated servers<\/a>, and make the best choice you can afford.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you don\u2019t manage to do it from the first go, don\u2019t worry \u2013 <strong>you can usually upgrade your hosting package, switch to a better one, or altogether swap for a better hosting provider later.<\/strong> If you\u2019re upgrading, make sure your website is hosted on solid-state drives, with plenty of RAM at their disposal and solid bandwidth allocation. Also, <strong>try to move up from shared hosting<\/strong> \u2013 virtual private servers or cloud hosting are usually a better choice.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"plugins\"><\/a>Mind the Plugins<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Plugins \u2013 where would we be without them? WordPress users rely on plugins for everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-start-an-online-store\/\">running their online store<\/a> to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-plugins-for-managing-wordpress-comments\/\">managing comments<\/a> and even <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-database-plugins\/\">doing technical stuff with databases<\/a>. There are plenty of things we\u2019d never be able to do with WordPress without plugins.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Plugins can also easily turn into a source of trouble.<\/strong> Some are <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/most-vulnerable-wordpress-plugins\/\">vulnerable to outside attacks<\/a>. Others will conflict with each other. And of course, some will simply slow down your website. Because plugins are useful, however, you can\u2019t just remove them all. <strong>Some of the things you can do, however, are:<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Remove the plugins you aren\u2019t using anymore.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Find alternatives for troublesome plugins with useful functionalities.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\">Reduce the number of plugins as much as possible. <\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Remember that plugins are useful but can weigh your website down. <strong>Use only the ones you really need and try to choose the most lightweight choice there is.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"different-wordpress-theme\"><\/a>Opt for a Different WordPress Theme<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Opt-for-a-Different-WordPress-Theme.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Opt for a Different WordPress Theme\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Opt-for-a-Different-WordPress-Theme.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Opt-for-a-Different-WordPress-Theme-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Opt-for-a-Different-WordPress-Theme-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Opt-for-a-Different-WordPress-Theme-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Themes are just as big of a reason for WordPress\u2019 awesomeness as plugins. They are what lets you easily change the look and feel of your website, maybe add some features that will specifically match the type of website you\u2019re creating.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Besides being great, themes can also be very resource-intensive.<strong> So, if you note that your website\u2019s theme is at fault for its slow loading speed, maybe opt for a lightweight and well-optimized theme.<\/strong> Our <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/qi-theme\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Qi Theme<\/a> is a solid choice, but you should feel free to browse our <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/themes-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">full list of themes<\/a> and see if anything is popping out.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"out-of-date\"><\/a>Update Out-of-Date Stuff<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<strong>There are lots of things on your WordPress website you can update.<\/strong> You can <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-update-plugins\/\">update plugins<\/a>, and you can update themes, too \u2013 but be careful to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-update-a-wordpress-theme-without-losing-customization\/\">update them right<\/a>, or else you might use any customizations you\u2019ve made. Of course, you can <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-update\/\">update WordPress<\/a> itself. It might not be an update, but <strong>you could also switch to a newer version of PHP if one is available<\/strong> or check with your host if it isn\u2019t.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Besides being crucial to your website\u2019s security, updates can also come with improvements that might affect the speed of your website.<\/strong> Making sure everything is up to date is just a practice you should adopt sooner than later. Just be sure you update things the right way, and maybe test the update on <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-clone-wordpress-site\/\">your website\u2019s clone<\/a> or a <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-setup-wordpress-staging-site\/\">staging site<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"wordpress-settings\"><\/a>Fine-Tune WordPress Settings<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fine-Tune-WordPress-Settings.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Fine-Tune WordPress Settings\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fine-Tune-WordPress-Settings.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fine-Tune-WordPress-Settings-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fine-Tune-WordPress-Settings-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Fine-Tune-WordPress-Settings-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Another remarkable thing about WordPress is that its settings aren\u2019t too difficult to understand and navigate, which makes configuring a WordPress website a straightforward task. While you\u2019re at it, however, <strong>you should know that some choices you make can influence the speed of your website<\/strong>, or some of its pages.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Some of the WordPress settings you should set to reduce loading speeds include:<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;22px&#8221;]<ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-pingbacks-and-trackbacks\/\">Disabling pingbacks<\/a>, as it reduces the number of queries and needless messages. You can find the settings at Settings &gt; Discussion.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Showing summary of articles in feeds instead of the full text<\/strong>, to reduce archive page loading speed. Navigate to Settings &gt; Reading to access this option.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul><ul class=\"qodef-unordered-list-item qodef-toc\">\n    <li>\n\t        <div class=\"qodef-ul-title-holder\">\n            <span class=\"qodef-ul-title-content\"><strong>Limiting the number of blog pages shown in feeds<\/strong>, as it can speed up pages that show your blog feed. Find this setting in Settings &gt; Reading and aim for around ten.<\/span>        <\/div>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]You might also want to experiment with other settings to find what works best for your website. You\u2019ll find some ideas about other settings you might try to tweak a bit later in this article, too.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"use-a-cdn\"><\/a>Use a CDN<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/what-is-a-cdn\/\">Content delivery networks<\/a>, or CDNs, are great services that can drastically improve your website\u2019s performance. A <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-cdn-services\/\">good CDN service<\/a> can reduce the load to your server, improve your content availability, help fend off some types of hacker attacks, and \u2013 <strong>boost your site loading speeds.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]CDNs do all of this by sharing the load of hosting your content, making sure that it\u2019s delivered from a point that\u2019s as close as possible to your website visitors. You can set up a CDN such as Cloudflare on your own, or <strong>you can choose a hosting provider that offers CDN services as part of the package.<\/strong> Either way, CDNs are something you should investigate if you need to speed up your website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"optimize-images\"><\/a>Optimize Images<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-Images.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Optimize Images\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-Images.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-Images-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-Images-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-Images-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]When a visitor comes to a page on your website, how quickly it loads will depend, logically, on the size of the things that need to be loaded. <strong>Among the many elements that could add some bulk to the page and make it slow to load are images.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Because they are very valuable and useful from the standpoint of web design, <strong>you should only scrap images if there\u2019s no other choice for lessening their impact on the loading speed<\/strong>. Most likely you\u2019ll want to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-optimize-images-for-web\/\">optimize images<\/a> and resize or compress them.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]While you\u2019re at it, it might be worth your while to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-optimize-wordpress-images-for-search-engines\/\">optimize images for search engines<\/a>, too. It might not help you speed up your website if you\u2019ve already optimized the images for the web, but it can still boost your website\u2019s search engine rankings.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"caching-plugin\"><\/a>Use a Caching Plugin<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]A great way to speed up your website is to make sure that some of the elements that are most difficult to load or are loaded most often are kept in a place that\u2019s created for fast and easy retrieval. <strong>That\u2019s pretty much the thing that happens with WordPress caching<\/strong>, and it\u2019s why <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-caching-plugins\/\">caching plugins<\/a> are such useful tools for speeding up your website.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]You might also want to check in with your hosting provider to see whether they\u2019re <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/what-is-wordpress-memcached\/\">using Memcached<\/a> on your server. Also, keep in mind that <strong>you might not be allowed to use a caching plugin if the host already has a local caching solution in place, due to the possibility of conflicts<\/strong>. That&#8217;s okay, however \u2013 a single caching service is all you really need.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"lazy-loading\"><\/a>Consider Lazy Loading<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Consider-Lazy-Loading.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Consider Lazy Loading\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Consider-Lazy-Loading.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Consider-Lazy-Loading-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Consider-Lazy-Loading-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Consider-Lazy-Loading-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>Lazy loading is a speed-boosting feature that postpones the loading of certain elements on a web page until a visitor scrolls down to it.<\/strong> The feature was so popular that it was eventually included in core WordPress with the 5.5 update, so you don\u2019t have to worry about <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-add-lazy-load-to-wordpress\/\">adding lazy loading to WordPress<\/a> if you have WordPress 5.5 or newer.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The lazy loading that\u2019s part of core WordPress only refers to images, however.<\/strong> If you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-add-lazy-load-to-wordpress\/\">lazy-load comments<\/a>, for example, you\u2019ll have to rely on plugins to do it. Note that, if you\u2019re using comment plugins to change out native WordPress comments, they might already have lazy loading included.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"embrace-pagination\"><\/a>Embrace Pagination \u2013 for Content and Comments Alike<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<strong>Pagination is the practice of splitting larger chunks of page contents into smaller parts that are displayed on several pages.<\/strong> It can be applied to your blog posts, comment sections, pages with lots of copy, and even search results. It&#8217;s a common practice, which is why some type of pagination is often included in WordPress themes.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]In case yours doesn\u2019t have it, or you\u2019re not happy with it, don\u2019t worry. There are options for <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/add-numeric-pagination-wordpress\/\">adding pagination to your website<\/a>, including using plugins and writing your code.<strong> Those same options might allow you to disable the default pagination set by your WordPress theme<\/strong> and replace it with something else.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"large-media-files\"><\/a>Don\u2019t Host Large Media Files<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dont-Host-Large-Media-Files.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Don\u2019t Host Large Media Files\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dont-Host-Large-Media-Files.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dont-Host-Large-Media-Files-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dont-Host-Large-Media-Files-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Dont-Host-Large-Media-Files-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If you thought images came in large files, wait until you see how huge videos can be. Granted, they\u2019re not loaded in full as soon as a visitor scrolls down to them, but<strong> they can still be difficult and resource-intensive to store and retrieve<\/strong>. If you try to do it on your own, you\u2019ll soon find yourself wanting more space on the server and bandwidth.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>To prevent videos and other large media files from hogging your website\u2019s resources, you should host them somewhere else.<\/strong> Popular choices include <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/youtube-or-vimeo\/\">YouTube and Vimeo<\/a>. They are, however, only a couple of the many <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-video-hosting-solutions\/\">great video hosting solutions<\/a>, and some of the others might fit your needs better. Make sure to do some research before you choose.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"google-fonts\"><\/a>Do Host Google Fonts Locally<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Speaking of hosting things on your website, <strong>it\u2019s better that you<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-host-google-fonts-locally-in-wordpress\/\">host Google fonts on your website<\/a> <strong>instead of having them loaded from wherever Google stores them<\/strong>. The savings in speed, as small as they are, when you host Google Fonts locally has a bigger impact on your website than the minuscule savings in space you achieve when leaving the fonts where they are.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]Keep in mind that, if you\u2019re concerned about GDPR compliance, <strong>hosting Google Fonts locally is a great way to stay on the right side of the European legislature<\/strong>. As long as your website is available for visitors from Europe, this is something you should keep in mind.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"database\"><\/a>Optimize and Maintain Your Database<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-and-Maintain-Your-Database.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Optimize and Maintain Your Database\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-and-Maintain-Your-Database.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-and-Maintain-Your-Database-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-and-Maintain-Your-Database-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Optimize-and-Maintain-Your-Database-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]The database is the brain of your website, which means that it\u2019s directly responsible for your website\u2019s performance. <strong>The bigger and more crowded the database is, the more difficult it is to retrieve the information needed to render the website.<\/strong> Eventually, the website will start loading more slowly.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]To prevent it from happening, you need to clean up and <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-optimize-wordpress-database\/\">optimize your website\u2019s database<\/a>. You can do it manually or use one of the <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/best-wordpress-database-plugins\/\">great database plugins to help you out<\/a>. While you\u2019re at it, you might want to at least learn <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wordpress-database-management-guide\/\">the basics of database management<\/a>.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"css-and-javascript\"><\/a>Optimize CSS and JavaScript<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]JavaScript and CSS have their place in building a website people would actually love to use, but sometimes their contribution to user experience might be overshadowed by the problems they cause. You can\u2019t blade programming languages for it, of course, <strong>but CSS and JS files can sometimes be bigger than they have to be<\/strong>. Any file that\u2019s big and slow to load reduces your website\u2019s speed, so it has to be dealt with.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The way to reduce the size of CSS and JavaScript files for your website is called minification.<\/strong> You can <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/minify-css-javascript-files-in-wordpress\/\">minify CSS and JavaScript<\/a> automatically, or you can use a tool to minify them manually. Either way, you\u2019ll make the file smaller by removing superfluous code, without having to sift through thousands of lines of code.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"number-of-revisions\"><\/a>Limit the Number of Revisions<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;21px&#8221;]<div class=\"qodef-single-image-holder    \">\n    <div class=\"qodef-si-inner\" >\n                                    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"970\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Limit-the-Number-of-Revisions.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"Limit the Number of Revisions\" srcset=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Limit-the-Number-of-Revisions.jpg 970w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Limit-the-Number-of-Revisions-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Limit-the-Number-of-Revisions-768x439.jpg 768w, https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Limit-the-Number-of-Revisions-620x354.jpg 620w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 970px) 100vw, 970px\" \/>                        <\/div>\n<\/div>[vc_empty_space height=&#8221;38px&#8221;][vc_column_text]When you\u2019re writing a post for your website, it\u2019s great to know that you have the fallback of post revisions to turn to if you want to bring up an earlier version of your post. However, the problem with this feature is that, while it might make it easy to <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-undo-changes-in-wordpress\/\">undo changes in posts<\/a>, it can also burden your database tremendously.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>The problem is that WordPress is set to save unlimited revisions.<\/strong> The most practical way to deal with it would be to put a limit to the number of revisions that can be saved for any post. To do that, open up your wp-config.php file, and add the following line of code to it:[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<pre class=\"EnlighterJSRAW\" data-enlighter-language=\"generic\">define( \u2018WP_POST_REVISIONS\u2019, 5 );<\/pre>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]This would set the number of revisions stored to five. <strong>You can change it to whatever number you like, or you can use the same line of code to turn off revisions by setting their number to zero.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\"><a id=\"gzip-compression\"><\/a>Enable GZIP Compression<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In your search to make your website ever so smaller and leaner, you may have come across <a href=\"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/how-to-undo-changes-in-wordpress\/\">GZIP compression<\/a>. This type of compression can quickly pack the files from your website so that they take up less space during transmission, quickly unpack them when they get to their destination <strong>and do so without loss of data.<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]<strong>GZIP compression is especially suited for your website because it works best with the types of files your website is made of.<\/strong> You can install it easily, via a plugin, but you can also enable it on your server, if you know how to, or have your host enable it for you if you don\u2019t.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;68px&#8221;][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"qodef-h4\">Let\u2019s Wrap It Up!<\/h2>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]A successful website is a website that can attract and keep visitors. A website that loads slowly can\u2019t do either \u2013 it might attract visitors for a while until the search engines notice people aren\u2019t sticking around to see what the website is about and start dropping its rankings.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=&#8221;28px&#8221;][vc_column_text]If your website isn\u2019t successful at the moment, though, don\u2019t despair \u2013 the speed department is one where you can make a lot of progress with just a couple of changes. When you want to speed up your WordPress website, something as simple as relegating video file hosting to YouTube or removing a couple of unused plugins can make a world of difference. And if that doesn\u2019t help, don\u2019t worry \u2013 there are plenty of other things that might.<br \/>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Loading speed is one of the metrics that correlates most clearly with your website&#8217;s success. The loading time is often the first barrier a visitor has to clear before accessing your website, so you might as well them by making the obstacle as easy to cross as possible. If you&#8217;re not sure how, don&#8217;t worry &#8211; we&#8217;ll show you<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9295,"featured_media":39889,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[163,15,151,4,13],"class_list":["post-39841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resources","tag-performance","tag-plugins","tag-speed","tag-tips","tag-wordpress"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9295"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qodeinteractive.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}