High performing and responsive websites have the ability to attract large audiences and have a better chance of conversion. So many WordPress websites desire to have a site which performs better and provides a user-friendly experience.
Many websites use slow and insecure web hosting servers, which affects the performance of the site. Some businesses are busy in developing their product and service that they are unaware of the updates available for there WordPress core. They are even using the older versions of HTML and PHP which is making their sites slow.
A web page whose performance is optimized will organically rank higher on google search engine. Google suggests that high performing websites have the tendency to retain a visitor to a site for long periods of time. Here is a list of 7 easy steps/tips to use and improve the performance of WordPress Websites.
1. Deactivate and delete Plugins
Many WordPress websites test different types of plugins on their sites to attain a suitable command. As the sites have installed multiple plugins on their dashboard out of which some are not used. A WordPress Website should identify and delete such plugins as they create low load time for your site.
As some plugins may have compatibility issues and create a WordPress Website to slow down. So you should deactivate and delete every unnecessary plugin which the entrepreneurs are not using.
2. Caching plugin
Caching is one of the important factors for improving WordPress Websites performance. It helps in speeding up a website and assists the users in storing the web page and posts of the site as a static file. These files are can easily be supplied to the users lowering their load time.
Using caching plugins can help in improving the performance of the website. The most popular plugins for caching are W3 total cache and WP rocket. Both plugins can result in creating a big change in the performance of a website.
3. Optimizing images
To make a site more colorful and vibrant Web pages use visual content. Images which are in high definition carry enormous weight. This heaviness affects the performance of the site so you should optimize all the images on your WordPress Website.
Compressing images can create a great difference on your site. There are many plugins which a website can use. One of them is smush image compression and optimization is a free plugin which 1 million plus active installs.
4. Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Some WordPress websites think that using a CDN will help out bigger web pages which have larger audience compared to them but that is not true. A content delivery network takes all your files and transfers them to servers which are closer to the visitors who view your site.
Your files such as CSS, JavaScript, and images are easily delivered to your viewing audience which reduces load time and can decrease your bounce back rate. A WordPress site should start implementing a content delivery network to its web page. A very good CDN which you can use is keycdn.
5. Minification of HTML, JavaScript and CSS files
Minification refers to removing unnecessary or redundant data without affecting how the resource is processed by the browser. Through minification all unnecessary code, comments can be removed. It uses shorter variables and function names.
Through this process the file size of HTML, JavaScript, CSS is reduced and it takes less time to transfer data. Minification helps the user to load content faster as less unnecessary data needs to be downloaded. Wp Rocket is a great tool for WordPress websites as it helps in minification as well as other things.
6. Optimizing WordPress Database
A WordPress Website should optimize their database as it could slow down the site’s performance. The site should optimize their database by deleting old revisions, disabling and limiting post revisions and being aware of the 100 page WordPress limitation.
While writing a blog multiple revisions are done so to clean the database one should limit and disable revisions. When setting up a WordPress site the owners should remember that a site database is not meant for 100 pages as well make the webpage very slow.
7. Security
Securing a website is one of the most important steps towards improving a WordPress website. If a web page is infected by malware it can cause the site to slow down. Most of the time businesses are unable to find the reason behind the sites low performance. Firstly most viruses will slow your site down and eventually corrupt your entire data.
Even minor bugs can make your site slow, a WordPress website should regularly update their plugins and themes to fight such small threats. A web page must have a strong security system installed on their site to fight off external threats. WordFence security – firewall and malware scan and ithemes security pro are two of the most popular security plugins in the market which help and secure websites.
Conclusion
Performance of a WordPress is very important as it encourages users to revisit your site and create engagement in it. If your site has slow load time and files take time to load most of your audience will bounce back. Google page speed insights is a very good tool to test your web pages speed. The tool analyzes your site and provides you with your websites speed score.
Although there are can be multiple reasons behind your websites low performance. But if you follow these 7 easy steps you will definitely see a difference in your site. Try to keep your site up to date and keep your site responsive. Whatever the theme a WordPress site chooses it should have a clean and minimal homepage. It will create a simple and easy look for your audience. By implementing these small changes you will see a huge difference in the performance of your site.
If you enjoyed the blog and found the details within helpful please do let us know and don’t forget to check out our services at wpengineers.com. We provide WordPress website maintenance and support services.