When we talk about website performance, especially in the WordPress context, we’re diving into how quick and responsive your site is to both users and search engines. This isn’t just about making sure your pages load fast (although that’s a huge part of it); it’s about creating an online space that’s smooth, enjoyable, and easy to navigate for everyone who visits.
Here, I have tried to summarize and cover in a few lines the most important points that need to be considered and addressed first. Of course, it is essential to conduct a thorough audit of the project from the start to identify critical issues, and then proceed step by step in a consecutive order.
1 . Server setup:
- Choose a powerful hosting
1. Dedicated hosting – in this model, a hosting provider rents a single server with all its available resources to one client: you. You are free to do whatever you want with your server, and it’s good for your loading speed.
2. Managed WordPress hosting – that gives you the most optimized server configurations to run your WordPress site. Those companies know WordPress inside out and offer features dedicated to WordPress, such as automatic WordPress updates, security configurations, and much more.
2 . Caching:
- WP Super Cache / W3 Total Cache / WP Rocket: Popular WordPress caching plugins.
- Varnish Cache: HTTP accelerator designed for dynamic content.
- Memcached / Redis: In-memory data structure stores used for caching.
2. Image Optimization:
- Smush / ShortPixel / Imagify: Solutions to optimize images by reducing the weight and resizing them for faster loading.
3. CDN (Content Delivery Network):
- Cloudflare / KeyCDN / MaxCDN: Distribute your content to multiple locations worldwide to reduce latency.
4. Minification and Compression:
- Autoptimize / WP Minify: Plugins that minify and concatenate CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
- Gzip Compression: Enable Gzip compression on your server.
5. Database Optimization:
- WP-Optimize: Clean and optimize your database.
6. Lazy Loading:
- Lazy Load by WP Rocket / a3 Lazy Load: Delay loading of images and videos until they are in the viewport.