Performance

Speed is the name of the game. For user experience and to be well received by Google.

PreviousSecurity NextLinkedIn

Last updated 6 months ago

Performance

Speed is the name of the game. For user experience and to be well received by Google.

Sites to Test Performance:

Improving Site Speed & Performance

Use Dynamic Caching: Implement dynamic caching to store full pages of your website in memory, allowing them to be served quickly without needing to generate the page from scratch each time. This significantly reduces load times, especially for returning visitors. Dynamic caching is often available through hosting providers or caching plugins.
Enable Memcached: Memcached is an in-memory caching system that speeds up your WordPress site by reducing the load on your database. It stores frequently accessed data in memory, making retrieval faster and improving overall site performance.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN distributes your website's static content, like images, CSS, and JavaScript files, across multiple servers around the world. This reduces latency by serving content from a server closest to the user, leading to faster load times and improved user experience.
Configure Your Website to Work via HTTPS: Ensure your website is fully configured to operate over HTTPS, not just for security but also for performance. HTTPS, especially when combined with HTTP/2, allows for faster data transfer by enabling features like multiplexing and server push.
Use the Latest Available PHP Version: Always run your WordPress site on the latest stable version of PHP. Newer PHP versions are more efficient and can handle more requests per second, reducing server load and improving page load times.
Use Brotli/gZIP Compression: Enable Brotli or gZIP compression on your server to reduce the size of files sent to the user's browser. Smaller files mean faster load times. Brotli, in particular, is highly effective and provides better compression than gZIP in many cases.
Leverage Browser Caching: Set appropriate cache headers for your website's static resources so that browsers can store copies locally. This reduces the need to re-download files when a user returns to your site, speeding up page load times for repeat visitors.
Minify HTML, JS, and CSS: Minification involves removing unnecessary characters (like spaces, line breaks, and comments) from your website’s code. This reduces file sizes and speeds up load times. Many caching plugins offer built-in minification features.
Combine CSS and JS Files: Combining multiple CSS and JS files into single files reduces the number of HTTP requests the browser has to make. Fewer requests mean faster load times. However, be cautious with JS files to avoid causing issues with functionality.
Optimize Your Images: Compress images without sacrificing quality to reduce file sizes. Use formats like WebP for better compression. Also, serve appropriately sized images to ensure that the browser isn’t downloading larger files than necessary for the display size.
Delete Unused Plugins: Remove any plugins that are not being used. Even inactive plugins can slow down your website by adding unnecessary code and files. Keeping your plugins list lean ensures faster performance.
Keep WordPress, Plugins, and Themes Updated: Regularly update WordPress, plugins, and themes to benefit from the latest performance improvements and bug fixes. Outdated software can slow down your site and introduce security vulnerabilities.
Disable or Limit Post Revisions: WordPress stores revisions of your posts, which can accumulate and bloat your database over time. Limiting the number of revisions or disabling them altogether can help keep your database lean and improve performance.

PreviousSecurity NextLinkedIn

Last updated 6 months ago

Sites to Test Performance:

Website Grader - Check your Pages for Speed and SEOhubspot

Improving Site Speed & Performance

Use Dynamic Caching: Implement dynamic caching to store full pages of your website in memory, allowing them to be served quickly without needing to generate the page from scratch each time. This significantly reduces load times, especially for returning visitors. Dynamic caching is often available through hosting providers or caching plugins.
Enable Memcached: Memcached is an in-memory caching system that speeds up your WordPress site by reducing the load on your database. It stores frequently accessed data in memory, making retrieval faster and improving overall site performance.
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN): A CDN distributes your website's static content, like images, CSS, and JavaScript files, across multiple servers around the world. This reduces latency by serving content from a server closest to the user, leading to faster load times and improved user experience.
Configure Your Website to Work via HTTPS: Ensure your website is fully configured to operate over HTTPS, not just for security but also for performance. HTTPS, especially when combined with HTTP/2, allows for faster data transfer by enabling features like multiplexing and server push.
Use the Latest Available PHP Version: Always run your WordPress site on the latest stable version of PHP. Newer PHP versions are more efficient and can handle more requests per second, reducing server load and improving page load times.
Use Brotli/gZIP Compression: Enable Brotli or gZIP compression on your server to reduce the size of files sent to the user's browser. Smaller files mean faster load times. Brotli, in particular, is highly effective and provides better compression than gZIP in many cases.
Leverage Browser Caching: Set appropriate cache headers for your website's static resources so that browsers can store copies locally. This reduces the need to re-download files when a user returns to your site, speeding up page load times for repeat visitors.
Minify HTML, JS, and CSS: Minification involves removing unnecessary characters (like spaces, line breaks, and comments) from your website’s code. This reduces file sizes and speeds up load times. Many caching plugins offer built-in minification features.
Combine CSS and JS Files: Combining multiple CSS and JS files into single files reduces the number of HTTP requests the browser has to make. Fewer requests mean faster load times. However, be cautious with JS files to avoid causing issues with functionality.
Optimize Your Images: Compress images without sacrificing quality to reduce file sizes. Use formats like WebP for better compression. Also, serve appropriately sized images to ensure that the browser isn’t downloading larger files than necessary for the display size.
Delete Unused Plugins: Remove any plugins that are not being used. Even inactive plugins can slow down your website by adding unnecessary code and files. Keeping your plugins list lean ensures faster performance.
Keep WordPress, Plugins, and Themes Updated: Regularly update WordPress, plugins, and themes to benefit from the latest performance improvements and bug fixes. Outdated software can slow down your site and introduce security vulnerabilities.
Disable or Limit Post Revisions: WordPress stores revisions of your posts, which can accumulate and bloat your database over time. Limiting the number of revisions or disabling them altogether can help keep your database lean and improve performance.