Loading speed of WordPress sites (How to optimize?)

Introduction

Nowadays the loading speed of a website is a crucial component of the user experience. Since people use the Internet daily, they are already used to websites and applications that load very quickly. Optimizing this provides a clear competitive advantage in an era where consumers want information instantly. Moreover, an unoptimized website causes mistrust and lowers the conversion rate, regardless of whether it is an online store or just a newsletter subscription.

All the websites we make are optimized for speed, however we often offer our maintenance and modification services for improving the loading speed, changing the design or adding new functionalities for the already existing websites.

Importance of Loading Speed

  1. User Experience: Users want quick access to information. It is known that there are many results on the internet, and many choose to move on to the next one if a page is slow to load.
  2. Provides trust: The first impression is of crucial importance. Regardless of the layout of your website or the offer presented, users often form their first impression at the moment of their first interaction with the website, namely the loading speed.
  3. SEO: Search engines like Google pay particular attention to loading speed in their algorithm. A fast site can influence your ranking in search results.
  4. Conversion Rate: Load time directly affects conversion rate. A fast website ensures a smooth experience for visitors, increased chances of becoming customers.

How to optimize a wordpress website?

Plugins

In terms of modules, WordPress is the richest platform. Due to its open source nature, anyone can contribute to adding and developing plugins, which is beneficial, but can also cause problems, especially in terms of loading speed. It is crucial to use plugins only when needed and choose them carefully. Both their number and quality have a direct impact on site loading speed. Avoid installing plugins that perform similar functionality or for simple tasks. Do not install multiple builders, do not install plugins with the same functionalities offered from the wordpress or woocommerce base. Keep it simple!

More information about plugins can be found in our blog about The most useful plugins.

Resolution Images/Videos

Another extremely important aspect, especially in terms of PageSpeed ​​score, is First Contentful Paint and Largest Contentful Paint. These aspects are largely determined by the size of the page itself. A significant proportion of the one-page document is often images or videos. Always choose the appropriate resolution.

Rezolutie potrivita website

The pictures in the gallery above are 400x400px, you don't need 4k resolution for pictures that will never be big enough on the screen to see. Always think about how much space the pictures will take up on the screen before choosing the resolution.

Image and video format

Always choose the WEBP and WEBM format for images and videos, after choosing the resolution, convert them to these formats through online conversion. There are plugins that automatically convert all uploaded images to make editing easier, especially if your site already contains enough images.

.jpg – 70kb

.wbep – 17kb

Cache, minify, lazyload, preload and more

Another essential aspect is cache management. I recommend using a plugin that provides all the necessary functionality, such as WP Rocket. Key features include cache, minify css and js, lazyload images and videos, preload links, combine css sheets and CDN. Attention, there are themes that offer many of these functionalities, in which case no additional plugin is needed. At the same time, adjustments to these settings can influence the operation of the site, so it is recommended to create a preventive backup before making significant changes.

Hosting

The offer for hosting is very high. There are packages that cost 10 lei per month. The most important thing is to choose the package corresponding to our needs and the estimated traffic on the website. There are websites where it is no problem to use a hosting package of 10-20 lei per month, where there will never be more than 4 users at the same time on the site, as well as where there are insufficient packages of 100- 200 lei per month, where ads are run in a fixed time interval. The choice of hosting must be chosen according to your needs.

Conclusion

Optimizing the loading speed of WordPress sites is not just an advantage, but a necessity in today's digital landscape. By implementing these strategies, you can turn your WordPress site into a fast, engaging, and efficient user experience. Contact us now for an on-the-spot offer to improve the speed of your wordpress website or to create from scratch an online presence you can be proud of.

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