Highly Recommended WordPress Speed Optimization Plugin: Hummingbird

Naibabiji Last TimeReplace WP Super Cache Plugin with WP RocketAfterwards, the results have been quite satisfactory, with webpage loading speeds basically within 2 seconds.Build a WebsiteAfterwards, website speed is also a very important part, and using this Hummingbird plugin was discovered while researching Gravatar avatar caching. Hummingbird can not only cache Gravatar avatars but also supports WordPress speed optimization.

Hummingbird Introduction

The Chinese meaning of Hummingbird is '蜂鸟' (hummingbird). Hummingbirds are small in size and can hover in the air by rapidly flapping their wings. This Hummingbird plugin is a WordPress optimization and acceleration plugin that also supports page caching functionality, similar to the familiar WP Super Cache, W3 TOTAL CACHE, etc.WordPress PluginDifferent from them, the main function of Hummingbird is not caching, butWordPress speed optimization. Hummingbird supports conventional file compression, minification, merging, etc. Its distinctive feature is targeted performance optimization for WordPress. Previously, Naiba shared thatGTmetrixAfter optimizing WordPress, the test results were B and C. After using Hummingbird for optimization, the test results were both A.

Hummingbird Feature Demo

The first time you run Hummingbird after installation, a performance test interface will pop up. You can choose SKIP to skip it, but it is recommended to RUN the test once. Without testing, Hummingbird won't know which areas of your WordPress need optimization.After the performance test is completed, it will list the items that need optimization for you and give a reference score. The content that needs optimization varies for each website, so Naiba won't go into too much detail here.In the CACHING interface, it is divided into Page Caching, Browser Caching, Gravatar Caching, and RSS Caching. Page Caching caches articles as HTML static files to reduce page loading time. Browser Caching is browser resource caching, which sets a browser cache expiration time for static resources on your website. The recommended setting is 8 days. Hummingbird will automatically provide configuration files based on the web environment your server uses; you just need to add them to your website configuration. Gravatar Caching is Gravatar avatar caching. By default, WordPress calls Gravatar avatars. Although Gravatar is accessible normally in China now, loading speeds can still be slow in some regions. This feature enables Gravatar avatar localization. RSS Caching allows you to set an RSS cache time, which can reduce server resource usage. It's unclear which is more effective compared to the previously sharedDelay RSS Updatefeature.GZIP COMPRESSION is about enabling GZip compression on the server. GZip compression should be enabled by default on most servers. If you haven't enabled it, Hummingbird will also provide web environment configuration files; you just need to add them to your web environment configuration.ASSET OPTIMIZATION mainly compresses, merges, delays loading, or blocks loading of CSS and JS files on your website. Naiba's test results were average. Hummingbird also indicates that if your server has HTTP2 enabled, this optimization may not necessarily be useful.Advanced tools allow you to remove query strings from URLs, disable Emojis, and prefetch DNS requests. It also supports cleaning up database junk information, with functionality similar toWP-Optimize. The advanced version also supports scheduled tasks for regular database cleaning.

Hummingbird Download Link

You can directly search for and install the Hummingbird – Speed Up WordPress plugin in the WordPress backend plugins, or install it from the URL below.https://wordpress.org/plugins/hummingbird-performance/

Hummingbird's Shortcomings

The Hummingbird WordPress optimization plugin looks promising, but it still has some shortcomings. Using Hummingbird toOptimize WordPressspeed up WordPress is completely fine; it's the most intuitive optimization plugin Naiba has encountered so far. However, if using Hummingbird as a caching plugin, it is still somewhat weak, mainly manifested in the following points.Does not support preloading. All pages need to be visited by a user on the frontend once before cached pages are generated.Does not support updating cache files individually. That's right, when you modify a specific article, you need to clear all caches to update the page cache, which is an unfriendly aspect of Hummingbird.

How to Modify the Configuration File Provided by Hummingbird

The optimization configurations provided by Hummingbird are targeted at IIS, Apache, and Nginx. Modifying these configurations requires server management permissions. If you are using shared hosting, you may not be able to make these modifications. If you have server control permissions, you just need to add the configuration information provided by the plugin to your corresponding web environment configuration file and then restart the process. If you want to have a server with control permissions, you can refer to:Recommended VPS that is stable and suitable for beginners

How to Enable HTTP 2

When optimizing resources, the Hummingbird plugin will prompt: „Your server is running the HTTP/2 protocol which automatically optimizes the delivery of your assets for you. You can still combine, and move your files, though this may not always improve performance.“ Translated: Your server is running the HTTP/2 protocol, which automatically optimizes the delivery of your assets for you. You can still combine and move your files, but this may not always improve performance. So, if you are also using HTTP 2.0, you can ignore this resource optimization interface.The prerequisite for enabling HTTP 2.0 is that your website has SSL access enabled.If you are usingLNMP-built website environment, then when you enable SSL, HTTP 2.0 will be automatically enabled for you. If you are not using an LNMP-built environment, then modify the nginx configuration file yourself, change spdy to http2 in the HTTPS configuration, and restart nginx. Apache and IIS have not been used, so please search on Baidu yourself.