Everyone says WordPress is slow? Do you think Naibabiji's website access speed is slow? In fact, any website program will not be as fast as it was initially as data increases, but as long as we do some necessary optimizations, the speed can still become very fast. In this article, Naiba shares 10 methods that can improve WordPress speed.
10 Methods to Optimize WordPress Speed
The 10 WordPress speed optimization tips shared by Naiba here can be followed even if you are a beginner user, so don't feel too burdened, just follow along.
Choose a High-Performance Server
This is the most immediate optimization technique. If you don't know how to optimize, you can simply pay more to upgrade the server configuration. For example,
NaibabijiThe earliest server was purchased from
Tencent Cloudwith a configuration of a 1-core 1G Cloud Server, now upgraded to a 2-core 4G server. The website loading speed, even after switching to the new server without using caching or other optimizations, is faster than the old server, which is enough to prove how significant the impact of a high-performance server is on website speed. Of course, if you are using Shared Hosting, you will find that there are basically no hardware upgrade options for virtual hosts, so using
VPSto build a website offers more flexible upgrades.
Use a Caching Plugin
The speed difference between a WordPress website using caching and one without is noticeable. Caching plugins can be considered one of the essential WordPress plugins.
There are many free caching plugins for WordPress. Naibabiji recommends that you can use WP Super Cache.
For a paid caching plugin, you can consider WP Rocket. This plugin is indeed very useful, and Naibabiji is currently using it.
Optimize the WordPress Database
When your website has been running for several months or years, the database will contain a lot of useless content, which increases the server's burden, so you can clean up unnecessary database content. Optimization is also very simple; you can directly install a plugin to help, such as WP Optimize.
Delete Unnecessary Plugins
When server performance is insufficient and plugin quality is poor, the more plugins you install, the greater the impact on website speed. As ordinary users,
build my own websitedue to a lack of technical knowledge, many functions are considered to be completed using plugins. To optimize WordPress loading speed, a trade-off needs to be made. Some unnecessary plugins, as well as disabled plugins, should be considered for deletion. Of course, if you think plugins do not affect your website's speed, you can disable all plugins and then enable them one by one to determine if they really do not impact your website's speed.
Keep Software Updated
Most corporate websites do not keep WordPress versions and plugins updated, which is incorrect. Updates to Themes, Plugins, and WordPress usually include code optimization, bug fixes, and new features. If your website has too much content that needs updating, it will not only affect the loading speed of your Frontend but also have a certain impact on the speed of the Admin Dashboard.
Use Smaller Images
Naiba has seen many corporate websites uploading original images taken with digital cameras or mobile phones. The pixel dimensions of these original images are usually several thousand pixels. You need to consider that most websites have a maximum width of about 1200 pixels, meaning that uploading images larger than 1200 pixels is not very meaningful, as you are not a wallpaper website. Therefore, it is recommended to manually adjust the image pixels to a smaller size when uploading images, controlling them to images with a width of 800-1200 pixels is more appropriate.
Image Compression
Manually reducing the pixel size of images is not enough; you can also use third-party services to compress the images. Image compression is a common method to solve slow website image loading, and it is relatively easy to get started.
There are two methods for image compression: One method is to manually compress it yourself, such as using local image compression software or online image compression services. For local image compression, you can try XnConvert software, which Naiba previously wrote about
How to Batch Process Images on Mac: Resize, Add Watermarks, Rotate, which introduced this XnConvert software. Of course, XnConvert's professional capability is not image compression; although it can batch compress images, the effect may not be the best.
NaibabijiThe images on the website are basically processed and uploaded through online image compression services. Naiba often uses the services of the following two websites.
https://tinypng.com/ and
https://compressor.io/compress Another method is to use plugins for automatic compressionThere are many image compression plugins on the WordPress platform, but almost all have limits on free compression quantities, such as EWWW Image Optimizer and ShortPixel Image Optimizer
Use CDN Acceleration
Many beginners don't know what CDN is. You can simply understand CDN as the local warehouse of JD.com when you shop online. The CDN service first saves static files from your website, such as images and js, on its own servers. When users visit your website, it automatically routes the resource server to the server closest to the user. This way, users can obtain resources from the nearest server, resulting in faster loading speeds (CDN servers typically have larger bandwidth than your own server).
Disable Comment Notifications and Pingbacks
The pingback feature itself is a good thing, similar to when you reference someone else's article and send a notification to them, informing them that you referenced their service. This facilitates blog interaction and original content sharing. However, nowadays many people are accustomed to scraping others' websites without leaving links, and pingbacks to your website are often advertisements, so you may consider disabling this service.
Use Gzip Compression
This feature can be implemented in various ways. Some good service providers enable Gzip directly from the server side. If the server does not enable it by default, you can also use caching plugins or other plugins to achieve compression. Most CDN services also provide compression services. After optimizing WordPress with the above 10 methods, your website's access speed will show a noticeable improvement. Of course, there is no such thing as the fastest website speed optimization—only faster. However, we don't necessarily need to optimize to extreme speeds; as long as users feel the website opens quickly enough, that's fine.
WordPress Speed Optimization FAQ
Q: What factors typically affect the slow access speed of a WordPress website?A: The most significant factor affecting the slow access speed of a WordPress website is the server, including server performance and server location. For example, if you use a foreign server, no matter how much you optimize, it won't be as fast as a domestic server. However, considering many users are foreign trade enterprise websites, don't choose a domestic server just for faster access speed within China.
Q: What methods can optimize slow image loading on a website?A: The most common methods are uploading smaller images and compressing image sizes. If it's still slow, consider using CDN or directly using a paid
image hosting service。
Q: How to optimize slow access to the WordPress Admin Dashboard?A: Slow access to the WordPress Admin Dashboard is often encountered with domestic servers, due to poor network connectivity from China to WordPress. Consider installing a
WP China Yesor
Kill 429plugin. If you are using a foreign server, it is usually due to poor server performance and too many plugins on the website that need updates.
Q: Are there other methods besides the 10 mentioned in the article?A: Yes, such as server-level database caching; reducing the number of database queries on the website; separating dynamic and static content, etc. However, these operations are not suitable for novice users. If you want to try, Naiba will create a separate tutorial to share later.
This is the most immediate optimization technique. If you don't know how to optimize, you can simply pay more to upgrade the server configuration. For example,NaibabijiThe earliest server was purchased fromTencent Cloudwith a configuration of a 1-core 1G Cloud Server, now upgraded to a 2-core 4G server. The website loading speed, even after switching to the new server without using caching or other optimizations, is faster than the old server, which is enough to prove how significant the impact of a high-performance server is on website speed. Of course, if you are using Shared Hosting, you will find that there are basically no hardware upgrade options for virtual hosts, so usingVPSto build a website offers more flexible upgrades.
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