How to Optimize WordPress for Better Performance
In the modern age of the internet, website speed matters. Whether it is a phone call from a potential customer or a search on Google, users are quickly turned off by slower speeds. In fact, 50% of Internet users will abandon a site that takes more than 4 seconds to load.
In this article, we will explore different tips and tricks for optimizing your site’s speed.
Use an SSL Certificate (Secure Socket Layer)
This means you can encrypt data between your server and visitors’ browsers so they cannot see what information you send back and forth. It also helps prevent hackers from intercepting any sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
You should use HTTPS:// instead of HTTP:// in all links throughout your site. If you don’t have one yet, we have a range of SSL certificates available that will help protect your customers’ personal details.
Minify Your CSS & JS Files
The less code there is on each page load, the faster it loads! To do this, you will first need to backup your entire website data, then go into your WordPress dashboard > Appearance > Editor then open function.php and paste this minifying code. Use Google pagespeed insights Tool before and after and record the score and note down the difference.
Optimize Images for Mobile Devices
Images are a big part of any web design project but they can be very heavy when viewed from mobile devices. This is because images have to load in full size on every page view which slows things down considerably. To optimize image sizes for mobile use ImageOptim or TinyPNG.
Update WordPress themes and plugins regularly to optimize site speed
WordPress has an update feature that allows you to upgrade all installed plugins at once, so it’s best practice to do this as often as possible. If there are updates available then install them immediately.
This will ensure your website runs smoothly without the need to wait for each plugin to download individually. It also ensures that outdated plugins aren’t slowing down your site unnecessarily.
Update PHP version to the latest one
This will help with security issues and performance improvements. You can find out what version of PHP is currently running on your server by login into your cPanel account (if using cPanel), going to the “PHP” section in the left menu bar, and clicking on “Version”.
The current version should be listed at the top right-hand side of the page. Clicking on it will take you to a new screen where you’ll see all versions of PHP installed on your system. Choose the most recent version from here and click update.
