How to Increase Web Page Speed

Having a website that loads quickly is more important than ever. According to Google, conversions can fall by up to 20% for every second delay in mobile page load. Most users expect a web page to load within 5 seconds.

In this article we will show you some tips and tricks to increase web page speed on your WordPress website. Both new and existing websites will benefit from these techniques. Start by using a free online tool like PageSpeed Insights to test your page speed. We recommend optimizing the homepage first as it is likely the most visited page on your site. But keep in mind each page on your site will have a different page speed score.

Table of Contents

• Optimize Images
• Caching
• Eliminate Render-Blocking CSS
• Content Delivery Network
• Web Hosting Environment
• Limit Plugins and Themes
• Reode Links

Optimize Images

Images are the most common type of website content, other than plain text. Each page and post on your website should include at least one image. Images and other media can slow the page speed down a lot, but it’s relatively easy to fix.

There are plugins available to assist with image optimization, but you can take steps on your own. Less plugins are better for your website so using a plugin that does multiple tasks, like W3 Total Cache, is important to increase web page speed.

Limit Image Size

You should use images in the exact size you need, as bigger images take longer to load. There are free tools available online to help, like imageresizer.com. Before uploading the image to the Media Library, use a service like tinypng.com or imagecompressor.com to decrease the file size.

Use WebP Images

WebP images are on average 26-30% smaller than jpeg or png images in file size, without losing quality. Most modern browsers support WebP, including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and Opera. There are many free online tools available for converting images to WebP. If you are converting less than 25 per day, Cloud Convert is a good option.

If you have an existing site and need to convert a large number of images, consider using W3 Total Cache’s WebP Image Conversion service. The Media Library will show you which images have been converted to WebP, and you can easily revert to the original image format if needed. In addition, if a user happens to be on a browser that does not support WebP, they will see the original image format.

Lazy Load Images

Lazy loading means the browser only loads images when the user reaches them on the page. WordPress now adds a loading=“lazy” tag implemented by the browser. However, this implementation is browser-based and not supported fully by all browsers.

We recommend enabling Lazy Loading with a multi-purpose plugin like W3 Total Cache. W3 Total Cache’s implementation uses lightweight JavaScript. It will deliver a better user experience to your users who aren’t browsing with a compatible browser.

Use Website Caching to Increase Web Page Speed

When someone visits your website, their browser downloads all page content each visit. Website caching tells the browser to store that content for the future, instead of loading it from the external source each time.

Our WordPress caching plugin W3 Total Cache includes a setup guide to help you enable the right options for your website.

Each setting has several options available to choose from. Each option will show the impact choosing it will have on your site so you can make an informed decision.

Types of Caching

There are different types of caching.  Understanding the difference and knowing what to enable can be confusing for many website owners. W3 Total Cache offers Premium Services at affordable prices, offering you peace of mind that a professional will increase web page speed for your website.

Eliminate Render-Blocking Resources

If you ran a PageSpeed Insights test, you may have noticed it recommended removing render-blocking resources. Eliminating render-blocking resources is important for increasing web page speed and improving user experience on your website. When a web page loads, the browser has to process various resources like stylesheets (CSS), scripts (JavaScript), and other elements. “Render-blocking” refers to resources that prevent the browser from rendering or displaying the page until they are fully loaded and processed.

It’s easy to eliminate render-blocking CSS with W3 Total Cache Pro. Our support article describes in-depth how to enable the feature and how to tell if it’s working.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

CDNs store copies of your website’s static content (such as images, stylesheets, and scripts) on servers distributed around the world. When someone wants to visit your website, they get the content from the nearest location.  Reducing the physical distance will increase web page speed.

In addition, CDNs often come with built-in security features, such as DDoS protection and web application firewalls. This helps safeguard your website from malicious attacks and ensures a more secure online environment for your users.

Web Hosting Environment

Regularly assess your hosting server’s performance and consider upgrading your hosting plan if needed. A reliable and well-configured hosting environment can significantly impact page speed. Many hosting companies offer WordPress hosting on servers fine tuned to run WordPress as efficiently as possible.

Limit Plugins and Themes

For best website performance, try and limit the number of plugins installed. Remember to deactivate and delete any plugins you are not actively using. We recommend taking time to re-examining the plugins you have installed on your site. Are they all still necessary? Do you have two plugins doing the same task? Eliminating any excess code from your website will increase web page speed.

With themes, it’s best practice to have one additional theme installed in case issues arise with your active theme. It’s unnecessary to have more than 2 themes installed.

Recode and Redirect Links

When a link on your website changes, it’s common practice to use a redirection tool to automatically take a visitor from the old page to the new one. However, these redirects take extra time as the browser is loading two unique pages. Whenever possible, recode the links in addition to using a redirection plugin. It’s faster to take visitors directly to the correct page. Redirections are still needed for search engines and users who bookmarked the old page.

Thanks for reading – we hope you found this information helpful! Please let us know in the comments below what you’ve personally found to help increase page speed on your site.