Speed up WordPress: 15 proven tips for blazing fast loading times

# Speed up WordPress: 15 proven tips for blazing fast loading times Your WordPress website loads slowly and you're losing visitors. Google ranks slow websites lower. Visitors leave after 3 seconds of waiting. Every second of loading time costs you conversions and revenue. The good news? You can transform a slow WordPress website into a lightning-fast platform. In this article you get 15 concrete, proven methods to dramatically speed up your WordPress. No vague tips, but practical steps that deliver measurable results. ## Why speed is so important **Impact on visitors:** - 53% of mobile visitors leave a site that takes longer than 3 seconds to load - 1 extra second loading time = 7% fewer conversions - Amazon loses $1.6 billion per year with 1 second delay **Impact on Google ranking:** - Page speed is a direct ranking factor since 2018 - Slow websites score lower in search results - Core Web Vitals help determine your position **What is a good speed?** - Under 1 second = excellent - 1-2 seconds = good - 2-3 seconds = acceptable - Above 3 seconds = too slow, immediate action needed Test your current speed on: PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, or Pingdom Tools. ## 1. Choose fast WordPress hosting Your hosting provider has the biggest impact on speed. Cheap shared hosting shares resources with hundreds of other websites, resulting in slow loading times. **Fast hosting providers:** **Antagonist** - €15/month - Average loading time under 200ms - Built-in Redis and Varnish caching - NVMe SSD storage - Best performance, premium price - [View Antagonist hosting](/en/providers/antagonist) **TransIP** - €4.95/month - NVMe SSD storage - Dutch datacenter - Good speed for the price - [View TransIP hosting](/en/providers/transip) **Vimexx** - €5.95/month - SSD storage - LiteSpeed webserver (faster than Apache) - Good price-quality - [View Vimexx hosting](/en/providers/vimexx) **Upgrading from shared to managed WordPress hosting delivers an average of 40-60% speed gain.** [Compare all WordPress hosting providers](/en/wordpress/hosting) ## 2. Install a powerful caching plugin Caching stores generated pages, so WordPress doesn't have to execute database queries every time. This is the easiest way to immediately achieve 50-80% speed gain. **Best caching plugins:** **WP Rocket** (€49/year) - Recommended - Most complete caching solution - Page caching, browser caching, object caching - Automatic CSS/JS minification - Lazy loading images - Database optimization - Install and done, no configuration needed **WP Super Cache** (free) - Simple but effective caching - Good free alternative - Slightly more configuration needed **LiteSpeed Cache** (free) - Only if your hosting uses LiteSpeed webserver - Very powerful and free - Vimexx and some other providers use LiteSpeed **Install and configure WP Rocket:** 1. Buy WP Rocket license at wp-rocket.me 2. Download plugin and upload to WordPress 3. Activate the plugin 4. Default settings are already good 5. Optional: activate "Optimize CSS delivery" and "Defer JavaScript" 6. Done - your site is immediately faster **Free alternative with WP Super Cache:** 1. Install WP Super Cache via Plugins > Add New 2. Go to Settings > WP Super Cache 3. Select "Caching On" 4. Choose "Use mod_rewrite to serve cache files" 5. Click "Update Status" ## 3. Optimize images Large images are the most common cause of slow websites. An unoptimized 5MB photo can delay your loading time by 4-5 seconds. **Rules for images:** - Maximum width: 1920px (full-width images), 800px (content images) - Format: WebP (50% smaller than JPEG), or JPEG for photos, PNG for logos - Compression: minimum 80% quality is visually identical to 100% - Lazy loading: load images only when user scrolls to them **Automatic image optimization:** **Smush** (free/pro) - Automatically compress images on upload - Bulk optimize existing images - Free version: 50 images at a time - Pro version (€49/year): unlimited + WebP conversion **ShortPixel** (freemium) - More aggressive compression than Smush - 100 images free per month - Then €4.99/month for 5000 images - Automatic WebP conversion **Imagify** (freemium) - From makers of WP Rocket - Good balance between quality and compression - 20MB free per month **Manually optimize images:** Before you upload: 1. Use TinyPNG.com or Squoosh.app 2. Upload your image 3. Download compressed version 4. 50-80% smaller without visual difference ## 4. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) A CDN delivers your website from servers worldwide. Visitors get your site from the nearest server, resulting in faster loading times. **Cloudflare** (free/pro) - Free CDN with 200+ servers worldwide - Basic DDoS protection - Automatic HTML/CSS/JS minification - Setup in 10 minutes **Setup Cloudflare:** 1. Create free account on cloudflare.com 2. Add your domain name 3. Cloudflare scans your DNS records 4. Change nameservers at your domain provider to Cloudflare nameservers 5. Wait 2-24 hours for propagation 6. Done - your site now uses Cloudflare CDN **Extra optimizations in Cloudflare:** - Enable "Auto Minify" for HTML, CSS and JavaScript - Activate "Brotli" compression - Cache level: Standard - Browser Cache TTL: 4 hours (or higher) **StackPath or BunnyCDN** (paid) - Faster than Cloudflare free tier - Better geographical coverage - €10-20/month for small websites ## 5. Choose a lightweight WordPress theme Some themes load 50+ CSS/JS files and 2-3MB of code. This unnecessarily slows down your website. **Fastest WordPress themes:** **GeneratePress** (free/premium) - Under 30KB theme size - Minimal HTTP requests - Perfect score on speed tests - Premium version €59/year **Astra** (free/pro) - Lightweight but many features - Good integration with page builders - Free version is already very fast **Kadence** (free/pro) - Modern design - Fast loading times - Many customization options **Avoid "heavy" themes like:** - Avada - Divi (Builder is slow) - The7 - Enfold These themes have many features but slow down your site by 1-2 seconds. **Switch themes without losing content:** 1. Install new theme (e.g. GeneratePress) 2. Activate but don't publish yet 3. Use "Theme Switcha" plugin to preview 4. Adjust design in Customizer 5. If satisfied: activate permanently 6. Remove old theme ## 6. Limit and optimize plugins Every plugin adds code. More code = slower website. **Good rule:** Max 20 active plugins, preferably under 15. **Identify slow plugins:** **Query Monitor plugin** (free) - Shows which plugins execute database queries - Shows loading time per plugin - Identify bottlenecks **P3 Plugin Profiler** (free) - Measures impact of each plugin - Graphical display of loading times - Remove slow plugins **Common slow plugins:** - Social sharing plugins (use lightweight alternatives) - Related posts plugins (use YARPP or native Jetpack) - Slider plugins (use native Gutenberg blocks) - Page builders (Elementor is faster than Divi) **Plugin alternatives:** Instead of: - **Jetpack** (bloated) → use separate plugins for specific functions - **Contact Form 7** (slow) → WPForms or Fluent Forms - **Yoast SEO** (heavy) → Rank Math or SEOPress - **Wordfence** (resource intensive) → iThemes Security ## 7. Optimize database Your WordPress database grows through old revisions, spam comments, and transients. This slows down queries. **Database optimization plugin:** **WP-Optimize** (free) - Removes old post revisions - Cleans up spam comments - Optimizes database tables - Automatic weekly cleanup **Manual database cleanup:** Via WP-Optimize: 1. Install WP-Optimize 2. Go to WP-Optimize dashboard 3. Check: - Post revisions - Auto-drafts - Trashed posts - Spam comments - Expired transients 4. Click "Run all selected optimizations" 5. Immediately noticeable speed gain **Limit post revisions:** Add to wp-config.php: ```php define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 3); ``` This limits revisions to maximum 3 per post instead of infinite. ## 8. Enable GZIP compression GZIP compresses your website files before they're sent to the browser. This reduces file size by 70-90%. **GZIP usually already active:** Most modern hosting providers have GZIP enabled by default. Check on: checkgzipcompression.com **Manually activate GZIP:** Via .htaccess (Apache): ```apache AddOutputFilterByType DEFLATE text/html text/plain text/xml text/css text/javascript application/javascript application/json ``` Or via plugin: - WP Rocket activates GZIP automatically - Check GZIP Compression & Speed Test plugin ## 9. Minify CSS, JavaScript and HTML Minification removes unnecessary spaces, comments and code formatting. This makes files 20-40% smaller. **Automatic minification:** **Via WP Rocket:** - File Optimization tab - Check: Minify CSS files - Check: Minify JavaScript files - Combine CSS files (careful, can break layout) - Combine JavaScript files (careful) **Via Autoptimize** (free alternative): 1. Install Autoptimize plugin 2. Check: "Optimize HTML Code" 3. Check: "Optimize CSS Code" 4. Check: "Optimize JavaScript Code" 5. Save and test your website thoroughly **Note:** Minification can sometimes break layout or functionality. Always test thoroughly and enable step by step. ## 10. Implement lazy loading Lazy loading loads images and videos only when the user scrolls to them. This saves bandwidth and loading time. **WordPress native lazy loading:** Since WordPress 5.5, lazy loading is standard for images. No plugin needed. **Better lazy loading:** **a3 Lazy Load** (free) - Lazy load images, videos, iframes - More control than native WordPress - Lightweight plugin **WP Rocket lazy loading:** - Built into WP Rocket - Also for videos and iframes - Exclude specific images (logos, above-fold) **Lazy load YouTube videos:** Use WP YouTube Lyte plugin or embed code with lazy load. ## 11. Disable emojis and embeds WordPress loads extra code for emojis and oEmbed by default. If you don't use these, disabling them saves 30-50KB. **Via plugin: Disable Emojis** (free) **Manually via functions.php:** ```php // Disable emojis remove_action('wp_head', 'print_emoji_detection_script', 7); remove_action('wp_print_styles', 'print_emoji_styles'); // Disable embeds function disable_embeds_code() { wp_deregister_script('wp-embed'); } add_action('wp_footer', 'disable_embeds_code'); ``` ## 12. Use object caching (Redis/Memcached) Object caching stores database query results in RAM memory. This is extremely fast and reduces database load. **Redis vs Memcached:** - Both very fast - Redis has more features - Memcached slightly simpler **Implement Redis:** Required: hosting that supports Redis (Antagonist, some VPS providers) 1. Install Redis Object Cache plugin 2. Plugin checks if Redis is available 3. Click "Enable Object Cache" 4. Done - database queries are now cached **Impact:** 50-200ms faster for database-intensive websites. ## 13. Optimize Core Web Vitals Google's Core Web Vitals are the new SEO ranking factors for speed. **3 metrics:** **LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)** - Max 2.5 seconds - Measures how fast largest element loads - Fix: optimize images, use CDN, upgrade hosting **FID (First Input Delay)** - Max 100ms - Measures how fast site responds to first interaction - Fix: defer JavaScript, remove blocking resources **CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)** - Max 0.1 - Measures how much content shifts during loading - Fix: specify image dimensions, reserve space for ads **Tools to measure Core Web Vitals:** - Google PageSpeed Insights - Google Search Console (Core Web Vitals report) - Chrome DevTools (Lighthouse) **Quick fixes for Core Web Vitals:** 1. Preload most important image (LCP) 2. Defer non-critical JavaScript (FID) 3. Set width/height on all images (CLS) 4. Use font-display: swap for custom fonts (CLS) ## 14. Upgrade to PHP 8+ Older PHP versions are significantly slower than modern versions. **Performance difference:** - PHP 5.6: baseline - PHP 7.4: 3x faster - PHP 8.0: 3.5x faster - PHP 8.1: 4x faster **Check PHP version:** 1. Log in to hosting control panel 2. Look for "PHP version" or "PHP selector" 3. Check current version **Upgrade PHP version:** 1. First test if your plugins are compatible 2. Make backup of your website 3. Go to hosting control panel 4. Select PHP 8.1 or newer 5. Test your website thoroughly 6. If problems: downgrade and update incompatible plugins **Incompatibility check:** - PHP Compatibility Checker plugin - Scans your site for PHP 8 compatibility - Shows problematic plugins/themes ## 15. Use premium DNS provider DNS lookup time is often forgotten, but can cost 200-500ms. **Fast DNS providers:** **Cloudflare DNS** (free) - 1.1.1.1 resolver - Fastest public DNS - Free to use **DNS Made Easy** (paid, $30/month) - Dedicated DNS hosting - Sub-100ms query times - Enterprise level **Route 53 from Amazon** (paid, variable) - Very reliable - Good global coverage - Pay-per-query pricing **Move DNS to Cloudflare:** 1. Create Cloudflare account (free) 2. Add domain 3. Update nameservers at your domain registrar 4. Automatically fast DNS + free CDN ## Measure and monitor speed **Tools for speed test:** **Google PageSpeed Insights** - Official Google tool - Desktop and mobile scores - Core Web Vitals metrics - Concrete improvement suggestions **GTmetrix** - Detailed waterfall analysis - Historical data tracking - Free account save **Pingdom Tools** - Test from different locations worldwide - Simple interface - Good for monitoring **WebPageTest** - Most advanced tool - Filmstrip view of loading - Connection throttling simulation **Test regularly:** - Weekly after major updates - Monthly for baseline - Test different locations - Mobile and desktop ## Frequently asked questions about WordPress speed **How fast should my WordPress website load?** Under 2 seconds is good, under 1 second is excellent. Anything above 3 seconds costs you significant visitors and conversions. Test on PageSpeed Insights and aim for 90+ score. **Which plugin has the biggest impact on speed?** A good caching plugin like WP Rocket. This gives immediate 50-80% speed gain with minimal configuration. It's the first thing you should install. **Can I get WordPress fast on cheap shared hosting?** Yes, but with limits. Caching, image optimization and plugin limitation help a lot. For really fast websites, upgrade to better hosting (€10-15/month) is necessary. **Should I buy WP Rocket or are free plugins sufficient?** Free combination of WP Super Cache + Autoptimize + Smush works fine. WP Rocket is more user-friendly and more complete, but not strictly necessary. €49/year is well invested though. **How many plugins is too many?** Number is less important than quality. 10 lightweight plugins are better than 5 bloated plugins. Keep it under 20 active plugins and measure impact with Query Monitor. ## Practical action plan: speed up your WordPress now **Week 1 - Quick wins (2-3 hours work):** 1. Install WP Rocket or WP Super Cache 2. Optimize all images with Smush 3. Enable Cloudflare free CDN 4. Switch to fast theme (GeneratePress) 5. Remove unused plugins **Week 2 - Optimizations (2-3 hours work):** 1. Database cleanup with WP-Optimize 2. Minify CSS/JS with Autoptimize 3. Implement lazy loading 4. Disable emojis and embeds 5. Test and measure results **Week 3 - Advanced (4-5 hours work):** 1. Consider hosting upgrade 2. Upgrade to PHP 8+ 3. Implement Redis caching (if available) 4. Optimize Core Web Vitals 5. Setup monitoring with GTmetrix **Expected results:** - 50-70% faster after week 1 - 70-85% faster after week 2 - 80-95% faster after week 3 **Keep monitoring:** - Test monthly with PageSpeed Insights - Check Google Search Console for Core Web Vitals - Optimize new content immediately - Update plugins and themes regularly **Need more help?** - [Choose faster WordPress hosting](/en/best-wordpress-hosting) - [Compare hosting providers](/en/compare) - [WordPress knowledge base](/en/knowledge-base) Your WordPress website is now optimized for maximum speed. Visitors are happy, Google is happy, and your conversions are going up!