Reasons for a slow WordPress website
It seems that “need for speed” is not just a movie title or a catchphrase from the Fast and the Furious 10 movie, but a way of life in general these days. Not only do people expect speed, but they also make decisions at lightning speed. Did you know that it takes less than three seconds for a person to decide whether they like your website? So if you want people to be convinced and buy your service, you better not waste those three precious seconds on a website that loads slowly. In fact, it’s a whopping 40% of people surveyed say they leave a website immediately if it takes more than three seconds to load. The combination of slow loading speed and a bounce rate that’s too fast also causes search engines like Google to penalize your site, further limiting your site’s growth. All of this means that the loading speed of your site can make or break your chances of success. So isn’t it time you started working on improving speed?
This is how you check your current speed,
Along with some possible issues that may slow down your WordPress website.
Here are 10 main reasons for a slow WordPress website:
Is your website moving as fast as possible?
How to test your website speed. It’s important to maintain your website speed so you can constantly work on improving your customer experience.
There are lots of websites and software that allow you to track your website speed for free. Here are a few examples:
GTMetrix – This program not only tests your website speed, but also gives you an in-depth overview and reporting on your website’s performance.
WebPageTest – Simply type in your page’s URL and select a browser to find out your website speed. There are other options like “Advanced Testing” and “Visual Comparison” that you can explore at your leisure.
Pingdom – This tool allows you to test your website speed anywhere in the world.
Why is my website moving slowly?
If you find that your website speed is less than optimal, you may be wondering why and what you can do about it. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of potential factors that could be affecting your loading speed.
1. Cheap web hosting plan.
Your website host is where your website resides and has access to resources to handle the traffic.
If you are using a shared hosting server or a cheap hosting plan, then your website will probably move slowly. Your host determines the speed at which your information is delivered to your visitors.
If you are dealing with server limitations, none of the fixes listed below will make your website run faster.
This is why investing in a good web hosting package is crucial to maximizing your website’s success.
Read more about explosive web hosting errors
2. Cached data
Caching is a method of storing a version of your website for display when the same source is visited multiple times. This saves your website resources by not having to retrieve files directly from the server.
Unfortunately, this also means you need to purge your cache history frequently to ensure your audience isn’t viewing an outdated version of your website.
Fortunately, you can use the WordPress Cache Tool plugin with Varnish to get rid of this little glitch.
3. Using large image files
High-quality images certainly add appeal to your website, but they can also significantly slow down your loading time.
You can’t get rid of all the images on your website, of course, and it’s often difficult to resize an image without affecting its quality using standard editing software.
That’s why we recommend tools such as ImageOptim and Optimole , which have proven their worth many times over.
4. Transferring content using the CDN method
Does your audience live outside the United States?
If the answer is yes, you should use a CDN that allows you to reach your audience anywhere in the world without compromising on website speed.
In this system called a CDN, multiple versions of your website are available on several proxy servers, which your visitors can retrieve from the server closest to them.
5. Minify CSS, HTML, JS, and other files
Computers work faster when they don’t have to read complex and cumbersome codes.
You can speed up your website’s loading time by minifying all CSS, HTML, and JS files.
There are many plugins that can help you do this, namely automatic minification and optimization.
6. A busy WordPress site
To keep your WordPress site running at optimal speed, you should regularly get rid of all unnecessary clutter from your database.
Spam comments, unused data, and content are just a few things you should delete every day.
You can use plugins to do this efficiently without spending hours on this maintenance yourself.
7. Outdated themes, problematic plugins, outdated WordPress
If you’ve been ignoring system and plugin updates, it’s time to make repairs.
Disabled themes put a strain on your servers and expose them to various threats.
8. Low quality of themes and plugins
Just as large images and files slow down your website, so does using invalid or low-quality free images and plugins.
You don’t need to use fewer plugins to maximize your website’s efficiency, just invest in their quality!
9. Unwanted themes and plugins
Whenever you update your website, you should delete any inactive themes that you no longer use. This reduces the load on your server and increases your speed as a result.
10. Too many external links
Including relevant external links in your content is a good way to optimize it according to SEO norms.
However, using too many external links is not really healthy.
Your server will have difficulty retrieving all the related data in a timely manner.
Review your links and only leave those that are necessary for your SEO ranking.
Of course, there are other reasons for a slow WordPress website, which we will expand on in our next articles.
The article was written by Noah Britton and all rights reserved.
The article was translated from English to Hebrew.
