Did you know that the conversions of a website can drop by 20% for each second of additional load that it presents?
Loading speed is one of the most important aspects of a website. Not only because it determines the usability of the page and, therefore, the user experience. In addition, it is a fundamental factor to improve natural positioning in Google.
But… How to improve the loading speed in WordPress?
In this post, we give 10 tips in this regard so that you can improve the user experience, reduce the bounce rate, increase quality organic traffic and, in short, give your online business the boost it needs.
Let’s start!
Tips to optimize loading speed
Before starting, we tell you the main parameters that Google observes to index and classify a web page:
- hosting performance
- Number of requests to the server
- web weight
- WordPress optimization
Although there is no exact formula to speed up load times, there are many ways to optimize a website to a favorable result.
Here are 10 tips to improve the loading speed of your WordPress:
1.Choose a quality hosting
No matter how well optimized a website is, poor quality hosting will be a constant source of problems. The ideal is to choose a high-speed oriented WordPress hosting, taking into account not neglecting accessibility, security, and other important aspects.
What should I pay attention to? Basically, in that it has at least these characteristics:
- 99.9% uptime guarantee
- 3 GB (minimum) of hard disk space, ideally SSD
- Isolation technology and guarantee of resources in the case of shared hosting
- Configured for WordPress
- Quality technical support, 24/7
2.Fast charging design
Sometimes we focus on the aesthetic part of the design or the theme, and we forget about other aspects… Like speed. It is important to find the balance between aesthetics, features, and speed when choosing a WordPress template and starting to add all the corporate content. At Doowebs we recommend opting for a minimalist design that meets these characteristics:
- Access to standard WordPress features
- Compatibility with the latest versions of each browser
- Compatibility with W3C standards
- Responsive design (adaptable to any device)
- Optimized code with HtML5, CSS3 and the latest web technologies
- White backgrounds, without images, mosaics or excessive embellishments
Remember to carefully analyze the needs and characteristics of your business to choose the WordPress design that best suits it and, above all, that does not end up hindering the operation of your website.
3. WordPress Cache Plugin
It is imperative to properly manage all dynamically generated HTML files in the web cache. This will allow you to reuse all this information, generated in previous actions, and take advantage of it in future actions. Something that translates into a drastic drop in loading times.
? Find out here what a WordPress caching plugin is and which one to choose for your project.
4. Install plugin
Plugins are a great help to optimize a WordPress, as long as you know which ones to install: not all of them are of quality and, above all, not all quality plugins are beneficial for your website.
Although, by themselves, they do not have to hinder the loading speed, it is important to choose them and manage them properly to avoid malfunctions. To carry out specific functions, be it optimization, caching, CRM, backups…
5. Use a CDN
CDNs (content delivery networks) are a type of service that provides high-speed cloud hosting to deliver dynamic content. To do this, they store copies of data and, from their cache system, they distribute them to other sites, so that the content reaches each visitor quickly… without weighing down your project.
6. Minify the code
CSS and JavaScript codes bring certain advantages to a website. However, if managed poorly, they can end up slowing down loading times. To avoid this, we recommend using compression tools to minimize the space that each code occupies, and add them to your website. Remember that they are an added value on a visual level.
7. Optimize images
Images are often the elements that most determine the fluidity of a website. Sometimes, because excessively large sizes are used. Others, because they are not properly optimized. It is essential to adjust the size before uploading it to avoid adding unnecessary weight to your website and, in addition, to scale it to smaller sizes whenever possible.
In short, we recommend:
- Upload the image to the maximum size visible on the web, not the one presented by the photograph taken
- Use retouching tools such as Adobe Photoshop to optimize it and reduce its weight without affecting its quality.
8. Host audio and video files on external servers
Just as images must be uploaded (well optimized) to publications to enrich the content and work on SEO, multimedia content (audio and video) can weigh down a website in a disastrous way. How to avoid it?
Create an account on a specific platform for each format (for example, Vimeo or YouTube for videos, and iVoox for podcasts) and publish this type of content there.
To make it appear on your website, you just have to insert the URL in your editor. In this way, the user sees the content in the same way as if it were published on your website, but you avoid weighing down your project with highly heavy files.
9.Optimize your database
Also known as the ‘dynamic web’, web 2.0 brought with it a new way of storing information using rows, columns, and cells. Beyond its advantages, this system has a problem: it generates waste.
That is, data that was used at some point and whose only function is currently to hinder the operation of your website. Therefore, it is very important to clean and optimize your database from time to time.
You just have to go to the left bar of WordPress and, where the database tables are shown, select “All” and “Optimize”. You will automatically have a clean and optimized database.
10. speed self-analysis
Measure, measure, and measure. If you want your website to take advantage of its potential, it is important to invest some time in carrying out regular load analyses with tools such as Pingdom, Load Impact, PageSpeed Insights, GTMetrix… They will help you speed up your WordPress and get better results.
From Doowebs we encourage you to improve the loading speed on WordPress to optimize the chances of success of your business.
Remember that we are your experts in web development and optimization in Valencia, so don’t hesitate: ask for a quote without obligation!