How to make WordPress faster?

Google PageSpeed ​​Insights

The PageSpeed ​​Insights tool does not provide exact load time data but offers suggestions for improving it. It analyzes the mobile versions of Internet sites but also those on computer. The study is divided into two categories: user experience, then technical aspects. To take examples, it is important, on the one hand, that the navigation module is displayed large. And on the other hand, that the loading time is not slowed down by technical failures. The report consists of three rating categories: “passed”, “repairs recommended” and “repairs required”.

GT Metrix

GT Metrix allows you to get a complete and detailed performance analysis. The results are sorted in order of priority, making it easy for website administrators to see where the flaws are that are holding a page down . For each criterion, the tool provides a small explanation and recommends an action. In addition to the absolute value of the website, the tool also gives an average value. In addition, it is possible to directly compare the pages.

P3 (Performance Profiler Plugin)

P3 ( Plugin Performance Profiler , or English performance study plugin) analyzes the influences of extensions on the performance of an entire site. This plugin can be downloaded for free from the official WordPress page . It displays both the total charge time for installed extensions as well as that of installations. This tool highlights the obstacles to the performance of a website.

IONOS Website-Checker

You can find a free tool on the IONOS site to test the performance of your site. Beyond the speed of loading, the IONOS Website Analysis tool checks the general presentation of a page, its visibility, its security and its loading time. He then advises the user to take certain actions in order to optimize his website. Like the Google tool, three aspects are distinguished in the analysis: “necessary actions,” recommended actions “and” satisfactory criteria “.

2. Minimize CSS Code and Java Script codes

This list deals with CSS optimization on the one hand, and JavaScript reduction and optimization on the other. Often times, it helps to reduce spaces and remove instructional commands that are no longer useful in order to improve WordPress performance. It is possible to group together several data in order to reduce the number of HTTP requests . For this there are programs such as CSS Minifier.

Tools for code optimization:

• CSS Minify
• CSS Compressor
• JavaScript Minifier

3. Reduce loading time thanks to caching

The contents are loaded from the database each time, which increases the loading time. A caching extension allows you to create a statistical version of the pages to significantly improve performance. In short, the Cachify tool defines certain parameters such as the storage location (database and hard disk) or even the validity time. Other tools like WP Supercache or W3 Total Cache present other caching methods. For each item it is possible to define individual settings.

Caching extensions for WordPress

• W3 Total Cache
• WP Super Cache
• Cachify

4. Clean up the database

The size of the database is obviously linked to the speed of its download. The fact that the database is always larger is above all linked to the large number of backups that WordPress automatically performs . So all drafts and edits of a post are saved, which slows down WordPress performance a lot. It is also possible to find spam comments as well as deleted articles in the database. You are advised to remove them regularly or to use extensions to clean the database.

Extensions to clean up databases:

• Optimize Database after Deleting Revisions
• WP Optimize
• WP Clean Up

5. Reduce the extenions

The great advantage of WordPress open source software is its huge choice in terms of extensions. However, these can also have negative effects on the performance of your website. As a site administrator, it is advisable to check which extensions are essential and which are superfluous. Some extensions also present alternatives. The Performance Profiler Plugin, mentioned above, allows for example to find which extensions are slowing down websites.

Simple measures can have significant impacts on the performance of a website. An optimized loading time promotes both customer satisfaction and a low bounce rate but also rankings on Google. The extensions we have presented aim to analyze the speed of websites and provide recommendations to improve their performance. Those new to WordPress are very good at using them.