Site optimization can be a tricky beast to handle, and at WPMU DEV, we’ve seen it all.
We know the common issues that slow WordPress sites down, from oversized images to overzealous plugins to databases that need a little TLC.
But you’ve probably already read 101 posts on “how to optimize your site speed” or “x tips for site optimization”…
And they just don’t quite answer everything.
We’ve got a few “general knowledge” posts ourselves, like The Ultimate Mega Guide to Speeding Up Your Site or Optimizing Your WordPress Site Performance with Smush, Hummingbird, and The Hub…
But this post is more about answering the most common, specific questions we’ve seen across the board.
Feel free to jump to whichever problem is plaguing you the most!
Still feeling stuck? We can optimize your site for you!
1. Performance Metrics
Performance metrics are key to how fast your site loads and how smooth the experience is for your users.
The better these metrics, the better your site runs. Here are some tips and tricks to boost your site’s performance.
Q: How does PageSpeed Insights score differ from Core Web Vitals?
Your site could be slow because of large images, too many scripts, or poor overall optimization.
While PageSpeed Insights gives a general performance score, Core Web Vitals focus on what really matters for users—loading, interactivity, and stability.
Google uses these metrics to rank sites, so improving them is crucial for both user experience and SEO.
To fix this, here’s what you need to focus on:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures how long it takes for the main content to load. If it’s slow, optimize images, improve server response times, and use caching
- First Input Delay (FID) measures how quickly your site responds to user interaction. Slow LCP? Optimize JavaScript and reduce blocking resources.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is responsible for measuring unexpected content shifts while loading. Fix CLS by making sure that elements have defined sizes to prevent shifting.
The key is to aim for good scores, not perfect ones. You can test with real traffic data and focus on the most impactful issues to improve both performance and rankings. Just be aware that having “good scores” doesn’t automatically equal a good user experience.
Q: What tools are best for analyzing page speed performance?
You can use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix to analyze your site’s performance. They provide detailed reports on what’s slowing you down and how to fix it.
For more advanced troubleshooting, Query Monitor is a great WordPress plugin.
It helps pinpoint issues with database queries, PHP errors, and scripts, and even gives insights into Ajax and REST API calls. It’s a handy tool for debugging and understanding what’s happening behind the scenes.
2. Caching
Caching speeds up your website by reducing the number of requests sent to your server, which makes pages load faster.
Tools like CDNs store your data closer to users, cutting down on server load and making everything run more efficiently.
This means faster page load times and less strain on your server. Simple and effective.
Q: What is the right amount of caches a site should have?
To know if you have the right amount of cache, it’s about balance.
You’ll be using multiple levels of caching, and they should work together without stepping on each other’s toes.
- Server Cache: If your PHP scripts and HTTP responses are loading fast, your server cache is probably on point. Slow performance means you may need to adjust it.
- Database Cache: If objects, queries, and indexes are being retrieved quickly, it’s doing its job. If data feels sluggish, a tweak could be necessary.
- Application Cache: Keep an eye on your caching tools (Hummingbird, WP Rocket, asset optimization). Too many can conflict and cause errors. If your site loads fast and content stays fresh, it’s in a good place.
- CDN Cache: If assets like CSS, JS, and images are loading quickly across different locations, and there are no issues with overlapping cache functions, you’re set.
- Browser Cache: It should cache assets efficiently without outdated content popping up. If your users aren’t seeing old versions of your site, your browser cache is doing fine.
Q: How can I optimize my website speed with Cloudflare?
Cloudflare helps optimize your site through several caching strategies, making it faster and more efficient. Below are major techniques that you can focus on:
- Edge Caching: Cloudflare caches static content (like images, CSS, and JavaScript) across its global network of servers, speeding up content delivery and reducing server load.
- Cache-Control Headers: Set cache expiration rules to control how long Cloudflare stores content in its cache. This ensures that frequently accessed files are served quickly without needing to fetch them from your origin server.
- Page Rules: Customize how Cloudflare handles caching for different pages. You can specify caching behaviors for dynamic content or ensure certain pages are not cached at all.
Q: Are there any WordPress caching plugins that work best with a CDN for faster load times?
CDN hosting helps in reducing load times and server strain. If you want your website to be set for great performance we recommend the following plugins:
- Hummingbird: For Cloudflare users, Hummingbird does a good job with file minification, caching, and compression, working nicely to boost your site speed through Cloudflare.
- Litespeed Cache: If you’re using a LiteSpeed server, this plugin is solid. It handles server-side caching, image optimization, and integrates with your CDN to speed things up.
Q: What’s the best approach for optimizing CSS for different templates on a website?
The best way to go about it is inlining the critical CSS right at the top of your HTML, where the content is visible to the user when they first load the page.
Then, for the rest of your site, serve up a separate CSS file for the rest of the content after they scroll.
This method ensures that the important stuff loads quickly, while caching can handle the rest efficiently.
3. Plugins
Bloating is a common culprit for slowing down your site. Plugins with unnecessary features can quickly add up, causing your site to lag.
Stick to lightweight, focused plugins to keep your site running smoothly.
Q: What is the maximum number of plug-ins on one site to avoid bloating?
Honestly, it’s not about the number of plugins, it’s about how well they’re coded. A few well-optimized plugins will do wonders for your site speed, while a bloated plugin can slow things down, even if you’re not using 25 of them.
You might also have multiple plugins or widgets that cover the same bases, such as Elementor addon plugins, which will also slow down performance.
So, focus on quality—well-coded plugins don’t just get the job done, they do it quickly and efficiently, without dragging down your site like an overstuffed suitcase.
Just remember, less is more when you don’t need that extra baggage.
Q: How do I clean up unnecessary data in my WordPress database to improve performance?
Over time, things like old post revisions, spam comments, and unused data can pile up and slow everything down.
You can tackle this with a database cleaner plugin, like Advanced DB Cleaner, which will help remove all that unnecessary clutter and shrink the size of your database.
A smaller, cleaner database means faster backups and quicker performance overall, like a good spring cleaning!
Q: What plugins are best for improving WordPress site speed?
The right plugins can make all the difference in your site’s speed. Keep it simple and focused on the essentials for the best results. Here are some plugins that we recommend:
- Imagify: It compresses images without losing quality, so your site loads faster, even with lots of visuals.
- Smush: A lifesaving image optimizer that automatically compresses your images, converts it into webp, and handles resizing, helping your site load faster without sacrificing visual quality.
- Perfmatters: A lightweight plugin that helps disable unnecessary WordPress features (like emojis and embeds) which reduces bloat and speeds up your site.
Asset Optimization
A big part of speeding up your site is optimizing assets, like files and images. While the methods for both are pretty similar, each has its own tweaks.
Getting these assets sorted helps your site load faster and work better overall.
Q: What are the best ways to optimize large image files for faster loading?
The secret to faster image loading is reducing their size and delivering them smartly.
Start by compressing your images using tools like Smush to cut down file sizes without sacrificing quality.
Use modern file formats like WebP for better efficiency, and serve images through a CDN for faster delivery.
For offscreen images, enable lazy loading—it delays loading images until they’re visible to the user. It’s an easy win for performance and ensures your site stays snappy.
Q: Is it better to preload or defer JavaScript for improving page speed?
It depends on the file’s role in your site. Preload critical CSS/JS to ensure above-the-fold content is displayed quickly. For everything else, defer the loading to reduce initial load time.
If you’re using tools like Perfmatters, you can easily manage preloading and deferring without much manual work. The goal is to balance speed and user experience—fast, functional, and frustration-free.
We’ve developed Hummingbird especially for this, which allows you to simplify advanced asset optimization (instead of individually customizing sites based on plugins and themes installed.
It works by moving all the configuration settings to the dashboard for easy file location to edit, compress, combine, move, defer and stop code from loading, without breaking the style or functionality of your site.
As a pro option, it can also delay javascript execution of all non-critical JavaScript files and inline scripts above the fold until any user interaction, like mouse movement, keyboard action, or screen tap. This improves the page speed and enhances the overall performance of the site.
Q: How can I reduce the size of CSS and JavaScript files without breaking my site?
A leaner CSS/JS setup makes all the difference. To streamline effectively, you can:
- Minify files: Use plugins like Hummingbird to strip unnecessary spaces and comments, shrinking file sizes.
- Defer non-critical files: Delay anything not essential for above-the-fold content, such as animations or footer scripts.
- Combine files smartly: Fewer requests mean faster loading. Check your tools for options to merge smaller files into one.
Always test your site after making changes. A faster site won’t matter if functionality breaks!
Q: How can I implement lazy loading for images and other media effectively?
Lazy loading ensures your site only loads what’s needed when it’s needed.
Enable lazy loading for images and videos using plugins like Smush, while Hummingbird can lazy load comment threads, so activating both will get you the most out of these features. Don’t forget to apply it to less obvious media, like iframes.
Finally, check user experience—content should load smoothly as users scroll, without lag.
Lazy loading is an easy-to-apply tweak with huge benefits for performance.
Still feeling stuck? We can optimize your site for you!
If your site isn’t performing as fast as you’d like, our Site Speed Optimization service has come to the rescue.
With a one-time fee of $399, our expert team will work their techy wizardry to get you Google PageSpeed scores of 90+ on desktop and 75+ on mobile—because who doesn’t want a site that loads faster than a caffeine-fueled cheetah?
Just add your site to the Speed Optimization list in the Hub, place your order, and let us handle the rest.
We’ll optimize everything from caching to image delivery, leaving you with a site that’s both speedy and sleek.
Otherwise, let us know in the comments what site optimization tips or questions you might have!
