Learn how to speed up your WordPress website dramatically! Get your website loading under 1 sec!
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Key thing: Focus on Load Times, not Score. It's the end result that matters. I.e. How fast the website loads for your viewer/yourself, not the actual score.

#1 Reduce Image Size

- Actual Size of Image
- Type of File JPG/PNG
- Type of Image (minimum background) - especially, for eCommerce.

Use: WP Smush for further compression/delete metadata

#2 Use a Caching Plugin

A cache is basically like temporary storage

So a caching plugin like WP Fastest Cache basically helps you store some of your website files in the temporary storage - so that instead of loading from your server (host) all the time, it can load it from the cache. Resulting in faster loading times and reduced resources used.

So a great free plugin I recommend is WP Fastest Cache.

Generally, you can just check all the settings and shouldn't be too much of an issue, if there - you can uncheck some of the settings and see which one is causing the problem.

I personally use WP Rocket which is paid but it's really awesome and offers more options and settings to improve your site speed. I'll leave the link in the description below and they've also got amazing videos to help you optimize it.

WP Rocket: https://hoganchua.com/wp-rocket (Premium caching I use for main sites)

#3 Delete Themes & Plugins

Make sure to deactivate/delete plugins and themes that you are not using. The more things you have the heavier your website will be.

A common problem that I notice is that - many times you will be using a plugin that is not necessary because we can actually achieve it with the theme we have.

Always check your theme's documentation or ask the support

#4 Reduce Javascript/Code

Basically, the more stuff you add the more code there will be that needs to load.
So try to reduce any animations unless you really need it to tell a story.
Most of the time, themes will have it but doesn't mean you need to use it.

#5 Change Server Locations

This basically means that since your server is closer to your visitors. The distance for the data travel is less - so it's going to load faster.

Not all hosts will have this ability. For example, Hostgator/Bluehost have their servers located in the USA.

Siteground & Hostinger have the ability to change locations, so find out where your visitors are coming from by installing Google Site Kit Plugin.

So if we are a host without the ability to change server location this would lead us to our 6th way to speed up the website and that is to use a CDN.

To see where your server is located you can use: Check-host.net

#6 Use a Content Delivery Network

A CDN is basically a network of servers around the world that can store your data. So it can load faster for the end-user. It brings the server closer to them.

Once you sign up - you can add it into your caching (such as WP Fastest Cache)

Add the API/URL into Plugin (e.g. WP Fastest Cache)

With Siteground, it's integrated and a lot easier.

After integration - you may need to set it to "FULL STRICT" for the SSL Settings & Purge Cache

You'll probably notice that sometimes it's actually slower, cause it needs time to cache. Wait 24 hours then try again.

#7 Switch to Cloud Hosting

In my opinion, this is going to make the BIGGEST difference by far in load times and overall performance and reliability especially if you are using shared hosting.

For most people, if you are experiencing a slow website, a huge factor is going to be your host and type of hosting.

The server is like the engine. So if a slow engine, it will always be slow.

Shared Hosting is sharing resources on ONE server.

Cloud Hosting is sharing resources on a few servers. And generally, they use better hardware.

So they are more reliable, so if one server goes down - your website doesn't face any downtime. And it's going to be faster. I also noticed that your server response times will be a lot more stable compared to regular shared hosting.

So check if your host has the option to upgrade to cloud hosting.

I have personally switched some of my sites to Cloudways and have been getting an awesome response and load times.

So I also want to show you guys how to set it up easily and test the speed yourself by migrating your site over into the testing area cause I think it's amazing (especially considering the price!)

Free Trial Cloudways: https://hoganchua.com/cloudways (Coupon: HOGAN for 10% off for 3 months)

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