Are you dealing with a WordPress website running slowly and wondering what could be causing it? There could be many reasons. For instance, you may have implemented way too many external elements, which can slow down your load times. It could also be that your images are unoptimised. Whatever the case may be, you must address these issues right away. Otherwise, a slow-loading and unresponsive website will just push potential customers away, hurting your ability to grow your customer base.
With that in mind, here are the possible causes of your slow WordPress website and what you can do to address them!
Unoptimised images result in slow load speeds. Such photos are too large, and having too many of them will only worsen loading times. As such, compressing them is an excellent way to reduce the size while still maintaining good enough quality for an aesthetically pleasing website.
If you have too many images, cutting down and only using the ones you need can lower the size of the webpage overall. It can significantly boost load times and make the whole experience much snappier and more responsive.
Sometimes, it may not be your fault that your website is not loading quickly. It may be because the hosting provider has problems on their side. For example, they may use outdated hardware or software, unable to maximise the server to load your website quickly. While you cannot directly fix the problem, you can move to a new hosting provider that offers better web hosting technologies.
Do research to understand the new provider’s offerings. This can help you figure out whether they are worth working with or you should be looking for someone else.
The SSL certificate itself does not actually affect your loading speed. However, it makes your website load over HTTPS, a newer protocol. SSL certificates ensure that your website uses new software and technology, which is much faster and more reliable than outdated tech.
Plus, HTTPS also offers AMP, short for accelerated mobile pages. This technology helps websites load faster on mobile devices, improving your site’s load times on such devices. For that reason, if you do not have an SSL certificate for your website yet, get one!
The CDN or Content Delivery Network is responsible for creating copies of your website on various servers to make it available as close as possible to its users. Misconfiguring or not implementing CDN is a one-way ticket to a slow-loading website, particularly to those who may be situated far away from your server.
Because of this, you need to have CDN implemented and configured, ensuring that the distance between the server and the user is cut down significantly to facilitate faster load speeds.
With all these tips at play, your WordPress website can enjoy a significant boost in load speeds, ensuring visitors have the best web experience possible when surfing your site. That said, some of these tips may or may not apply to you, so take the time to figure out exactly what could be causing your slow website and fix it. It will take some time to address the issues, but the rewards are great. Anything from better rankings to happier customers can benefit your company.
Hosted WP offers WordPress website hosting solutions and management services in Australia to satisfy any web-related needs for businesses. If you require WordPress maintenance, reach out to us today and get your website fixed!