Nobody likes a slow website. In fact, a slow loading speed is one of the top reasons behind a high bounce rate. But what can you do to speed up your WordPress website? Well, the first thing you need to do is figure out the cause of the slowness.
One of the primary causes of slowness in a WordPress site is the outdated WordPress version. Due to its free nature, it is patched less regularly than other content management systems. It often takes months or even years to fix a security flaw in WordPress. As a result, hackers can exploit these vulnerabilities to create malware or a virus. And malware slows down your website.
Most WordPress sites run on an outdated version. The default administrator account is not even required to update the version, which means anyone can install a new WordPress version without your permission.
So, to speed up your website, you need to update your WordPress version. First of all, you need to switch to a strong password. Also, go to the admin panel of your site and update the WordPress version.
Another reason behind a slow WordPress website is the number of media files – images, videos, audio or documents. Media files are heavy and they can slow down your website.
To avoid the slow speed, you can make your website slim by removing unnecessary images and videos. There are some plugins that can help you remove the media files. But we would recommend you install the Regenerate Thumbnails WordPress plugin. It is a powerful tool that can remove unnecessary thumbnails and regenerate new ones.
Plugins often slow down your website. The most common reason behind this is the low-quality WordPress plugins. Most plugins are buggy. They leave the footprints of their coding in your website’s source code. As a result, your website’s loading speed gets affected.
What can you do to fix the slow plugins issue? Well, the answer is to disable the plugins you are not using anymore. And uninstall the unused plugins.
Also, you should always make sure that the plugins you use are of good quality and they are not full of bugs.
Another reason behind a slow WordPress website is slow hosting. Slow hosting will lead to slowness within your website. Most WordPress hosting providers offer only shared hosting. And shared hosting is slow.
So, to speed up your WordPress site, you need to switch to a faster hosting provider. We recommend you host your WordPress site on a VPS. If you have a very high traffic website, you can host your site on a dedicated server.
If you don’t have enough budget for a high-end hosting package, you can also go for managed WordPress hosting. The best-managed WordPress hosting providers offer high-end features at a low price.
So, there you have it! That is our guide to speeding up your WordPress website. Now, you can speed up your WordPress site and lower your bounce rate.
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