Your WordPress website is slow. Visitors are leaving. Google isn't ranking you well.
Sound familiar? You're not alone. Most WordPress sites load too slowly, but the good news is you can fix this without being a developer.
In this guide, you'll learn practical steps to speed up your WordPress website. We'll cover everything from quick wins to advanced techniques that actually work.
Why WordPress Speed Matters
A one-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%. Amazon found that every 100ms of latency costs them 1% in sales.
More importantly for you:
- Google uses page speed as a ranking factor
- Slow sites have higher bounce rates
- Mobile users are particularly impatient
- Your hosting costs increase with inefficient sites
Let's fix this step by step.
Step 1: Test Your Current Speed
Before making changes, measure your baseline performance.
Use these free tools:
- GTmetrix - Shows detailed performance metrics
- Google PageSpeed Insights - Google's official tool
- Pingdom - Easy to understand results
Run tests from multiple locations. Cardiff users experience different speeds than London users.
Screenshot description: A GTmetrix results page showing load time, page size, and performance scores with specific recommendations highlighted.
Take note of:
- Total load time
- Page size
- Number of requests
- Core Web Vitals scores
Step 2: Choose Better Hosting
Your hosting provider makes the biggest difference to WordPress speed.
Shared hosting from £3/month might seem attractive, but you're sharing server resources with hundreds of other sites. When their sites get busy, yours slows down.
Consider these hosting types:
- Managed WordPress hosting - Optimised specifically for WordPress
- VPS hosting - Your own virtual server space
- Cloud hosting - Scalable resources that grow with traffic
We work with several quality hosting providers and can help you choose the right option for your needs. Check our hosting services for recommendations.
Step 3: Install a Caching Plugin
Caching stores static versions of your pages, so WordPress doesn't rebuild them for every visitor.
Recommended caching plugins:
- WP Rocket (premium) - Easy setup, excellent results
- W3 Total Cache (free) - Powerful but complex
- WP Super Cache (free) - Simple and reliable
Installing WP Rocket (recommended):
- Purchase and download from wp-rocket.me
- Upload via WordPress admin > Plugins > Add New > Upload
- Activate the plugin
- Basic settings work well for most sites
- Enable these features:
- Page caching
- Cache preloading
- GZIP compression
Common mistake: Don't install multiple caching plugins. They conflict with each other.
Step 4: Optimise Your Images
Images usually account for 60-80% of page weight. Optimising them gives massive speed improvements.
Use the right image formats:
- WebP - Modern format, 25-35% smaller than JPEG
- JPEG - For photos with many colours
- PNG - For graphics with transparency
- SVG - For simple graphics and logos
Resize images before uploading:
Never upload a 3000px image to display at 300px. WordPress creates multiple sizes, but the original still gets downloaded.
Recommended tool: Photoshop, GIMP, or online tools like TinyPNG.
Use compression plugins:
- Smush - Free compression with good results
- ShortPixel - Excellent WebP support
- Optimole - Real-time image optimisation
Enable lazy loading:
This loads images only when visitors scroll to them. WordPress 5.5+ includes native lazy loading, but plugins offer more control.
Step 5: Clean Up Your Plugins
Every active plugin adds code to your site. More code means slower loading.
Audit your plugins monthly:
- Go to Plugins > Installed Plugins
- Deactivate plugins you don't actively use
- Delete deactivated plugins completely
- Check for plugin updates
Signs a plugin is slowing you down:
- Site became slower after installing it
- Plugin hasn't been updated in over a year
- Poor reviews mentioning speed issues
- Plugin conflicts with caching
Quality over quantity:
One well-coded plugin that does three things is better than three separate plugins.
Step 6: Optimise Your Database
WordPress databases accumulate junk over time. Post revisions, spam comments, and unused data slow down queries.
Use a database optimisation plugin:
- WP-Optimize - Cleans database and images
- Advanced Database Cleaner - Detailed control options
Manual cleanup checklist:
- Post revisions - Limit to 3-5 per post
- Spam comments - Delete permanently, don't just mark as spam
- Unused plugins/themes - Remove completely
- Transients - Clear expired temporary data
Add this to your wp-config.php to limit post revisions:
define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5);Step 7: Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
CDNs store copies of your site on servers worldwide. Visitors download from the nearest server, reducing load times.
Recommended CDN services:
- Cloudflare - Free tier available, easy setup
- MaxCDN - WordPress-focused features
- AWS CloudFront - Powerful but technical
Setting up Cloudflare (free):
- Create account at cloudflare.com
- Add your domain
- Update nameservers at your domain registrar
- Enable automatic optimisation features
- Configure SSL settings
Most CDNs integrate easily with caching plugins.
Step 8: Choose a Fast Theme
Your theme's code quality dramatically affects speed. Heavy themes with dozens of features you don't use create bloat.
Fast theme characteristics:
- Clean, minimal code
- Mobile-first responsive design
- Compatible with caching plugins
- Regular updates from developers
Avoid themes that:
- Include everything (sliders, contact forms, shop, etc.)
- Haven't been updated in months
- Have poor reviews mentioning speed
- Come with "lifetime" plugin bundles
Test theme speed:
Install a staging site with just the theme and basic content. Test speed before adding plugins.
Common Issues and Troubleshooting
"My site is still slow after following these steps"
Check these common culprits:
- Hosting limitations - Shared hosting has limits
- Plugin conflicts - Deactivate all plugins, test speed, reactivate one by one
- Large media files - Video files embedded directly slow sites dramatically
- External scripts - Social media widgets, advertising code, analytics
"Caching plugin broke my site"
This happens. Here's how to fix it:
- Access your site via FTP or hosting control panel
- Rename the caching plugin folder in /wp-content/plugins/
- Site should work normally
- Try different caching settings or switch plugins
"Images look blurry after compression"
You compressed too aggressively. Try these settings:
- JPEG quality: 80-85%
- PNG: Use lossless compression
- WebP: 80% quality usually works well
What's Next?
You've covered the fundamentals of WordPress speed optimisation. Your site should load noticeably faster.
Advanced techniques to explore:
- Code minification - Remove unnecessary characters from CSS/JavaScript
- Server-level caching - Varnish, Redis, or Memcached
- HTTP/2 optimization - Modern protocol for faster loading
- Critical CSS - Inline essential styles for faster rendering
Ongoing maintenance:
Website speed isn't a one-time fix. Set monthly reminders to:
- Test site speed
- Update plugins and themes
- Clean up database
- Check for new optimisation opportunities
Need help implementing these changes? Our WordPress development services include speed optimisation as standard. We also offer ongoing maintenance to keep your site running fast.
The difference between a 2-second and 6-second loading website can be thousands of pounds in lost revenue. Time spent optimising WordPress speed pays for itself quickly.
Contact us if you'd like help speeding up your WordPress website. We'll audit your current setup and implement the changes that will make the biggest difference to your business.