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(Follow this guide to improve the effectiveness of your WordPress website and wow your audience)
WordPress is a top choice for any website design company to create a stunning business website. More than 43.3 percent of websites on the Internet are on WordPress. Creative agencies love WordPress because of the variety of themes and plugins it supports and the effortless navigation.
However, branding agencies also notice that your WordPress website can be a nightmare if it is not properly optimized. It can create huge bottlenecks and ultimately impair user experience, frustrating customers. Luckily, you can implement some easy tips to boost your WordPress website’s effectiveness. Based on the expertise of top web design firms in Los Angeles, here’s what we recommend:
Don’t skip optimizing your images
Images are crucial in taking your WordPress website to the next level. However, crowding the website without optimization can cause more harm than good. To ensure that each image on the website helps in conveying the message you want them to, here’s what you should keep in mind:
- Before you add any images to your WordPress website, reduce the file size. Ideally, you should aim for 150kb or less. However, reducing the file size doesn’t compromise the picture quality. If the image is highly pixelated, your audience won’t appreciate it.
- Most website developers do not consider image resolution when uploading images. Resolution, which is expressed in dots per inch or DPI, has a direct impact on picture quality. The higher your DPI, the better the resolution. However, a higher resolution is not always good news, as it can sluggish the website. So, we aim for 72 DPI, which is a comfortable image resolution for most websites.
- While WordPress is compatible with most image formats such as JPG, PNG, or GIF, pay attention to which one you should choose based on the type of image you are uploading. For example, JPG is a great choice for featured images or product photos as it supports over a million colors. However, PNG is a better option for logos or social media icons as you can retain the transparent background while saving the images.
Choose a run-of-the-mill theme
The theme of your WordPress website is one of the first things visitors will notice. How your website looks and feels is determined by your website theme. While you may be fond of a particular style or color, it may not necessarily translate well on the screen. Therefore, you need to be careful when choosing the website theme. Here’s how you can ace your theme game:
- Pick a theme that is aligned with your overall vision.
- More customization increases your chances of success as you can stand out from your competitors.
- Avoid choosing a jam-packed theme that can be distracting for the audience. Keeping it simple works more than you think
- Ensure your theme is compatible with mobile devices, as most traffic is from mobile users.
- Don’t choose a theme without sufficient developer support. Long-established themes receive excellent developer support and are better suited to your needs if you want the website to perform as expected.
- Pay attention to your theme’s cross-browser compatibility to attract visitors to your website. The more inclusive your website is, the better your chances of receiving quality traffic.
- Test the shortlisted themes by loading a demo on desktop and phone browsers. This is a great way to find out whether there is any lag.
Pay close attention to the hosting service
Web hosting service is a key cog in the wheel if you want a highly effective WordPress website. The hosting platform serves the right files to visitors when they look up your website. Your best efforts to optimize your website’s effectiveness can be unsuccessful if your web hosting provider doesn’t do a stellar job.
When shortlisting your service provider, remember that the speed and uptime guarantee are some of the critical considerations. Ideally, it would be best if you didn’t settle for anyone who doesn’t provide close to 100% uptime. You also want a provider that guarantees excellent customer support if you run into trouble. Other good features of your hosting platform include the provision of automatic backups, the ability to issue updates wherever necessary, and the flexibility of their subscription plans.
Caching matters more than you think
Caching is an automatic process that occurs whenever someone visits your website. The browser loads every file and line of code on the page so the user can view the website. The information remains stored in the browser through caching, so the loading process can be accelerated whenever the user returns to your website.
Remember that you must install the right caching plugins on your website to enable this. Going for improper caching settings can backfire and slow down your website. Here are some guidelines to achieve proper caching settings on your WordPress website:
- Always use a single library for images that can be linked throughout the website
- Design your URLs to be caching-friendly and ensure that they stay consistent>
- Since cookies are difficult to cache, use them sparingly
- Refrain from adding any user-specific information within the URL you are using on the website
Opt for a stellar content delivery network
In simple terms, a content delivery network refers to servers in different locations. Their main job is to work together and deliver the information to the user from the server closest to their location. CDN helps reduce the distance between the visitor’s server and yours to ensure the website loads efficiently and quickly.
One key consideration when choosing the CDN is where most of your user base is located. Ideally, the CDN you select should have POPs closer to your users’ locations. If your website receives traffic from across the globe, you may need to opt for a CDN with POPs spread out all over.
However, this can mean incurring additional costs.
Also, check whether the chosen CDN supports the delivery of personalized content. Since personalization is the fastest way to build customer loyalty, this should be a non-negotiable when looking for the ideal CDN partner.
Pay attention to the file sizes of CSS and Javascript
Regarding your WordPress website, CSS and JavaScript are two crucial elements that can boost it beyond HTML code. However, since the server will need to send these files each time a visitor requests the loading of a page, you need to be more mindful of their sizes. The smaller the file size, the faster your website will load without diluting its functionality and aesthetics. Remove unnecessary codes that can make the files much bigger and slow down your website’s performance.
Final words
Getting your WordPress website to perform beyond your expectations is not an unrealistic goal. Get in touch with professionals who can make it happen. SPIN Digital, a Los Angeles-based web development company, has an excellent team that can do this. Schedule a demo right away and witness the results for yourself.
