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Find out Why Your Website May Be Running Slow!
Nothing is more frustrating than a slow WordPress site. It can slow down your work speed and make you agitated as hell. There are several reasons behind this lag. If you wish to deal with your slow loading and site speed effectively, you must determine the cause.
In a world where the Internet controls everything, a slow user experience can mar the entire series of activities in one’s life. How would you feel if you had to spend more time loading a page than actually browsing it? Not pretty, fitting?
Besides harming the visitor’s experience, it could tarnish the seller’s reputation. If your page takes too long to load, there is a high chance that customers would rather go to another, faster website. This can affect profit and marketing goals.
There are several reasons for this slow website speed, and in this article, we aim to discuss the roots of the problem precisely so that you can identify the reasons for a slow WordPress site and ways to overcome them and improve site performance. Read on to find out more.
If your website performance seems slow, you should run a speed test on its loading time. This can be done using free online tools like Google Pagespeed Insights, GTMetrix, or Pingdom.
A WordPress Site That Is Not Cached
When a person visits any site, the web server loads files for the viewer. These include pictures, design elements, HTML, CSS, Javascript, samples, gifs, etc. If the website is brimming with files, it is natural that site loading will take time.
It is well-known that static content takes less time to be displayed than dynamic content. That is why your website needs to be cached occasionally to make it easier for visitors to view it. Otherwise, multiple HTTP requests will only slow down the loading speed.
We suggest you install caching plugins like W3 Total Cache or WP Rocket to resolve this problem and add lazy load. Some can be effective and become a great investment for performance optimization and incredible WordPress site speed. The speed increase is an aspect everyone is looking for. Never flinch from committing to a speed booster. It will prevent a slow WordPress website with multiple requests.
Your Hosting Providers May Not Be up to the Mark
As a WordPress site builder, you must never compromise with hosting providers. If you do, nothing can save you from slow performance. It is precisely what makes your website available to the entire world. It single-handedly opens up your scope.
Businesspeople often try to cut expenses using a cheap hosting service and face more difficulties than expected due to limited server resources, no gzip compression, or outdated PHP versions, especially when running e-commerce sites that use WooCommerce.
Once your website grows, you must upgrade your hosting plan for more bandwidth and add a CDN (Content Delivery Network) like Cloudflare to prevent your WordPress site from lagging. Even if you are tight on a budget, trust us: investing in a good WordPress hosting provider plan or simply updating it will speed up your WordPress site, along with several other benefits that will come in handy. Any well-managed WordPress web hosting company will help your team in the long run.
Beware of Multiple WordPress Plugins
Plugins are an essential part of building a WordPress site. But ensure you do not have too many of them, as they can do more harm than good. As your WordPress site ages, more and more plugins will jam it, which can considerably slow it down.
If you have outdated or poorly coded plugins, they can weigh down your site. You will see that the page takes longer to load than usual. Thus, do not ignore the plugin problem if you face a similar predicament. With time, your site is likely to build up more plugins.
It would be best to regularly clean out your website’s plugins to deal with this situation. Go through them individually and choose the ones you need while discarding others. Clearing out WordPress site plugins can make your life so much easier. Make sure that the plugins you retain are updated to the latest version.
Image Optimization
Besides WordPress website hosting and other factors, one must also pay attention to the photos that go into your WordPress site, which can be a common reason. Naturally, we all want them to be brimming with A-quality pictures to capture visitors’ attention. Be it a shopping site or mobile casino that requires a $5 no-deposit bonus, all rely greatly on images. But did you know that too many high-resolution pictures can slow your website? These files are large and, subsequently, increase the loading time significantly.
Several plugins can help you optimize images and reduce image size and page size without compromising its quality; many convert the images to webp format. You can compress your heavier PNG image files into smaller ones or reduce the media on your WordPress site. We suggest using online tools to compress pictures without worsening their quality to help solve performance issues.
Malware Infections
Do you think a malware infection can only affect your security? It may also slow down the site and page load times. Irrespective of the language of a WordPress website, every platform is prone to falling victim to a malware attack. If not cleaned regularly, it can cause great harm.
If you find it difficult to fix the problem and your website is overrun with malware, consider getting professional help. When you create a WordPress site, you can also have a hosting system that ensures malware removal. This prevents your site from getting lagged at every load.
A slow WordPress website can be a warning for dangerous malware that could later threaten your security and harm the entire system. Look out for these signs to run a smooth WordPress site.
Understanding the reasons behind a slow WordPress website can help you address the issue more effectively. Many individuals encounter this problem and may be unsure of the causes. If you found this article helpful in resolving your website’s lag, we’d appreciate hearing about your experience. Your feedback is valuable to us.
Author Bio: As a successful online entrepreneur, Thomas Glare has run his website and blogs for years. He doesn’t believe that the web is the Wild West—many think it is—but the rules of business apply! He now writes to share his experience and knowledge and hopes others can benefit from it and follow in his footsteps.