WordPress can be an excellent tool for bloggers just beginning their journey. You can do a lot with your WordPress blog, but not if it loads too slow. A Portent study revealed that the first 5 seconds of page load time could make the most impact. So, for a successful blog, you need to keep load times in check during technical audits.
The main reason for a slow site can be as simple as a slow internet connection. In that case, always dial the Spectrum customer service number and talk to customer care. Other reasons can be a problem with the web hosting, WordPress configuration, or faulty plug-ins. Here are things you should not do if you want to improve load times for your WordPress site:
Choosing the Wrong Theme
The first step for developing your WordPress site is choosing a theme. The theme can have a lot of impact on the overall perception of your blog. While aligning your theme with the right aesthetics is important, it is also necessary for a fast website.
A wrong theme can be impossible to optimize for speed. Changing a theme, later on, can be a hassle. It is vital to do it right the first time. Sometimes changing a theme can mean developing your website again. So, make sure you choose the correct theme for your blog.
Ignoring WordPress Updates
We all have done this one time or the other. While updates can feel like a hassle and disturbance, they can fix a lot of your problems. Most people think that an update to your WordPress theme can ruin your website. This is entirely false, and the reality is quite the opposite.
Updates to themes can make load times a lot faster by removing bugs. The more updated your theme and plug-ins are, the better performance they have. Moreover, it is easier to change and optimize fully updated software.
Unnecessary Plug-ins
The WordPress plug-in variety is like a huge shopping mall. Any developer can feel like a kid in a candy store surrounded by so many of them. It can be a task to choose the right and the necessary plug-ins for your blog. The more plug-ins you install, the slower your page load times can be.
Ignoring WordPress Caching Plug-ins
Since we are already talking about unnecessary plug-ins, let’s talk about important ones as well. Any website or blog can benefit a great deal with WordPress caching plug-ins. They can make your blog load two to five times faster than before.
WordPress pages are dynamic and are created from scratch by servers every time. The process can be long and might make your website slow if it has a lot of users. The caching plug-in helps in making a copy of your web pages after loading them once. So, your website doesn’t have to create the entire page and display the cached version next time.
Speed Optimization for Images
Images are a great way to attract readers to your blog. Meanwhile, if you haven’t optimized them for the web, they can slow down your page. If you go on to a website and the images don’t load quickly, you will likely leave. You can compress all images on your website using editing software. The two file types you can use most frequently are:
PNG
While PNG formats are uncompressed, they are detailed and of high quality. For places on your blog where the image is more than just a visual impact, use PNG.
JPEG
It has a lower image quality but is also much smaller in size. The compressed images can load faster, and you should use them more often. Anywhere on your blog, where lower quality images may suffice, use JPEG format.
Uploading Audio and Video Files Directly
You should never upload audio and video files directly to your blog. WordPress can recognize them and show them with a built-in HTML player but reduce speed. The audio and video files will also cost you a lot of bandwidth. Instead, you can use links from SoundCloud, YouTube, Spotify, or DailyMotion.
Not Breaking Comments to Pages
More comments on your website can mean you have more readers. While this can be a confidence booster, it can also slow you down. WordPress has a built-in feature where you can break comments into pages. Pagination will make loading them a lot faster. Moreover, you should always have comment moderation on your blog. If all comments go directly on your page, it will make room for comment spam.