WordPress is a robust platform for website creation, but to ensure it operates at peak performance, you must implement a range of best practices. In this extensive guide, we’ll delve into essential tips and practices that can significantly boost the performance of your WordPress site. We’ll cover aspects of security, resource management, and efficiency to create a smoother and faster user experience for your visitors.
1. Protect Your Sensitive Files
It may sound like a security measure but there is more beyond that. Securing crucial WordPress files, such as wp-config.php and xmlrpc.php, is foundational to WordPress security, we all know that. What you don’t often consider, is that these files are frequently targeted by malicious actors seeking unauthorized access. Continuous attacks on your WordPress installation not only pose security risks but also consume server resources, which can impact your site’s performance. Check your website’s access log and you verify what we are talking about. Protect these files using IP whitelisting, strong password policies, or security plugins. Or even better, disable access completely and optimize permissions to those files that need it.
Another leak to your performance is login tries. Open your server resources and check the RAM usage when you make a login try. It spikes at the very moment you hit Login button. Now consider how many bots try to login to your website constantly, and try to think of the impact this might have to your visitors. Ensure you apply a brute force protection because we guarantee you will witness a benefit in saving server resources, which ultimately will result to better loading times in various cases.
2. Disable Unnecessary PHP Extensions
Hosting panels and services often provide the option to enable or disable specific PHP extensions. Evaluate your site’s requirements and disable any extensions that your site doesn’t utilize. By doing so, you reduce the overhead on your server, improving overall performance. Most important: Make sure xDebug is disabled – it can affect your loading times significantly.
3. Remove PHP and JS Console Warnings
While PHP and JavaScript console warnings may not necessarily affect your site’s functionality, it’s best to resolve them. Warnings can clutter your error logs and impact the clarity of debugging. On top of that, most probably code will run faster if error free. It’s not weird that console errors are noted in PageSpeed Insights reports also. Regularly check for warnings and address them promptly to maintain a clean and efficient codebase.
4. Above the fold Media Optimization
Media-rich content can substantially impact page load times. Specially, media presented above the fold (shown as soon as the page is loaded, like the logo or the hero image) are the most important for your loading times. The rest can be lazy-loaded and further optimized, but the first shown media of every page must be absolutely pixel-perfect. That means they have to be in the perfect size and scale. Ensure that your images are appropriately sized and compressed to reduce file sizes.
There are various plugins and online image optimization tools available for this purpose, but those will just add some more bloat to your website (did you read the previous suggestion? 😊). Use one of the hundreds online free software websites that allow you to optimize images in a single click, before you upload them to your website. A google search with the keyword “optimize images online” will do the job. Feel free to choose the free software you like or use any other media editing software you prefer. Also, don’t ever forget to implement lazy loading, which loads images only when they become visible to the user, reducing initial page load times.
5. Efficiently Manage Email Resources
You may think that this is irrelative but you will change your mind if you sit on top of your server’s resource manager. If your hosting package includes email services, managing your email accounts efficiently is vital. Large email attachments, especially in your inbox, can place a significant strain on server resources. Implement email storage management practices, such as archiving old emails, organizing folders, and regularly deleting unnecessary messages. Consider offloading email services to dedicated providers like Outlook, Gmail, or professional email hosting services.
6. Strategic Admin Activities
Making substantial changes or updates in the WordPress admin area during peak traffic times can adversely affect your site’s performance. Activities like theme updates, plugin installations, or content management can utilize server resources needed by your visitors. Plan and schedule these admin tasks during low-traffic periods to avoid disruptions and maintain a smooth user experience. Also, make sure you create some cron jobs in the Server level, because automatic cron on WordPress runs more often than you would like (almost every time a front page is visited).
7. Avoid Unnecessary Plugins
While plugins can enhance WordPress functionality, excessive use of them can slow down your site. Avoid installing plugins for convenience if their functionality isn’t essential to your site’s objectives. For instance, refrain from using a separate plugin for every minor administrative task when WordPress offers built-in tools for most basic functions. Additionally, resist the temptation to use plugins for tasks that can be accomplished manually, such as uploading and linking to PDF files. A leaner plugin environment translates to improved performance.
8. Close Debugging Logs
WordPress and plugins often generate debugging logs to help identify issues during development. However, these logs should not be left open in a production environment. Debugging logs consume server resources and can degrade performance over time. Always ensure that debugging is disabled or set to a minimal level in production to prevent unnecessary resource utilization.
Bonus: Measure your website performance the right way
Regularly monitor your site’s performance to evaluate the effectiveness of your optimization efforts. Tools like Query Monitor provide invaluable insights into resource usage and loading times directly within your WordPress dashboard. Before using external tools like GTmetrix, use Query Monitor to identify and resolve in-site issues that may be affecting performance. Measure the time it takes for your website to load fully to ensure it meets your desired performance standards.
Learn some theory before jumping to actions!
By implementing these comprehensive WordPress performance enhancement tips and best practices, you’ll create a faster, more secure, and more efficient website. Continuously review and optimize your site’s performance to provide an exceptional user experience and maintain high search engine rankings. Following these practices will help your WordPress site perform at its best while delivering a seamless experience to your visitors.