Did you know – how to speed up WordPress by cutting down on the number of plugins in Dashboard? You’ve come to the right place.
In this article – we will learn how to clear ground for speed in WordPress. If you are not technical enough, don’t proceed unless you are confident. You can also hire WordPress support professionals for assistance.
So – let’s proceed to address more details.
H2 – Use Fewer WordPress Plugins for Speed
1. Developer’s Assistance
A developer’s assistance is unparalleled in most cases, if a WordPress site is experiencing errors. Most of the times, beginners can’t fix, treat, or handle WordPress issues. Such scenarios require Technical assistance of developers, at all cost. So, in this case – a developer refers to a skilled person who can improve WordPress performance, fix issues, and provide a report of what was performed. In simple words, the person who knows WordPress’ infrastructure well is a Developer, also has coding expertise.
Specifically, if you need to upgrade a WordPress infrastructure, such as dealing with Updates, you’ll need developers’ assistance. Developers can also help, if the WordPress site you’re treating with was built with their assistance, coding, or manual expertise. Simply put, if you don’t know about WordPress specifics, you need to have a developer on board for customization, security bug fixing, or improving page speed.
When it comes to speed, developers know – how should a web page’s content be minimized to extend WordPress functionality, while not affecting page speed measures? In simple words, developers can help you decrease the number of HTTP requests a page sends to the server.
Here is a list of platforms where you can find WordPress developers That help you decrease the number of WordPress plugins for speed.
- Fiverr
- Google Search
- Online Job Boards
Once you have found one, you can see if the person’s profile is appealing, has worked for other clients, and if has a proven track record of successful projects. Once you have enough data in hand, proceed and ask for a trial session. The trial session ensures deciding rates, specifics, nature of tasks, and others. Once the full stack of project’s duration is decided, you can move and place an order.
2. Theme Functions
A WordPress theme helps beginners shape up a WordPress site. In simple words, a Theme decides the design, colors, links, and the look of a WordPress site. In this case, when it comes to speed and Themes, the following specifics play a vital role while you are choosing a WordPress theme for speed.
While you’re looking at various candidates for speed, pay attention to speed measures at sales page. You can see if a theme is performing well on sites with different data, purpose, and functionality. For example – on Themeforest, a theme’s characteristics provided by Theme developers provide enough data for users.
Here is what to do after you’ve chosen a WordPress theme for speed:
- Setup a staging site first
- Install the Theme you are considering for a WordPress project
- Upload dummy content on a page and blog post template
- Test your pages and posts with GT Metrix, in order to see its traffic stats and HTTP requests
- Hire a developer who can interpret and improve page speed measures
Needless to say – finding a Theme for speed is not a big deal. On Google, you can find peoples’ experiments to save you Time and money. These stories are called case studies and are available in abundance. For example – search for page speed case studies and see the available resources.
Similarly – you can sign up for a WordPress speed optimization service. In most cases, the WordPress plugins does a great job of improving page speed; however, altering a Theme’s options is a different story and requires developers’ assistance in most cases.
3. Use WordPress Older versions
Have you ever thought of flipping things up side down? Using the WordPress’ older version for speed, without using extra plugins, may seem astonishing to most of us, no doubt.
However, the story doesn’t end here. The whole philosophy is circles around using lightweight WordPress versions, old and outdated. However, using an outdated version comes with security risks, be aware of the complications.
In this case, the point of impact is to use a lightweight WordPress version for speed, so you don’t need to install extra plugins for speed. This is a half cake, as you will need to understand what complications may occur with outdated software. Here is what to do to install an older version for page speed.
- On the WordPress official website, you can find the past versions, lower versions.
- Download one with a small size
- Upload and install to your web hosting plan
- Experience if the process went normal and measure how page speed has affected – positively
- The whole story should be performed on a staging site, if possible.
Once you have installed one, you can measure the page speed with GT Metrix. However, here is a list of complications with older versions.
- May carry security risks
- There may be no fixing routines for older versions
- Page speed improvements may result in disasters
While using an older version for light weight process, and decreasing the number of plugins in WordPress is ideal; however, this option is not ideal for most is us and is not recommended if you don’t know how to install WordPress manually. Plus, you will also need to know how to keep WordPress secure if you are not updating its core to the latest version.
4. Keep Testing new Technologies
Speed is a uniform process, often requires changing source codes sometimes, plugins, testing environments, and software(s). While most struggle for automated manners, keep in mind – using too many plugins can also slow down WordPress’ page speed.
There should be no question regarding page speed in WordPress. However, taking care of necessary measures is undeniable. In such scenarios, you’ll need to test, reject, alter, and change various options over time. Here is a list of factors That affect WordPress’ page speed:
- New Technologies require testing on a staging site first, before you are ready to apply things on a live website.
- Don’t sign up for a premium plugin until you have checked its trial performance.
- If possible, always prefer using manual routines for speed, instead of using plugins for WordPress page speed.
- If possible, do let WordPress developers for assistance, if you don’t know how to proceed with something specific in WordPress.
- Always – prefer backups once you are ready to proceed with changing the WordPress’ infrastructure.
Last but not least, measuring page speed before making changes will help you decide to proceed or hold. If your page speed is less than 4 seconds, you don’t need to make changes in WordPress, unless required.
H2 – Wrapping up
That’s it – measuring page speed by overlooking additional plugins is a pure gem. You will need to see, test, and choose manual routines for page speed, in most cases.
Unlike automated manners, such as using plugins for speed, developers’ assistance manual routines, and testing environments can help you cross the road, safely. In most cases, you can learn by doing; however, take backups and don’t proceed if you are not careful or need expertise.
Contact us for more information on WordPress management and speed optimization, if you feel something is not made for you in WordPress.