Editing a WordPress website for speed

Editing a WordPress website for speed

Last Updated on November 8, 2022 by Ron Reichert

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Lets Speed UP!

When you search for the word “WordPress” on Google, there are more than 20 million results. That’s because it is currently one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world. If you have a WordPress website, it means that you have already made a great first step. It is much easier to create and manage websites with WordPress than with other platforms. However, once your site is up and running, you need to keep working on improving its speed and performance. This is to ensure visitors come back again.

In this blog post, we will introduce the best practices for making WordPress sites faster by:

-reducing the size of images

-compressing JavaScript files

-minifying the HTML code

 

Reduce the size of images

Images are often the biggest bottleneck when it comes to the loading speed of a page. That’s why you should be careful when selecting photos to use on your website. If you find free images online, check their copyright status and find out how you can use them legally.

Once you have your images, you can optimize their size by applying the following tips:

– Using high-quality images – If you use low-quality images, there’s a chance that your website will look unprofessional and will drive potential clients away. On the other hand, if you choose high-quality images, your site will look more trustworthy and attract potential customers.

– Selecting the best image format – There are many formats that can be used to store images, including JPEG, PNG, GIF, and SVG. Each of them has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. For example, PNG is good for photos with large areas of pure colours, while JPEG is great for images with more subtle colour transitions. GIF is used for short animations and logos with a lot of colours, while SVG works best for photos that need high-quality transparency.

– Editing photos – It may sound strange, but even if you are just using photos that you have taken, you can still optimize them. There are many photo editing software programs available, some of which are free.

– Optimizing the size of images – If you have selected the best photos but they are still too large, you can optimize their size. There are many online tools that can help you with this, such as Pixlr, Canva, or Adobe Spark.

– Loading images in the background – Once all your images are optimized and ready, you can load them in the background by using the correct HTML tags. For example, img src=”image_name.png”> will immediately load the image when the page is opened and display it on the screen. img src=”image_name.png” style=”display:none;”> will load the image, but it will remain unseen until scrolled into view.

 

Compress JavaScript files

JavaScript can either help improve your website or drive visitors away, depending on how it is used. That’s why you should be careful not to include unnecessary code. You can use a JavaScript minifier to compress your code, making it smaller and easier to read at the same time.

– Identify unnecessary code – Every time you add a new JavaScript file to your website or edit an existing one. Don’t hesitate to delete unnecessary code if you notice that you added it by mistake.

– Identify repetitive code – If you find the same code being used multiple times, use a minifier to combine them into a single file.

– Identify nested code – If your code is nested, a minifier can help you by taking it out of the parentheses and brackets so that it is easier to read. – Adding a minifier – If you want to compress your JavaScript file, you can either use one of the online tools or add a minifier to your code editor. Some of the most popular code editors include Sublime Text, Atom, and Visual Studio Code.

 

Minify HTML code

Just like with images and JavaScript, you can use a minifier to improve the readability of your HTML code. Text editors like Notepad++, Sublime Text, and Atom have built-in minifiers, while if you use a WYSIWYG editor like WordPress, you will have to install a special plug-in.

Look for useless Code – Similar to what we explained above, you should check if your HTML code is necessary and delete any unnecessary tags.

– Delete repetitive code – If you find the same code being used multiple times, you can use a minifier to combine them into a single line.

– Identify nested code – If your code is nested, you can use a minifier to take it out of parentheses and brackets so that it is easier to read. – Adding a minifier – If you want to reduce the size of your HTML code, you can either use one of the online tools or add a minifier to your text editor.

 

optimize images
(c) Can Stock Photo Inc. / jamieroach

Automated optimizations

Another great way to optimize your website is by using a website speed testing tool. These tools will analyze your website and provide you with detailed reports. Also, recommendations on how to improve it. Some of them also offer automated optimizations, which means that you don’t have to do anything!

There are many website speed testing tools available online. Here are some of the best ones:

– Pingdom – Pingdom is one of the most popular speed testing tools. It is free to use and has a great user interface.

– GTmetrix – is another popular speed testing tool that has a free version and can also integrate with your WordPress website.

– Load Impact – Load Impact has a free version with limited functionality, but is also available as a paid version.

Google Pagespeed – Free and easy-to-use tool that can optimize your website and help you improve its speed.

 

Conclusion

If you want your website to be successful, you need to make sure that it loads quickly. You can achieve this by reducing the size of images, compressing JavaScript files, and minifying HTML code. There are also automated optimizations that you can use to save time, such as website speed testing tools. By implementing these optimizations, you can make your website faster, which will result in more visitors and conversions. If you would like team internetWorld to look after your website speed and other related task. Drop us a note and let’s get started!

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