Website performance has to be the top priority for every business. If your website continuously loads slowly, it can lead to the permanent loss of valuable customers. This is why we recommend comprehensive website maintenance services to optimize security, performance, SEO, and loading speed.
In this post, we will share 10 tips on website maintenance to enhance its performance & loading speed.
Note: Please hire a web developer or website agency if you are not sure how to perform any of these tips.
Let’s begin!
#1 Adjust The Dimensions & Image Format
Websites with large images tend to be the slowest. To achieve a better page speed:
- Use the WebP image format instead of PNG or JPEG.
- Shrink the pixels of the image through TinyPNG or ImageOptim.
- Do lazy loading so the website images load when they are required in order to speed up page loading.
Recommended Plugin: Smush (for image compression and optimization)
#2 Reduce The Number Of HTTP Requests
Different aspects of a webpage, like images, scripts, and CSS styles, practically make a webpage need an HTTP request. And these requests can make your speed lower. Hence, reduce them by:
- Merging different CSS and Javascript files into one file.
- Saving sprites, icons, and other small images as one single file and using it as a background.
- Reducing the number of external scripts that are not necessary and take a long time to load the resources.
#3 Enable Browser Caching
When your website upgrades, enable caching to save some files on the browser. This removes the burden of reloading them after every visit. Most web developers use a cache plugin with the WordPress websites that they build.
- Set cache expiration headers to enhance loading speed performance.
- Use plugins like WP Rocket for WordPress users or configure .htaccess rules manually.
Recommended WordPress Plugin: WP Rocket (for caching and performance improvement)
#4 Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
Having excess code and blank spaces within your files makes their size bigger. The bigger they are, the slower the website’s performance will be. You can use:
- Minification tools such as UglifyJS for Javascript or CSS and CSSNano for CSS.
- MinifyCode or similar compressors are available online to remove unwanted spaces.
- CDNs (Content Delivery Networks) for serving optimized files.
Recommended WordPress Plugin: Autoptimize (for minifying CSS, JS, and HTML)
#5 Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
The role of CDN is to provide the website content from the server nearest to the user, thus shrinking the Latency levels.
- Some popular CDNs include Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, and Akamai.
- CDN serves various assets globally, including images, scripts, and videos, for better accessibility.
Recommended Plugin: Cloudflare (to integrate CDN with WordPress)
#6 Optimize Website Hosting
This needs no elaboration. Your hosting service handles a large amount of your website speed. What you should think about is:
- Investing in managed hosting or using dedicated servers for improved performance.
- Go for the SSD storaged hosting instead of HDD ones.
- Check if your host has CDN integration and server-side caching.
#7 Minimize Redirects and Fix Any Broken Links.
Redirects and broken links can cause page speed issues and dent SEO rankings. Improving this involves:
- Use Google Search Console or Screaming Frog to identify broken links.
- Restrict redirecting except for 301 and 302 redirects.
- Replace obsolete URLs and get rid of redirect chains.
Recommended Plugin: Broken Link Checker (to identify and fix broken links)
#8 Activate Gzip Compression
Gzip shrinks your site’s file size before loading it to the browser to improve its load, speeding up its performance.
- Turn on Gzip via the .htaccess file.
- Check the compression with GTmetrix or PageSpeed Insights.
Recommended WordPress Plugin: Enable Gzip Compression (to activate Gzip compression)
#9 Improve Database Performance
Routine optimization and maintenance tasks are of utmost importance to a website.
- You can delete old revisions, spam comments, and unused data.
- With WordPress, you can manage optimization through WP-Optimize
- You need to set up regular maintenance to stop the database from becoming too large.
Recommended WordPress Plugin: WP-Optimize (for database cleaning and optimization)
#10 Carry Out Website Maintenance Routinely
Routine visits to the website ensure that it is running optimally.
- Don’t ignore upgrading the CMS (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal) version.
- Don’t forget to regularly update plugins and themes because they can pose a security risk.
- Carry out monthly speed checks and do any website updates when needed.
Conclusion
To keep your website running at high speed, constant maintenance and optimization are required. Following these 10 tips can help your site remain fast, responsive, and competitive. From a simple website update to a complete website transformation, every improvement made will enhance the user’s experience and search results. Take action now to enhance your website’s load times and performance!