WordPress Speed Optimisation

WordPress speed optimisation that stops a slow site losing you customers.

If your pages hang while they load, or your shop crawls on a phone, people leave before they see what you sell. We find out why your WordPress site is slow, fix it and measure the difference before and after.

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5.0 on Google · measured before and after
Why it matters

A slow website loses customers before they see you.

People don’t wait. If a page takes too long to appear, most go back to Google and pick the next result, and you never know they came. On a phone with a patchy signal, a heavy site is worse still.

When a website is loading slowly, the causes are usually the same: images far bigger than they need to be, no caching, slow hosting, a bloated theme and too many plugins. We wrote about the other warning signs in 5 signs your website is costing you customers.

  • Pages that appear quickly
  • A shop that works on a phone
  • Measured before and after
  • Kept fast afterwards
What’s included

What WordPress speed optimisation actually fixes.

01

Finding out why it’s slow

If your WordPress site is slow, the fix depends on the reason. So before changing anything we measure the site, page by page, on a computer and on a phone, and find where the time is going.

Before measurementsComputer and phone
02

Images and caching

Image compression, so photos stay sharp but load in a fraction of the time. Caching, so pages are ready to go instead of being built from scratch for every visitor.

Image compressionCaching
03

CDN, minification and PHP updates

A CDN (content delivery network) serves your files from a server close to each visitor. Minification strips the bulk out of code files. And an up-to-date version of PHP, the language WordPress runs on, is one of the simplest speed gains there is.

CDNMinificationPHP updates
04

WooCommerce shops

A slow shop costs sales at the worst moment. Product pages, filters and the checkout get the same treatment, tested on a phone so nothing in the buying process breaks.

WooCommerceCheckout tested
05

Measured before and after

We measure with GTmetrix before we start and again when we finish, so you can see exactly what changed.

GTmetrixBefore and after
Already have a website?

WordPress speed optimisation is usually a one-off fix. Keeping it fast is the job of a monthly care plan, because updates and new content slowly add the weight back. And if the site is past saving, a new website built to be fast from day one may be the better answer.

Proof

From sluggish to under a second.

Corinne Joy Jewellery had a sluggish site losing visitors before they ever saw the work. A full technical overhaul (image compression, caching, CDN, minification and PHP updates) turned it into a site that loads in under a second and keeps visitors browsing.

98%
performance score, up from 72%
3.5×
faster load time
722ms
Largest Contentful Paint, from 2.5s
“I can’t rate Matt high enough. From start to finish he listened to exactly what I wanted and delivered to an amazing standard. He was so helpful and professional throughout. What’s more, he is such a knowledgeable and genuine person. Thank you Matt.”
Corinne Joy
Corinne Joy Jewellery

See the full case study

How it works

How we speed up your website.

  • 01

    Measure

    We test the site as it is today with GTmetrix and note every number, so there is a fair before.

  • 02

    Find the cause

    We work out why it is slow, so the fixes go where the time is actually being lost.

  • 03

    Fix

    Images, caching, CDN, minification, PHP and plugins, each tested as we go so nothing breaks.

  • 04

    Measure again

    The same tests, after. You see the before and after side by side.

FAQs

Common questions about website speed.

Why is my website slow?+
Usually a mix of the same few things: images much bigger than they need to be, no caching, slow hosting, a heavy theme and too many plugins. On a phone with a weak signal the effect is worse. A free test such as Google PageSpeed Insights will show you whether speed is a problem.
Why is my WooCommerce shop so slow?+
Shops carry more weight than an ordinary site: lots of product images, filters, extra plugins and a basket and checkout that can’t be cached like a normal page. The fixes are the same in principle, but each one has to be tested so nothing in the checkout breaks.
How do you speed up a WordPress site?+
First by finding out why it is slow, then by fixing those causes: compressing images, setting up caching and a CDN, minifying code files, updating PHP and removing plugins that slow things down. Every change is tested before it stays.
How do you measure the difference?+
With GTmetrix, before we start and again when we finish, so you can see the change for yourself. For Corinne Joy Jewellery the GTmetrix performance score went from 72% to 98%.
Will a faster website help me on Google?+
It can help, but honestly it is one factor among many. Google does take into account how quickly pages load for real visitors, but speed alone won’t lift a site with other problems. The surer win is that more of the people who arrive stay long enough to get in touch.
Can I speed up my website myself?+
Some of it, yes. Compressing your images and deleting plugins you no longer use are good places to start. Caching, CDNs and PHP updates can break a site if they are set up wrongly, which is where it is worth having help.

Make your site fast.

Book a call and send us your web address. We’ll look at where the time is going and tell you what we’d fix first. Our website speed optimisation service always starts with that look. No pitch, no pressure.

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