Speed up your site: solving the WordPress slowdown

Having a fast WordPress site is crucial for success in the digital world. Site speed is important for providing a good user experience, boosting search engine ranking, and generating revenue. A slow site can frustrate visitors and lead to high bounce rates, which can cost you money. Site owners, developers, and digital marketers all understand the importance of site speed.

There are several reasons why your WordPress site might be running slowly, including poor hosting, unoptimized images, excessive plugins, and outdated themes. By understanding the root cause of WordPress slowdown, you can move to address the issue and significantly improve site performance. 

In this guide, we’ll delve deeper into the common causes of slowdown and provide actionable steps to address them. So, if you’re tired of being held back by a slow site, and want to speed things up and improve the user experience, keep reading!

Understanding the impact of WordPress site speed

It’s hard to overstate the importance of page load times. A speedy WordPress site ensures a superb user experience and can even improve search engine rankings. What’s more, Unbounce’s 2019 survey revealed that nearly 70% of consumers claim that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer.

Slow sites can cost their owners visitors and revenue – so it’s critically important to address slowdown, and the issues it creates, to boost your site’s overall performance.

For example, sites with lengthy load times are a navigational nightmare – nobody wants to wait for minutes at a time for pages to load. Some visitors may give up on a slow site to look for a quicker alternative, leading to higher bounce rates, lower user engagement, and reduced conversions. Search engines, like Google, also prioritize fast-loading sites in their search results – which means that improving your site speed can also improve your search engine rankings.

And don’t forget about mobile users! Today, more people access sites via smartphones and tablets than ever, so meeting their needs and expectations is vital. Mobile browsing provides a convenient and portable way to access sites on the go – meaning that mobile users often have less patience for slow-loading sites (especially if they’re using a slow, unreliable connection).

Optimizing your website for fast and efficient loading can yield long-term benefits, like enhanced brand reputation and higher conversion rates. The benefits extend to your visitors, too, by ensuring a frustration-free user experience.

Identifying common causes of slow sites

Pinpointing the factors contributing to a slow WordPress site is the first step in effectively addressing them and improving overall performance. So, let’s take a closer look at the common causes of slowdown.

1. Poor-quality web hosting

Server response time can massively influence site speed. Shared hosting, or low-quality hosting providers, also come with limitations – like limited resources and potential security risks – that can compound the negative impact on site performance and reliability.

You’ll want to pick a capable hosting provider offering managed WordPress hosting to avoid these complications. VisualWebTechnologies, Bluehost, and SiteGround are all great picks that provide a high-quality service.

Obviously, we believe that VisualWebTechnologies is your best option, and we’ll explore the reasons why in this article. VisualWebTechnologies is a privately owned company that cares deeply about providing the very best hosting service possible – we’re here to please customers, not investors.

VisualWebTechnologies– fast WordPress site hosting

2. Unoptimized images

Image files reinforce branding and add flair to your site – but they can also slow it down! Strike a balance by addressing large or uncompressed images that increase page load times and consume excessive bandwidth. We’ll cover our favorite optimization tools later.

3. Excessive plugins and themes

There’s a WordPress plugin for everything, from SEO optimization to contact forms, and it’s tempting to install a wide selection to add extra functionality to your site. However, this can cause ‘plugin bloat’. Unnecessary or outdated plugins can slow your site down – so only install those you need, ensure that any installed plugins are frequently updated, and regularly review plugins and themes.

4. Inefficient database management

A bloated or unoptimized database can lead to slow query times and increased server load – and site slowdown. Database bloat can be caused by redundant data, unnecessary table overhead (often from unused or old plugins), and fragmented indexes (common with sites using custom post types). To prevent it, you’ll need to conduct regular database optimization and eliminate unnecessary Javascript or CSS files.

5. Lack of caching and CDN 

Caching reduces server load by storing and serving static versions of your webpage content (like images, CSS, and HTML). By caching this content when it’s initially requested, it can be served to subsequent visitors quickly, saving server resources and improving site speed. A Content Delivery Network (CDN) can help you further by reducing latency, as it’ll serve content to users from web servers dotted around the globe.

VisualWebTechnologies hosting plans include the LiteSpeed caching plugin, which implements caching and CDN solutions that can accelerate site performance. This plugin is the same as the LiteSpeed plugin you can find directly via WordPress, though you’ll only be able to enable the plugin if your hosting package isn’t running on Apache.

6. Poorly coded scripts and styles

Finally, be mindful of inefficient coding. Issues like render-blocking resources, excessive CSS or JavaScript files, and inline styles can bring your page rendering to a crawl – and create frustration for your visitors. Ensure you carefully vet WordPress themes, plugins, and custom scripts before adding them to your site, and double-check that they adhere to best coding practices and receive frequent updates.

Any combination of the factors listed above could seriously impact your site’s performance. To identify potential roadblocks, check out speed testing tools like Google’s PageSpeed Insights, or plugins like MonsterInsights Lite, to monitor your site’s performance over time and gain insight into page load time and page size. This info lets you drill down into the data and identify problem areas.

Steps to improve your WordPress site speed

Understanding why your WordPress site speed has tanked is only one part of the equation – you’ll also need to take a comprehensive approach to address the root cause(s). Run through the steps below to optimize your site’s performance and maintain a smooth browsing experience for your visitors.

1. Choose a reliable hosting provider

Your hosting provider should be a scalable, high-quality service with a global fleet of servers and superb customer support. VisualWebTechnologies is a fantastic choice, as it prioritizes cutting-edge tech to minimize server overload and maximize page speed and performance.

Other reliable hosting providers include WP Engine, a service offering manager support for WordPress sites and WooCommerce stores, and Kinsta, which automatically optimizes site images.

However, VisualWebTechnologies is by far the most cost-effective hosting solution. The popular WordPress hosting service offers private cloud hosting with AMD EPYC CPUs and NVMe storage, ensuring a fast and reliable performance, as well as server-side speed optimizations and security features tailored specifically for WordPress.

2. Optimize images

Usually, optimizing images for the web involves resizing, compressing, and saving them using the most appropriate file format. Don’t worry if your store uses a lot of pictures – there are plenty of WordPress plugins specifically designed to optimize files in batches, or even automatically!

It’s essential to pick the appropriate image format and resolution to optimize your site’s performance. Fortunately, there are plenty of optimization tools available to help you out. The Robin Image Optimizer and reSmush.it plugins automatically optimize images as they’re uploaded, even in bulk, and ensure that the difference in quality between compressed and uncompressed images is negligible. If you’d rather not use a plugin, try editing software like Photoshop or Gimp, or browser-based options like ImageOptim and Compressnow.

3. Optimize plugins and themes

If you’ve noticed a dip in site performance, it’s time to audit your plugins and themes to see if they’re a contributing factor. Identify unnecessary, outdated, or poorly maintained extensions and replace them with lightweight, performance-optimized alternatives. It’s also worth consolidating plugin functionality where possible.

Keeping a large number of plugins updated is a chore – but VisualWebTechnologies can handle it for you. The provider’s managed WordPress hosting includes automatic updates that ensure your plugins are kept up-to-date and secure. If you’d like help setting up your plugins and themes, check out If you’d like more help, check out VisualWebTechnologies recommended themes and plugins setup..

4. Optimize the database

WordPress database optimization involves removing redundant data, defragmenting tables, and optimizing indexes. Regular maintenance can help keep your site speedy – and you can even employ optimization plugins like WP-Optimize or WP-Sweep to streamline the process further.

5. Implement caching and a CDN

Different types of WordPress caching can impact your site speed; browsing caching, server-side caching, and full-page caching. Understanding the various forms, and implementing a Content Delivery Network (CDN), goes a long way to reducing latency and server load. A caching plugin, like WP Super Cache and, keeps the caching process simple while ensuring a smooth user experience for site visitors.

The LiteSpeed caching plugin is included in all VisualWebTechnologies WordPress hosting packages. VisualWebTechnologies operates on a hybrid cloud model with content delivery networks (like Quic.Cloud) to seamlessly deliver global scalability.

6. Use well-coded scripts and styles

Inefficient coding practices don’t do your site any favors. You’ll want to find and replace poorly coded themes, plugins, and custom scripts and ensure that your alternatives are from reputable developers, frequently updated, have positive reviews, and follow best practices for coding, like minification, concatenation, and asynchronous loading.

7. Monitor and measure site speed

Regularly monitoring site speed and performance allows you to quickly identify potential bottlenecks and areas for improvement and move to address them. A performance bottleneck is anything that keeps your site from running smoothly. For example, large unoptimized images, ineffective plugins, and even an outdated version of PHP can become bottlenecks that impact your site speed.

Tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix analyze WordPress performance and provide actionable insights you can use to take a proactive approach to battling bottlenecks. Also, make sure you’re using the latest PHP version available.

By following these steps and leveraging VisualWebTechnologies’s hosting solutions, you’ll be well on your way to improving your WordPress site’s speed – and providing a better overall browsing experience.

Choosing the right hosting provider

Picking the right hosting provider is a vital consideration. The best services optimize site speed and even boost search engine rankings by ensuring that pages and resources load quickly – something visitors and the Google algorithm both appreciate!

VisualWebTechnologies stands out from the crowd thanks to its reliability and overall speed. Let’s dig a little deeper into the features that make VisualWebTechnologies’s hosting solutions a top pick for WordPress site owners:

1. Fast and reliable performance

VisualWebTechnologies offers private cloud hosting with AMD EPYC CPUs and NVMe storage to ensure lightning-fast website performance. Private cloud hosting is also known to provide better uptime and reliability compared to traditional shared hosting. As a result, you won’t need to worry about slow loading speeds that cause visitors to abandon your site.

2. Advanced security features

Security is just as important as speed when optimizing your WordPress site, and VisualWebTechnologies helps owners with always-on DDOS protection, an AI-powered web application firewall, firewall, and automatic SSL certificates. This impressive array of security features keeps your site environment locked down from threats – and provides peace of mind to owners concerned about data protection.

3. LiteSpeed caching

VisualWebTechnologies’s WordPress hosting plans include a free LiteSpeed caching plugin designed to accelerate site performance with just one click. VisualWebTechnologies also utilizes LiteSpeed servers, which maximize performance, unlike alternative web hosting plans’ bulkier (and often slower) Apache servers. LiteSpeed boasts twice as much maximum capacity as Apache servers and can handle thousands of concurrent visitors with minimal memory consumption and CPU usage.

Faster loading times benefit personal bloggers, small business owners, and eCommerce businesses alike! Moreover, Google is more likely to recommend webpages that quickly and reliably deliver content to visitors.

4. Free website migration 

Are you looking to switch hosting providers? VisualWebTechnologies makes it easy with a free site migration service. An experienced migration team will ensure a smooth transition, minimal downtime, and that obstacles are addressed quickly – so you can start reaping the benefits of a speedy site immediately!

5. 24/7/365 customer support

Sometimes you need a quick answer to a burning question – and VisualWebTechnologies has your back when you do, with round-the-clock customer support and expert know-how. Contact the team via live chat and email for help with site management or technical support (which is handy if you have limited technical knowledge). VisualWebTechnologies’s extensive library of blog posts, technical documentation, and videos is also ideal for those who prefer troubleshooting issues themselves.

6. Flexible plans for different needs

No matter your budget, there’s a VisualWebTechnologies hosting plan to suit your needs and provide a fast, secure, and reliable WordPress site. 

Personal bloggers can check out the “Starter Cloud” tier that supports one site and 1 GB of RAM, free migrations, the LiteSpeed plugin, and a handy cPanel to oversee installs, upgrading, and staging. “Plus Cloud” ramps up the offering with 7 sites, while the “Turbo Cloud” plan supports an unlimited number, and both include all the features of the “Starter” tier. Finally, eCommerce sites can opt for the  “Business Cloud” tier, which boasts all the features of the previous plans, unlimited sites, 4 GB of RAM, and more!

VisualWebTechnologies uses cutting-edge tech, outstanding customer support, and tailored hosting solutions to ensure your WordPress site is always running at its full potential – and that it’ll be able to meet rising demands as your online presence grows!

LiteSpeed caching: accelerate your site

LiteSpeed caching is a powerful technology that can boost your site’s performance by reducing server load and minimizing database queries. What’s more, LiteSpeed is compatible with the best WordPress plugins available, like WooCommerce and Yoast SEO (though you may have to take action to ensure specific plugins continue functioning properly alongside LiteSpeed). 

Leveraging VisualWebTechnologies’s LiteSpeed servers is a great way to accelerate your WordPress speed and ensure that unoptimized resources aren’t slowing you down.

Understanding LiteSpeed caching

Because LiteSpeed caching operates at both the server level and application level, you can effectively reduce resource usage and improve your site’s performance by implementing it on your WordPress site.

Server-level caching involves storing static versions of dynamic content on the server to be served later. This speeds up sites because the site can serve the cached version of the webpage the next time someone visits it. Application-level caching, however, stores the cached content within the application base code, reusing it whenever there’s a new web request, which also speeds up response time.

VisualWebTechnologies’s WordPress hosting and LiteSpeed caching

All VisualWebTechnologies customers receive the LiteSpeed caching plugin for free! So, there’s no reason not to use LiteSpeed to enhance site performance. LiteSpeed is also incredibly easy to set up and integrate – simply follow along with VisualWebTechnologies’s handy tutorial.

SEO benefits and improved site performance

LiteSpeed caching improves site performance by reducing page loading times – and this is good news for your SEO rankings. Site load time is a determining factor for the Google algorithm, which favors fast-loading sites over slow ones, and can result in boosted rankings and potential revenue growth.

Fast sites are also more pleasant to browse! When page content loads quickly, visitors are less likely to grow bored or impatient and leave your site.

Leveraging VisualWebTechnologies’s LiteSpeed servers

Be sure to take advantage of VisualWebTechnologies’s LiteSpeed servers and support for LiteSpeed caching! Doing so provides an enhanced user experience, ultimately contributing to higher search engine rankings, increased user engagement, and a potential increase in conversions. VisualWebTechnologies’s WordPress hosting and LiteSpeed caching work together seamlessly to ensure that your site always performs at its best and meets the demands of a growing audience.

Optimize your WordPress site speed and performance with VisualWebTechnologies

Improving your site’s speed and performance positively impacts other aspects of your business; visitors get a better user experience, you’ll enjoy boosted search engine rankings, and there’s even potential for increased revenue opportunities. First, however, you’ll need to tackle the common causes of slow sites and implement the actionable steps we’ve provided in this guide. Optimizing images and discarding unnecessary plugins is a great start – as is picking the right hosting company.

VisualWebTechnologies stands out from the crowd by offering blazing speeds, reliability, and managed WordPress hosting – in addition to security features like a real-time malware scanner that analyzes files as they’re uploaded. Users get free access to the LiteSpeed caching plugin, free site migration, and CDN integration! And, there’s a range of pricing plans to suit everyone from personal bloggers (with a “Starter” plan including 1 site and 1 GB RAM) to eCommerce businesses (with the “Business Cloud” plan with unlimited sites and 4 GB RAM)!

Currently, VisualWebTechnologies  only allows users to host their website in the US, Germany, Singapore or the Netherlands,But if you need technical support or quick answers to queries, the VisualWebTechnologies customer support team is available 24/7/365.

VisualWebTechnologies – customer support contact methods

With VisualWebTechnologies, site owners can speed up sluggish WordPress sites and reap a whole host of benefits. In fact, the difference that a high-quality provider makes to site speed, performance, and overall success just can’t be overstated. So, try VisualWebTechnologies today and give your WordPress site the best chance to thrive with cutting-edge technology!