This article provides you with steps on how to ensure that your website loads at optimal speed.
- Compress images
- Use the latest PHP versions
- Ensure CMS, Plugins, and Themes are up to date
- Install Caching plugin
- Check Hosting (LVE) limits
- Check Cron jobs
- Optimize Database
- Optimize rewrite rules (redirects)
- Ensure Contact Us Forms are not being exploited
- Make use of CDN service
1. Compress images
Large images are one of the major reasons for slow websites, optimizing the size of images will improve load times as it reduces over size of the website required to load. cPanel has a tool to help achieve this as per steps:
2. Use the latest PHP versions
Newer versions of PHP are optimized for better-improved performance with plugins for most modern CMSs and switching to the latest version can help with improved speeds, to switch versions, perform the steps below :
3. Ensure CMS, Plugins, and Themes are up to date
The latest versions of plugins, Themes, and CMS (content management systems) not only improve security to patch potential vulnerabilities but also help bring in new features and better-optimized code.
It is also advised that it is best to remove any unused Themes and plugins as well, to also help ensure best performance as per below:
4. Install the Caching plugin
The caching plugin allows static content of a website that gets used frequently in an optimized format that allows it to be loaded quicker the next time it is required to load.
Example of one of these Plugins:
5. Check Hosting (LVE) limits
Hosting packages have limits on shared hosting environments to ensure that 1 website does not utilize all available resources on a shared server. It is possible that some of these limits are being reached, which if resolved will improve website performance. This can be checked as per:
6. Crons not optimized
Review the crons scheduled via cPanel as it is possible multiple crons running at the same time could utilize a lot of resources and move starting dates of crons, help resolve that no conflicts in resources on the hosting plan:
7. Optimize Database
Make sure there are no crashed tables causing issues with plugins having errors and indirectly impacting your Website performance as per the steps:
Another good step would be to change the database Engine type from MyISAM to InnoDB as it is the preferred engine for Database queries for most CMS solutions:
ALTER TABLE my_table ENGINE = InnoDB;
If the query is executed properly, the database engine of the table will be changed to InnoDB.
8. Optimize rewrite rules
Rewrite rules within WordPress or cPanel itself, can sometimes cause performance issues especially if the rules are potentially causing loops or triggering multiple rules until it loads the proper page, instead of setting the rule to target the endpoint directly.
It is also possible to use rewrite rules to improve performance as per the example below that will redirect all non-SSL to SSL for your website within .htaccess :
RewriteEngine On
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} 80
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.yourdomain.com/$1 [R,L]
9. Ensure Contact Us Forms are not being exploited
It is also possible that website performance is being degraded due to spam scripts or bots targeting the “contact us” page or other forums on the website by spamming the input fields. A good way to resolve this is to set up a reCaptcha to stop this behavior allowing only legitimate users to complete the forum as per :
Further configuration to specific Contact Us forums might still be required.
10. Make use of CDN service
Using a CDN (Content Delivery Network) is using 3rd party vendor to cache your website on multiple servers around the world allowing users to load the website from the location nearest to them.
This allows for both improved speed and security. Some vendors also offer free Plans such as the CloudFlare package :
https://www.cloudflare.com/plans/free/