Increase WordPress speed to improve SEO, user experience, and conversions. A slow WordPress website increases bounce rate and reduces Google rankings. In this guide, you will learn how to increase WordPress speed using proven methods, with real screenshots showing how to do each step.
1. Use Fast Hosting to Increase WordPress Speed (Hostinger Example)
Hosting is the most important factor when you want to increase WordPress speed. Even the best optimization will fail if your server is slow or overloaded.
Cheap shared hosting places many websites on one server, increasing server response time (TTFB).
What you should do:
- Use LiteSpeed Web Server
- Set PHP version to 8.1 or higher
- Enable OPcache
- Use SSD / NVMe storage
Hostinger provides all these features through its modern hPanel, making it beginner-friendly.
Result:
A website loading in 5–6 seconds on basic hosting can load under 2 seconds after server optimization.
🔽 How to do it (Hostinger – Real Interface)
2. Choose a Lightweight Theme for Faster WordPress Loading
Your WordPress theme controls how much CSS, JavaScript, and layout code is loaded. Heavy themes slow down WordPress and negatively affect Core Web Vitals.
Best lightweight themes to increase WordPress speed:
- Astra
- GeneratePress
- Kadence
- Hello Elementor (when optimized)
Avoid:
- Multipurpose themes
- Themes with built-in sliders and heavy animations
Lightweight themes load fewer files and render faster on both desktop and mobile.
🔽 How to do it (Theme Selection in WordPress)
3. Install a Cache Plugin to Increase WordPress Speed
Caching is mandatory if you want to increase WordPress speed. Without caching, WordPress generates pages dynamically on every visit, which slows down loading time.
Best cache plugins:
- LiteSpeed Cache (best for Hostinger)
- WP Rocket
- WP Fastest Cache
Important features to enable:
- Page cache
- Browser cache
- GZIP or Brotli compression
- CSS & JavaScript minification
Caching alone can improve loading speed by 2–3 times.
🔽 How to do it (Cache Plugin Setup)
4. Optimize Images to Increase WordPress Speed
Images are the largest files on most WordPress websites. Uploading uncompressed images is one of the most common reasons for slow loading.
Image optimization includes:
- Compressing images
- Converting images to WebP
- Resizing images properly
- Enabling lazy loading
Recommended plugins:
- Smush
- ShortPixel
- Imagify
- Optimole
Best practices:
- Maximum image width: 2000px
- Use JPG for photos
- Use PNG only when transparency is required
🔽 How to do it (Image Optimization Plugins)
5. Enable Lazy Loading for Images and Videos
Lazy loading ensures that images and videos load only when they appear on the screen. This reduces initial page load time and improves mobile performance.
Most cache and image optimization plugins include lazy loading options.
Benefits:
- Faster first content load
- Lower bandwidth usage
- Improved user experience
🔽 How to do it (Lazy Load Settings)
6. Use CDN to Increase WordPress Speed Worldwide
A Content Delivery Network (CDN) stores your website files on servers around the world and delivers them from the nearest location to the visitor.
Best CDN option:
- Cloudflare (Free)
CDN benefits:
- Faster global loading
- Reduced server load
- Better security
🔽 How to do it (Cloudflare CDN Setup)
7. Minify and Optimize CSS & JavaScript
CSS and JavaScript files can block page rendering and slow down WordPress, especially on mobile devices.
What to enable:
- Minify CSS and JavaScript
- Defer JavaScript loading
- Remove unused CSS
- Load scripts in footer
These optimizations improve Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and overall performance.
🔽 How to do it (CSS & JS Optimization)
8. Clean Database to Improve WordPress Performance
Over time, WordPress stores unnecessary data such as revisions, drafts, spam comments, and expired transients. This slows down database queries.
Clean regularly:
- Post revisions
- Auto drafts
- Spam & trash comments
- Transients
Recommended plugins:
- WP-Optimize
- Advanced Database Cleaner
🔽 How to do it (Database Cleanup)
9. Reduce Plugins and Disable Unnecessary Features
Too many plugins increase HTTP requests and database queries, slowing down WordPress.
Best practices:
- Delete unused plugins
- Avoid duplicate functionality
- Disable emojis, embeds, and heartbeat API
🔽 How to do it (Plugin Management)
10. Test Speed and Core Web Vitals
Speed optimization is not a one-time task. Regular testing ensures your website remains fast.
Recommended tools:
- Google PageSpeed Insights
- GTmetrix
- WebPageTest
Target scores:
- LCP under 2.5 seconds
- CLS under 0.1
- Mobile score above 80
🔽 How to do it (Performance Reports)
✅ Final Summary
To successfully increase WordPress speed, focus on:
- Fast hosting (Hostinger LiteSpeed)
- Lightweight theme
- Cache plugin
- Image optimization
- CDN
- Database cleanup
- Plugin reduction