Speed Up Your Website

A slow website costs you visitors. People expect a page to load in seconds — if it doesn't, they leave. Here's how to make yours faster, starting with the changes that help the most.

First, a rule of thumb: a faster site is also better for search engines and for converting visitors. It's worth the few minutes of effort.

Quick wins (do these first)

1. Update everything. Outdated software is a common cause of slowness. Update WordPress core, your theme, and every plugin — see Install WordPress. Old, unmaintained plugins often drag a site down.
2. Compress your images. Large images are the #1 cause of slow pages. Before you upload a photo, resize it (most phones take huge photos) and save it as a compressed format. See Upload files.
3. Run a speed test to see where you stand, then test again after each change to measure improvement.

A bit more effort

1. Keep your site clean. Delete unused plugins, themes, and media you don't use. Every extra plugin adds weight and can slow things down.
2. Use caching. A caching setup stores a copy of your pages so they load faster for visitors. Many control panels offer a one-click cache. If yours does, turn it on.
3. Upgrade if you're outgrowing your plan. If your resource meters are near their limit and your site is slow, a bigger plan gives you more room — see Upgrade or downgrade your plan.

"What's the single best thing?"

For WordPress users, it's usually updating plugins + compressing images. Those two changes alone fix slowdowns in most cases.

Still slow?

• Check that your images aren't absurdly large (a 5-second load is often just a few giant images).
• Make sure the changes have a minute to take effect — a cache may need to refresh.
• If it's persistently slow and you've done the above, contact support. We can help you look deeper.

Remember: fast isn't just about speed — it's the difference between a visitor who stays and one who leaves. A couple of minutes of cleanup pays off.