Your WordPress site should be fast at launch.

But over time, it can slow down. This can happen due to things like:

  • New content that’s not optimized (especially big images) – one of the most common causes of a slow website.
  • Plugins that use too many resources.
  • Database clutter.
  • Messy – or too many – scripts and stylesheets.
  • Not using a Content Delivery Network (CDN).
  • Not using browser caching.
  • Server using an older PHP version.
  • Hosting on a shared server.

If you notice that your website is slowing down, rest assured your users are probably noticing it, too.

Person waiting for a website to load on a phone

Why is it so important to have a fast WordPress site?

People get impatient when they have to wait for web pages. Here’s what can happen…

  • 47% of consumers except web pages to load in 2 seconds or less.
  • 53% of mobile users say they’ll leave a page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
  • 40% of consumers say they’d abandon a site that took more than 3 seconds to load.
  • It takes on average 87% longer to load a page on mobile vs. desktop.
  • Decreasing load time by 0.1 seconds can boost conversions by 8%.
  • 70% of users say the speed of a page load affects their willingness to buy.
  • Walmart saw a 1% increase in revenue for every 0.1 second improvement in load time.
  • The average time it takes to load a page on mobile is over 20 seconds.
  • A 0.1 second delay in load time can decrease conversion rates by 7%.
  • The average time it takes to load a page on desktop or laptop is over 10 seconds.
References: Kissmetrics (PDF), WebsiteSetup, Backlinko, Think With Google (PDF)

How do we improve WordPress performance?

Keeping your site fast is just one more way Red Kite helps to maximize your online business presence.

We’ll first address the “low-hanging fruit” – the big fixes that will make the most impact on reducing load time and improving the experience for your human visitors. Then we’ll provide recommendations for additional fine-scale tuning you may want to do, and we can help with that if you choose.

You’ll receive a report on the before/after results, actions taken, and any other recommendations to help the site stay fast going forward, plus a checklist of key ingredients for a speedy WordPress site.

Measuring the user experience

Our Performance Optimizations include Core Web Vitals. These are the metrics implemented by Google in 2021 for measuring load time, responsiveness and visual stability, with the goal of calculating a performance score that can quantify user experience.

A poor user experience can now directly impact your Google Search rankings. It’s time to get your website optimized for better performance and more conversions!

Remember that performance is an ongoing process. It’s a good idea to revisit your site’s loading times yearly or whenever a distinct slowdown is noticed.

Is your WordPress site slowing down? Contact us for more information on Performance Optimization.

Performance