{"id":20392,"date":"2026-11-02T12:25:03","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T11:25:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stage.surver.nl\/kennisbank\/wordpress-sneller-maken-gids\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T12:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T11:13:16","slug":"guide-to-speeding-up-wordpress","status":"publish","type":"kennisbank","link":"https:\/\/stage.surver.nl\/en\/kennisbank\/wordpress-sneller-maken-gids\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Speed Up WordPress: The Complete Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You open PageSpeed Insights and see a red score, or a customer emails you saying your site loads \u201cpretty slowly.\u201d Here\u2019s how to speed up a WordPress website, in this order: fast hosting with an up-to-date PHP version, page caching, compressed images in WebP, fewer and lighter plugins, a cleaned-up database, and deferred scripts. Measure the performance before and after using PageSpeed Insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, I\u2019ll walk you through the benefits of each step, where to start, and when it\u2019s better to outsource. Speed matters twice as much, because visitors will leave a slow page, and Google factors Core Web Vitals into its rankings. You can read about what that means for revenue in How a Slow Website Affects Conversion Rates<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measure First: How to Test the Speed of Your WordPress Site<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You can test the speed of your WordPress site using PageSpeed Insights\u2014always on both mobile and desktop, since the two can differ significantly. GTmetrix is a good complement, because its waterfall chart shows you which files take the longest to load. With Pingdom, you can test from a location of your choice. Also look at the number of requests and the page weight, as these often tell you more than the score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PageSpeed Insights displays two types of scores, and that confuses a lot of people. Lab data comes from a simulated test that runs the moment you click the button. Field data comes from real Chrome users over the past few weeks, and Google places the most weight on that. That\u2019s why I never chase a score of 100 and instead focus on actual WordPress performance. Green Core Web Vitals for WordPress<\/a> real visitors\u2014that's the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Page speed is different from the speed of your entire site, and the homepage is often the page you\u2019ve put the most effort into. I test at least three types of pages: the homepage, an important landing page or product page, and\u2014for an online store\u2014the checkout page. For each page, record the TTFB, LCP, and total page size so you can compare them after each adjustment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These metrics usually give you a good idea of where the problem lies. A high TTFB across all pages points to the server or a lack of caching. A slow LCP is often caused by a large image at the top of the page, and a page that responds slowly to a click is usually related to scripts. To find out how to determine the specific cause in your case, read Why Your WordPress Website Is Slow<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Optimizing WordPress starts with the server and your PHP version<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Step 1 is your hosting, because you can\u2019t fix a slow server with a plugin. TTFB (time to first byte) is the time it takes for the server to send back the first part of your page. I like to compare a website to a store. Hosting is the entrance and the aisles, caching is the inventory that\u2019s already on hand, and images are the luggage your visitor has to lug around. With narrow aisles, even the best inventory won\u2019t help much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What determines the TTFB is primarily the technology behind your site. Fast NVMe storage and a LiteSpeed web server make a difference, as do sufficient PHP workers\u2014the processes that build your pages. A modern HTTP version (HTTP\/2 or HTTP\/3) with TLS allows the browser to fetch multiple files at once. And distance matters too, so a data center close to your visitors is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One factor that is often overlooked is bot traffic. Bots and brute-force attacks on your login page put a strain on the server. That\u2019s why all of Surver\u2019s shared hosting plans include a Bot Blocker and automatic IP blocking, and an IP address is redirected to a CAPTCHA page after more than ten failed login attempts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upgrading to a newer version of PHP is the quickest way to improve performance that I know of. Newer versions execute the same code faster, and the upgrade usually takes only a few minutes. If you're still running an older version, start by Update PHP Version<\/a>. Our Managed WordPress Hosting<\/a> runs on LiteSpeed servers with NVMe storage, and you can choose your own PHP version. If your site outgrows a shared plan due to high traffic, then managed cloud hosting<\/a> the next step. What else you can expect from a host is listed in What Makes Up Fast WordPress Hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps 2 and 3: Enable caching and resize images<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If the server responds quickly, caching and using smaller images yield the greatest benefits with the least effort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enable page caching<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Page caching stores a pre-built copy of a page so the server doesn't have to rebuild it for every visitor. Caching operates on four levels, from your visitor\u2019s browser to the server itself, with the page and object caches in between. To learn how these levels work together and how to configure them, read Caching in WordPress: Types and Configuration<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My main rule is to use no more than one caching plugin. Two plugins interfere with each other. On a LiteSpeed server, LiteSpeed Cache<\/a> the logical choice, because it works directly with the server cache. If you have an online store, exclude the shopping cart, checkout, and \"My Account\" pages from the page cache, because those pages vary from visitor to visitor. For such dynamic pages, there is Object Caching and Redis<\/a>, which, with Surver, is only available on Surver Cloud. If you still see the old version of your site after making a change, then Clearing the Cache in WordPress<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resize Images and Convert Them to WebP<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

WebP is an image format that produces much smaller files than JPG or PNG while maintaining the same quality. What I often see is a phone photo thousands of pixels wide that\u2019s displayed as a small image. So, upload the image at the exact dimensions it will be displayed, compress it, and let your optimization plugin create a WebP version. AVIF is even more compact, but isn\u2019t supported everywhere yet. For the original file, I follow a simple rule of thumb: JPG for photos, PNG for transparency, and SVG for logos and icons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, enable lazy loading so that images below the fold don\u2019t load until the visitor scrolls. The large image at the top is the exception; it should load immediately because it usually determines your LCP. Don\u2019t host videos yourself\u2014embed them instead. On Surver\u2019s shared hosting plans, you\u2019ll find an Image Optimizer in cPanel, and we recommend image optimization via QUIC.cloud. The complete step-by-step guide is available at Optimizing Images in WordPress<\/a>, and if you already have hundreds of images, then read Optimize images in bulk<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Steps 4 through 6: Plugins, Database, and Scripts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The last three steps require more care, because you'll be removing or postponing things that your site might need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fewer and lighter plugins, themes, and page builders<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A plugin doesn\u2019t slow down your site just by existing\u2014it\u2019s what it loads on each page that causes the slowdown. With Query Monitor, you can see which plugin is taking up the most time. Remove anything you don\u2019t use, replace heavy plugins with lighter ones, and keep everything up to date, because outdated plugins and themes are often slower as well. I also remove unused themes, keeping only one default theme as a backup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The theme itself matters. A lightweight theme loads only what\u2019s necessary, which is why we install WordPress with Astra (the free version) and LiteSpeed Cache by default on new packages. A page builder adds a lot of extra code, so read Page Builder or Block Editor<\/a> before you make your choice. If you don't have time to clean up and replace plugins, we'll take care of it within WordPress Management<\/a>. To learn how to evaluate plugins before installing them, see Choosing and Managing Plugins and Themes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cleaning Up the Database<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The database is your site\u2019s storage repository, and over the years it fills up with revisions, transients (temporary data), spam comments, and tables from plugins you removed long ago. Always make a backup first before deleting anything from the database, because if you accidentally delete a table, you won\u2019t be able to recover it. You can limit the number of revisions saved by define('WP_POST_REVISIONS', 5);<\/code> in wp-config.php<\/code>. For online stores, the database grows especially quickly due to orders and sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WordPress uses wp-cron as its built-in task scheduler, which is triggered when a page is visited. On high-traffic sites, I replace it with a real cron job; see Disable WP-Cron<\/a>. Schedule backups and resource-intensive tasks outside of peak hours. The complete step-by-step guide can be found in Cleaning Up the WordPress Database<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Postpone Scripts and Reduce Requests<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Minification removes spaces and comments from CSS and JavaScript, and deferral (or delay) prevents scripts from loading until the page is visible. You can configure both of these settings through your caching plugin. This is also how you address render-blocking resources. In my experience, the biggest bottleneck is often external scripts. A chat widget or tracking pixel fetches code from another server over which you have no control, and you\u2019ll notice this most clearly in the INP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where the GDPR comes in\u2014and that surprises many business owners. Tracking scripts may only load after consent has been given, so a properly configured Cookie Banner in WordPress<\/a> It holds them back until the visitor clicks. This is required, and it makes your site load faster. Social feeds and the cookie banner itself also load external code, by the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, reduce the number of requests. Every redirect is an extra round trip to the server, so have old URLs point directly to the final destination instead of going through a chain of redirects (A to C, not A to B to C). More on that in what are redirects<\/a>. Compression with GZIP or Brotli reduces the size of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files and is already enabled on most servers; PageSpeed Insights will notify you if it isn't. In this step, change one thing at a time and test afterward. Deferred scripts can break a form or slider, and then you\u2019ll want to know which setting caused the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which step yields the best results?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For most sites, hosting, caching, and image delivery yield the greatest benefits, while deferring scripts poses the greatest risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Measure<\/th>Impact on Speed<\/th>Difficulty<\/th>Do it yourself or have it done<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Fast hosting and the latest PHP version<\/td>High<\/td>Low<\/td>Do it yourself; let someone else handle the move<\/td><\/tr>
Enable Caching<\/td>High<\/td>Low to medium<\/td>Do it yourself: Have your online store exceptions checked<\/td><\/tr>
Resizing Images and WebP<\/td>High<\/td>Low<\/td>By myself<\/td><\/tr>
Fewer and lighter plugins and themes<\/td>Medium to high<\/td>Medium<\/td>On your own or under management<\/td><\/tr>
Clean Up the Database<\/td>Medium<\/td>Medium (initial backup)<\/td>On your own or under management<\/td><\/tr>
Delay Scripts and Limit External Scripts<\/td>Medium to high for INP<\/td>High (may cause functions to malfunction)<\/td>Have it done or test it thoroughly<\/td><\/tr>
CDN<\/td>Low among Dutch visitors, moderate among international visitors<\/td>Medium<\/td>Have it set up<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With Surver, you don't have to handle some of that yourself. All shared plans, from Personal through Enterprise, run on LiteSpeed servers with NVMe storage and LiteSpeed Cache; OPcache is enabled by default, and you can switch PHP versions (7.4 through 8.5) yourself via cPanel > Select PHP Version<\/strong>. Your websites are hosted in data centers within Europe. That leaves the tasks specific to your own site, such as images, plugins, the database, and scripts. If you don't want to handle those yourself, we'll take care of them with WordPress Speed Optimization<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to get started tomorrow, these are the three actions that will yield the highest profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Use PageSpeed Insights to test three pages and record the TTFB, LCP, and page weight.<\/li>\n\n
  2. Check your PHP version in your hosting control panel and update it to the latest version.<\/li>\n\n
  3. Enable caching and convert your largest images to WebP.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Core Web Vitals: What Google Looks For<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    Core Web Vitals are three metrics that Google uses to evaluate a page's user experience for real visitors. They translate the steps above into what a visitor actually notices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n