We live in a “want it now” age, where fast food and overnight delivery is part of the new normal.
Time is money and the more time people wait around (or don’t wait) for your site to load, the more your beneficial services don’t get the face time they deserve.
Time and people wait for nothing nowadays There is no time to waste and slow connections happen on many websites including WordPress. In fact, a one-second delay in your page loading can decrease customer conversions by seven percent.
So because good services don’t stand a chance against a slow website, we divvied up some advice to get your website up and running again for the masses.
WordPress Does What Now?
Before we dive into WordPress, let’s explain what it is.
Do you remember when the internet came out and it was free and you had access to a bunch of information and tools, so much that you didn’t know what to do with it? Well, that is what WordPress is for website creation and customization.
For starters it’s free. Well, one version of it is, and we’ll explain that shortly. But the free part sounds good already, right?
It is a website building tool that gives users the flexibility to change the site to fit their desired needs. User needs are fulfilled thanks to the popularity of WordPress as a content management system or CMS, which gives you the freedom to create, edit, and publish your content.
WordPress is designed for everyone from big-name brands to small-time bloggers. There are two different versions of WordPress as we mentioned earlier. One is WordPress.org and the other is WordPress.com
The WordPress.org version is for the experienced web development user who wants to fully customize their site. This one is free and involves a high learning curve because users will need to be able to access development files, and file managers to keep documents organized as well.
The latter version provides many pre-customized themes, WordPress hosting, and additional functions to cater to the look and feel the user wants it to have. Overall this version works best for users who don’t want to stress over the fundamentals of web development.
Oh, and did we mention it’s free?
Finding the Fastest Host Provider
Great content is important but you can’t reach your clients if your hosting site is spiraling out of control.
It’s like when you’re at the grocery store heading to the check-out lines. You peek down the lanes to see which cashier is the quickest and head that way. Why? Because you want a fast and efficient service so you can get back to the things you enjoy. That is the same mindset your clients have, so make sure your site is up and ready to engage at full speed.
One way to speed up your WordPress site is by optimizing images on your site. How so? Using jpg and png to format your images.
Overcome Slow Image Upload for WordPress
Image compression is the main reason why there are two options for ways to save your images. This is compressing an image without losing quality.
To come up with good impressions you need to know which file format to use. This will help you make the smart decision that not only speeds up your site but makes your images clear and vibrant.
JPG Vs. PNG
JPG or jay-peg stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. The JPG can conform to a smaller file size the PNG can. This is good news for your services site, because the smaller the file gets the faster the site loads.
Because you control how small the file gets, it’s vital to ensure the quality doesn’t get compromised during the shrinking process.
JPG brings out the best quality in photographs, different colored pictures, gradients, and textured files. The only downside is because JPG comes in smaller file sizes, unnecessary data can be deleted. Be sure to do a double-take when you save your next photo to increase your website velocity.
Interested in other ways to boost your website’s impact? Check out our blog on the top website designs for the latest trends.
Here is an example of a JPG file vs a PNG from thrivethemes. Notice the difference?
PNG or ping stands for Portable Graphics Format. PNG is considered a lossless compression meaning all the data is kept in the file. This can be beneficial if you need to do further editing.
PNG allows you to display a see-through background surrounding unique shaped objects, especially when dealing with complex images. PNG usually works well with linge drawing, text, sharp lines, and flat colors.
Here is an example of how a transparent file looks with PNG Vs. JPG.
It’s important to know the various images that PNG and JPG utilize best, as it will help you determine which one to use. When you make the right choice for file formats it prevents slow connection. Your business wants to avoid a slow connection because it increases bounce rates and lowers conversions.
Make your job easier and choose a file format wisely.
Plugins for WordPress
Not only is WordPress able to speed up your site, but it also helps you get rid of plugins you don’t need anymore. Sometimes users find themselves with extra plugins and need guidance on only getting the ones that are helpful.
Why are plugins good for your WordPress site? These pieces of software not only allows you to personalize your computer programs, but they add functionality and new features to your WordPress site. The plugins can be beneficial for your business website by providing your audience with a good user experience using video, sound, and imagery.
How fast your WordPress site loads depends hugely on where the plugins are loaded.
For instance if you log in to complete administrative tasks, it will not affect the speed of your site, but plugins added on the front end can put a damper in your site performance.
In addition plugins that conduct background processes, including 404 monitoring and broken link check-ups can slow down website speed.
There is a silver lining to these slow plugins, and that is having cache plugins.
Cache Plugins to Increase Speed
Some plugins that slow your site down are necessary to conduct essential processes like the ones mentioned above, making slow speed unavoidable. Cache plugins present relief in the midst of plugin overload.
Cache is an fusion of data that is temporarily stored on your computer, and can be accessed at your disposal. When information is requested computers go through multiple processes to retrieve the data since it is stored on a hard disk. Caching gets your business over the wait hump by utilizing the temporary storage file.
This helps your WordPress site to skip steps, like page generation every single time. It will make a copy of the initial process and use the cached version for additional users.
Long story short, cache speeds up your WordPress site by reducing the load on your hosting servers resulting in increased engagement and more time spent on your site.
Cache not only speeds up your site but it’s good for SEO too. See why on our blog about the 5 things to get on the first page of Google.
No Time To Waste
Don’t keep your clients waiting. Set your business website up for success by testing, learning, and taking advantage of all the perks that WordPress has to offer. People come to you looking for answers, so do them a favor and don’t make them wait.
Wayward Kind keeps human connections top of mind. We know how important an efficient and dependable website is for your business. Let’s bolt towards creating lasting results.
I want to create fast and effective content.
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