How to Improve Render Time of Your WordPress Web Page

Aesthetics is not the only important factor to consider when creating a website. The performance of a website depends on two main factors – the server’s efficiency while generating the page and browser’s efficiency when downloading the page. Developers must check the website’s loading speed too, as it affects the sites’ popularity in the audience. A website capable of loading faster ensures an excellent user-experience, an improved online ranking, and maximum conversion rates. Hence, a web-developer can add value to the service by improving the render-time for a WordPress web page. This article discusses eight simple tips on optimizing the browser’s performance.

Tip#1: Adding Caching Plugins

Third-party plugins allow you to easily implement the WordPress caching and improve the website’s speed. Caching plugins can temporarily store the commonly requested data to reduce the latency and to improve the website’s loading-speed in this process.

• The W3 Total Cache can make the website’s performance ten times better after full configuration. It also improves the server’s performance and conversion rates while reducing the downloading time.
• The users can load several plugins into an interface at maximized loading-speed using the WP Super Cache. This cache even supports the CDNs to accelerate the delivery of content.
• The simplistic features of WP-FFPC can also improve the website’s loading-speed with proper configuration.

These factors attest to the value of caching plugins in improving the loading-speed of any WordPress web page. However, it is essential to choose a caching plugin that offers GZIP compression, performs browser caching, minimizes HTTP requests and does the HTML or CSS minification.

Tip#2: Validating GZIP compression

Compression of any text-based content, such as the site’s code, is known as GZIP compression. It can transform a text-based content into a lucid set of characters for the browser’s comprehensibility. The GZIP compression is called ‘browser compression’ due to this reason. The configuration of the hosting server may/may not be able to handle a GZIP compression. The implementation of a plugin, such as W3 Total Cache, can enable this compression and improve the browser’s performance to increase a website’s loading speed.

Tip#3: Static Resources Minification & Combination

It is essential to unite multiple static resources after minification and create one resource for various reasons. The browser has fewer items to download because of combined resources. The resources also become smaller due to this combination and the content downloads faster. The end-result of this combination is fast rendering of a web-page. The web-developer may use a WordPress plugin to optimize resources, such as the Autoptimize or Better WordPress Minify. These plugins can support the CDN URL.

Tip#4: Integrating Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Integration of Content Delivery Network can truly maximize the loading speed of any WordPress website. If a website receives excessive traffic or supplies multiple images, then CDN can serve these static resources from nearby server and improve the website’s loading speed. The CDN can load these static resources, such as CSS files, images and JavaScript, from a server network present on the world. Hence, the loading speed remains intact for all the visitors irrespective of their location and distance from the main website. The utilization of CDN is crucial to improve the speed of websites catering to the worldwide audience.

Tip#5:  Image Optimization

The uncompressed images can significantly reduce a website’s loading speed and make the visitors leave the web-page with frustration. A web-developer can select the correct format, maintain a reasonable file-size, use relevant file names or use correct resolution to optimize the images. However, the image compression plugins can also perform these tasks. The EWWW Image Optimizer Cloud and WP Smush plugins can correctly compress the images without distorting the quality. The assistance from these plugins can improve a website’s speed, reduce the use of bandwidth and can improve many functions such as backup generation.

Tip#6: Deferred Parsing of Javascript

A browser needs to parse all the contents of all the <script> tags before loading a web page. It may take a long time to complete the parsing and the website’s loading speed may decrease due to this reason. The browser needs to load the JavaScript files before rendering a website; however, these files perform additional tasks such as popping up or rotating images. The viewers have no difficulty even if these actions load after the main contents and styles. However, this simple change can significantly improve the website’s speed. The deferred loading of JavaScript files is known as ‘JavaScript parsing’ and there are a few plugins to perform this task on WordPress website. The ‘Above the Fold’ plugin is the best amongst others, as it supports the ‘Better WordPress Minify’ and ‘Autoptimize’ plugins.

Tip#7: Lazy Loading for Longer Pages

The WordPress websites with larger web pages may utilize the lazy-loading feature to improve the rendering speed. It prevents the contents present at the bottom of the web-page from loading until the visitors scroll down to the bottom. The delayed loading of the voluminous content improves the website’s loading speed. The BJ Lazy Load plugin does this task for larger web-pages.

Tip#8: Reducing External Scripts

A visitor’s web-browser requests all the elements of a web page when loading a specific website. Some websites contain lots of advertisements and they need to load embedded elements or external style-sheets from other sites. The browser needs to perform a DNS lookup with every external request and needs to download all the elements from all the external sites. The DNS lookups may decrease a website’s rendering speed, as external sites may take a lot of time to respond. Hence, a reduction in number of external scripts may improve the website’s loading time.

Every website tends to load slower over the time, as it starts accumulating the images or custom codes. A reduction in rendering speed is like death for any website, as the Internet-surfers always avoid slower websites. The fast-loading websites can satisfy visitors, have improved conversions and can score higher on search rankings. Hence, it is essential to improve the render-time of a WordPress web-page with supports from WordPress plugins.

Try above tips to speed up your WordPress website and let us know your results in comments.

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