We have compiled a list of 25 resources and tools to make your website super fast. Why so many? So we can be sure you’ll find at least one you’ve never heard of before.
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Page Speed Insights
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google analytics
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PingDom
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website test
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slow
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Alternate Host Review
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Clean up old clutter – get rid of anything you don’t need. Old images, old WordPress themes, post revisions, unused plugins, widgets, and outdated landing pages. Back up all of them (just in case) and then throw them away. It’s such a good new 2016! If you are using WordPress, you may want to check out WP-Optimize which automates the removal of spam and junk in the database.
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TinyPNG
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JPEG mini
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smush.it
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EWWW Image Optimizer
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WPSmushPro
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Compress your CSS – So why make those precious loyal users wait for your static content to download every time? You can control the amount of time content is stored on the user’s computer from your server’s control panel. If you’re not sure, ask your hosting provider.
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Minimize HTTP requests
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Push Scripts Down – If you are using scripting language on your page, avoid putting it in the field
. Running scripts can significantly slow down site display and leave users waiting for content to load while JavaScript or jQuery is busy running. -
Load above the crease first
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Compress as much as you can
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CDN for everyone: Content delivery networks are no longer the province of large publishers and content hubs like Facebook and Google. If you have a global audience and your server bandwidth is slow in some areas, you can move all that static content to the cloud. There are free CNDs like CloudFlare that you can get started with.
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Install the Google PageSpeed module: Google loves fast internet, so they want your site to be fast. Help them and they will help you with better SERPs and more AdSense revenue. If you have access to your server, you probably want to install Google’s open source PageSpeed module there. Ask your hosting provider if you are not sure.
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Remove or replace heavy plugins
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WordPress Caching – If you are not caching your WordPress installation, you should. There are quite a few caching plugins out there, but W3 Total Cache is still my favorite.
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Delete unused tags
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Optimize your database – Compressing and optimizing your WordPress database is almost as important as backing it up. There is no shortage of database optimization plugins. These are two of my favourites:
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WP-Sweep removes duplicates, orphaned files, and other clutter from your database.
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WP-DBManage allows you to optimize your databases, repair them, and also backup and restore them
Good luck for you!
Armed with these helpful tips and tools, all you need to do is back up everything and start testing. With more users switching to broadband (and putting pressure on networks) and Google giving more weight to site load times, there’s never been a better time to optimize your site’s speed.