The biggest WordPress performance gains come from these five steps, in order:
- Use a caching plugin. Install WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache. Static page caching alone can make a slow site 10× faster.
- Optimise images. Install Smush or EWWW Image Optimizer. Convert large JPG/PNG images to WebP, which loads 30–40% faster.
- Use a CDN. Cloudflare offers a free plan that serves your static assets from servers close to your visitors. Sign up at cloudflare.com, change your nameservers, done.
- Update PHP. In cPanel → Software → MultiPHP Manager, set your domain to PHP 8.2 or 8.3. Newer PHP is significantly faster than 7.x.
- Audit plugins. Each active plugin adds load time. Deactivate any you don't actually use, and avoid plugins that load resources on every page when only one page needs them.
For a free performance audit, run your site through PageSpeed Insights and address the highest-impact suggestions first.
