A slow WordPress site costs you visitors, conversions and search rankings. The good news is that most speed problems come from a short list of causes. Work through these steps in order and measure as you go.
Before you start: measure
Run your homepage and one key inner page through PageSpeed Insights and note the results. Test again after each change so you know what actually helped.
The 10 steps
1. Enable page caching
Caching serves a ready-made HTML copy of the page instead of running PHP and database queries on every visit. On LiteSpeed servers, the free LiteSpeed Cache plugin does this at the server level.
2. Use a current PHP version
Newer PHP versions are noticeably faster. Check your plugins are compatible, then switch in cPanel's PHP selector.
3. Optimise images
Resize images to the size they're displayed at, compress them, and serve WebP where possible. Lazy-load images below the fold.
4. Remove unused plugins and themes
Every active plugin can add queries, scripts or styles. Deactivate and delete anything you don't use.
5. Choose a lightweight theme
Heavy multipurpose themes load a lot of code on every page. Block themes and lightweight frameworks are usually quicker.
6. Limit external scripts
Chat widgets, trackers and embedded social feeds add network requests. Keep only those that earn their place.
7. Minify and combine CSS and JS carefully
Minification shrinks files. Test thoroughly after enabling combination or deferral, as some themes rely on script order.
8. Turn on object caching
For WooCommerce, membership and busy admin areas, object caching (Redis or Memcached) reduces repeated database queries.
9. Clean up the database
Remove old revisions, spam comments and expired transients. Do it after taking a backup.
10. Use a CDN
A content delivery network serves static files from locations closer to your visitors, which helps if your audience is spread across regions.
When hosting is the bottleneck
If you've done all of the above and pages are still slow, especially for logged-in users, it may be time for more resources. Cloud hosting with reserved CPU and RAM is the usual next step.
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