17​ ​Ways​ ​to​ ​Optimize​ ​and​ ​Speed​ ​Up​ ​WordPress​ ​Sites WordPress,​ ​as​ ​a​ ​platform,​ ​is​ ​extremely​ ​well​ ​coded.​ ​However,​ ​some​ ​people​ ​mess​ ​their WordPress​ ​installations​ ​up​ ​by​ ​installing​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​low-quality​ ​plugins,​ ​choosing​ ​an​ ​awful​ ​web​ ​host, and​ ​filling​ ​their​ ​site​ ​with​ ​heaps​ ​of ​garbage​.

Even​ ​if ​you​ don’t​ ​do​ ​something​ ​as​ ​stupid​ ​as​ ​these​ ​with​ ​your​ ​site,​ ​there’s​ ​still​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​room​ ​for improvement​ ​when​ ​it​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​speeding​ ​up​ ​your​ ​WordPress​ ​site.​ ​I​ ​optimize​ ​around​ ​8-10

WordPress​ ​sites​ ​in​ ​an​ ​average​ ​month,​ ​and​ ​there​ ​are​ ​a​ ​few​ ​techniques I​ ​always​ ​leverage​ ​to optimize​ ​and​ ​speed​ ​up​ ​WordPress​ ​sites. Here​ ​are​ ​a​ ​few​ ​ways​ ​(some​ ​well-known,​ ​some​ ​not)​ ​you​ ​can​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​performance​ ​of​ ​your WordPress​ ​sites: #1:​ ​Choose​ ​A Good​ ​Web​ ​Host You​ ​can​ ​think​ ​of​ ​optimizing​ ​your​ ​WordPress​ ​site​ ​only​ ​after​ ​you​ ​surely​ ​know​ ​that ​it’s​ ​not​ ​your host​ ​that’s​ ​slowing​ ​down​ ​your​ ​site​.​ ​Recently,​ ​I’ve​ ​been​ ​optimizing​ ​a​ ​site​ ​which​ ​was​ ​hosted​ ​on GoDaddy,​ ​which​ ​is,​ ​of​ ​course,​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​horrible​ ​hosts​ ​out​ ​there​ ​that​ ​puts​ ​thousands​ ​of sites​ ​on​ ​a​ ​single​ ​shared​ ​server.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​result,​ ​their​ ​servers​ ​are​ ​damn​ ​slow.​ ​You​ ​have​ ​to​ ​make sure you​ ​don’t​ ​make​ ​these​ ​mistakes​ ​while​ ​choosing​ ​a​ ​web host​ ​that​ ​most​ ​beginners​ ​make. Like​ ​I​ ​always​ ​recommend,​ ​go​ ​visit​ ​some​ ​community​ ​like​ ​WebHostingTalk​ ​that’s​ ​filled​ ​with​ ​Web Hosting​ ​enthusiasts.​ ​Read​ ​some​ ​genuine​ ​reviews​ ​of​ ​the​ ​host​ ​you​ ​were​ ​planning​ ​to​ ​go​ ​with, before ​actually​ ​going​ ​with​ ​them​.​ ​I​ ​came​ ​to​ ​know​ ​about MDDHosting,​ ​the​ ​host​ ​that​ ​we’re​ ​on since​ ​2011,​ ​from​ ​WebHostingTalk.​ ​And​ ​I​ ​thank​ ​myself​ ​everyday​ ​for​ ​doing​ ​some​ ​actual​ ​research instead​ ​of​ ​going​ ​with ​just​ ​another​ ​crappy​ ​top-10​ ​‘unlimited​ ​everything’​ ​host​. Read​ ​my MDDHosting​ ​Review to​ ​know​ ​how​ ​a​ ​great​ ​web​ ​host​ ​can​ ​benefit​ ​you​ ​and​ ​save​ ​you hassles​ ​in​ ​the​ ​long​ ​run. If​ ​you​ ​wish​ ​to​ ​receive​ ​WordPress-specific​ ​support​ ​from​ ​your​ ​host,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​try​ ​a​ ​managed WordPress​ ​host. WPEngine is​ ​a​ ​fast​ ​growing​ ​reputable​ ​host​ ​that​ ​specializes​ ​in​ ​WordPress hosting.​ ​More​ ​“well-known”​ ​options​ ​include BlueHost and InMotion​ ​Hosting. #2:​ ​Use​ ​A​ ​Fast​ ​Theme/Framework You​ ​need​ ​to​ ​start​ ​with​ ​a​ ​fast​ ​and​ ​well-coded​ ​WordPress​ ​theme​ ​or​ ​framework.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​choose​ ​a theme​ ​packed​ ​with​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​additional​ ​features​ ​that​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​need,​ ​it’ll​ ​negatively​ ​impact​ ​your site​ ​performance. Last​ ​time​ ​I​ ​dealt​ ​with​ ​a​ ​heavy​ ​theme​ ​and​ ​framework,​ ​I​ ​had​ ​to​ ​put​ ​in​ ​more​ ​than​ ​8​ ​hours​ ​to optimize​ ​YooTheme’s​ ​Subway​ ​theme,​ ​to​ ​make​ ​it​ ​faster​ ​and​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​load​ ​time​ ​of​ ​the​ ​site from​ ​5.5​ ​seconds​ ​to​ ​1.8​ ​seconds. Unless​ ​you’re​ ​a​ ​total​ ​code-illiterate,​ ​don’t​ ​choose​ ​a​ ​theme​ ​that​ ​allows​ ​you​ ​to​ ​change​ ​everything directly​ ​from​ ​the​ ​theme​ ​options,​ ​making​ ​your​ ​job​ ​easy.​ ​Generally, ​it​ ​also​ ​makes​ ​the​ ​job harder​ for​ ​your​ ​web​ ​server​ ​and​ ​browser.​ ​Too​ ​much​ ​PHP,​ ​JavaScript,​ ​Iframe​ ​isn’t​ ​good​ ​for​ ​your site’s​ ​speed. The​ ​default​ ​WordPress​ ​themes​ ​are​ ​incredibly​ ​well-coded,​ ​light-weight,​ ​very​ ​fast​ ​and​ ​easily customizable.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​can​ ​handle​ ​a​ ​little​ ​bit​ ​of​ ​code​ ​or​ ​hire​ ​a​ ​developer,​ ​choose​ ​one​ ​of​ ​those​ ​to

build​ ​something​ ​great​ ​on​ ​top​ ​of​ ​them.​ ​I​ ​tweaked​ ​the​ ​default​ ​WordPress​ ​Twenty​ ​Thirteen​ ​theme for​ ​this​ ​site​ ​and​ ​it’s​ ​getting​ ​the​ ​job​ ​done​ ​very​ ​well. #3: Install​ ​A​ ​Caching​ ​Plugin The​ ​second​ ​most​ ​effective​ ​way​ ​(the​ ​first​ ​being​ ​choosing​ ​a​ ​good​ ​web​ ​host)​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​your​ ​site’s load​ ​times​ ​is​ ​to​ ​install​ ​a​ ​caching​ ​plugin.​ ​As​ ​soon​ ​as​ ​you​ ​install​ ​a​ ​plugin​ ​like ​W3​ ​Total Cache​ or ​WP​ ​Super​ ​Cache​,​ ​you’ll​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​that​ ​your​ ​site​ ​loads​ ​faster. In​ ​simple​ ​words,​ ​when​ ​a​ ​caching​ ​plugin​ ​is​ ​active​ ​on​ ​your​ ​site,​ ​it​ ​servers​ ​users​ ​cached​ ​copies​ ​of your​ ​pages.​ ​It​ ​greatly​ ​reduces​ ​MySQL​ ​database​ ​access,​ ​no.​ ​of​ ​PHP​ ​requests,​ ​server​ ​access​ ​for static​ ​resources,​ ​and​ ​even​ ​HTTP​ ​requests​ ​(in​ ​case​ ​of​ ​combining​ ​multiple​ ​files​ ​into​ ​one). W3​ ​Total​ ​Cache​ ​is​ ​one​ ​my​ ​most​ ​favorite​ ​WordPress​ ​plugins.​ ​It​ ​offers​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​caching features: ● ● ● ● ● ●

Page​ ​Cache Minify Object​ ​Cache Database​ ​Cache Browser​ ​Cache CDN Initially,​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​want​ ​everything​ ​enabled.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​still​ ​safely​ ​enable​ ​everything​ ​except​ ​Minify and​ ​CDN​ ​(unless​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​use​ ​a​ ​CDN). Minify​ ​breaks​ ​some​ ​other​ ​heavily​ ​JS-based​ ​plugins​ ​unless​ ​you​ ​specifically​ ​tweak​ ​it.​ ​On​ ​the​ ​other hand,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​tweak​ ​the​ ​Browser​ ​Cache​ ​settings​ ​to​ ​utilize​ ​the​ ​full​ ​potential​ ​of​ ​browser caching.

You​ ​generally​ ​want​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​all​ ​those​ ​in​ ​the​ ​‘Browser​ ​Cache’​ ​section​ ​for​ ​all​ ​common​ ​file​ ​types.

The​ ​value​ ​of​ ​‘expires​ ​header​ ​lifetime’​ ​for​ ​different​ ​file​ ​types​ ​should​ ​be​ ​as​ ​high​ ​as​ ​possible. 604,800​ ​seconds​ ​=​ ​1​ ​week #4:​ ​Try​ ​a CDN​ ​to​ ​Speed​ ​Up​ ​WordPress Offloading​ ​the​ ​static​ ​resources​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site,​ ​like​ ​images,​ ​scripts,​ ​css​ ​files,​ ​can​ ​speed​ ​up​ ​your​ ​site. Not​ ​only​ ​those​ ​resources​ ​will​ ​load​ ​faster​ ​for​ ​visitors,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​use​ ​a​ ​CDN,​ ​your​ ​primary​ ​server​ ​will have​ ​less​ ​load​ ​to​ ​handle​ ​and​ ​thus​ ​will​ ​deliver​ ​significantly​ ​better​ ​performance​ ​while​ ​serving​ ​the rest​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site. Generally,​ ​those​ ​static​ ​resources​ ​will​ ​be​ ​served​ ​to​ ​your​ ​visitors ​by​ ​the​ ​server​ ​closest​ ​to​ ​them​. That​ ​will​ ​ensure​ ​the ​heavy​ ​part​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site​ loads​ ​as​ ​fast​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​for​ ​your​ ​users. There​ ​are​ ​quite​ ​a​ ​few​ ​Content​ ​Delivery​ ​Networks​ ​out​ ​there.​ ​But​ ​one​ ​that’s​ ​really​ ​easy​ ​to​ ​setup on​ ​WordPress​ ​sites​ ​is MaxCDN.​ ​I’ve​ ​been​ ​using​ ​MaxCDN​ ​since​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of​ ​this​ ​year​ ​and​ ​it has​ ​helped​ ​us​ ​shed​ ​around​ ​1.5​ ​seconds​ ​off​ ​our​ ​load​ ​time. #5:​ ​Enable​ ​Gzip​ ​Compression You​ ​should​ ​serve​ ​compressed​ ​versions​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site​ ​to​ ​your​ ​visitors,​ ​as​ ​they’ll​ ​be​ ​less​ ​in​ ​size​ ​and will​ ​generally​ ​load​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​faster. The​ ​best​ ​option​ ​is​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​Gzip​ ​compression​ ​straight​ ​from​ ​cPanel​ ​(if​ ​your​ ​host​ ​offers​ ​you​ ​that) if​ ​you’re​ ​on​ ​a​ ​shared​ ​server.​ ​Otherwise,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​enable​ ​Gzip​ ​compression​ ​using​ ​a​ ​plugin​ ​like​ ​W3 Total​ ​Cache. There​ ​are​ ​also​ ​a​ ​few​ ​tweaks​ ​that​ ​allow​ ​you​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​it​ ​from​ ​your​ ​.htaccess​ ​file.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​simply add​ ​this​ ​code​ ​to​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of​ ​your​ ​.htaccess​ ​file​ ​to​ ​enable​ ​server-level​ ​Gzip​ ​compression​ ​for a​ ​few​ ​known​ ​file​ ​types: AddOutputFilterByType​ ​DEFLATE​ ​text/html​ ​text/plain​ ​text/xml​ ​text/css​ ​text/javascript application/javascript​ ​application/x-javascript #6:​ ​Install​ ​Well-coded​ ​Plugins There​ ​are​ ​literally​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​plugins​ ​available​ ​for​ ​WordPress.​ ​That​ ​doesn’t​ ​mean​ ​all​ ​of​ ​them​ ​are well-coded.​ ​You​ ​should​ ​always​ ​install​ ​plugins​ ​that​ ​are​ ​well​ ​optimized​ ​for​ ​the​ ​latest​ ​version​ ​of WordPress​ ​which​ ​don’t​ ​slow​ ​your​ ​site​ ​down. You​ ​should​ ​perform​ ​some​ ​research​ ​before​ ​installing​ ​a​ ​below​ ​3-star​ ​rated​ ​plugin.​ ​Often​ ​the plugin​ ​will​ ​turn​ ​out​ ​to​ ​be​ ​poorly​ ​developed,​ ​using​ ​inappropriate​ ​hooks.​ ​It​ ​will​ ​not​ ​only​ ​slow

down​ ​your​ ​site,​ ​but​ ​in​ ​certain​ ​cases​ ​might​ ​also​ ​mess​ ​up​ ​with​ ​the​ ​functionalities​ ​of​ ​other​ ​plugins and​ ​WordPress​ ​itself. Once​ ​in​ ​a​ ​while,​ ​monitor​ ​your​ ​plugins’​ ​performance​ ​and​ ​impact​ ​on​ ​your​ ​site’s​ ​load​ ​time​ ​by using​ ​a​ ​plugin​ ​like ​Plugin​ ​Performance​ ​Profiler​.​ ​It​ ​isn’t​ ​100%​ ​accurate​ ​but​ ​you​ ​can​ ​observe​ ​the trends​ ​to​ ​know​ ​which​ ​plugins​ ​are​ ​really​ ​slow​ ​and​ ​troublesome​ ​for​ ​your​ ​site. #7:​ ​Perform​ ​Routine​ ​Maintenance​ ​on​ ​Your​ ​Plugins Plugin​ ​maintenance​ ​is​ ​very​ ​important​ ​for​ ​WordPress​ ​sites.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​keep​ ​all​ ​your​ ​plugins​ ​and WordPress​ ​itself​ ​updated,​ ​chances​ ​are​ ​that ​your​ ​site​ ​will​ ​get​ ​hacked​. It​ ​isn’t​ ​a​ ​rule,​ ​but​ ​older​ ​versions​ ​of​ ​plugins ​are​ ​generally​ ​more​ ​vulnerable​ ​to​ ​attacks​.​ ​Not​ ​only that,​ ​newer​ ​versions​ ​of​ ​plugins​ ​are​ ​in​ ​most​ ​cases​ ​more​ ​optimized,​ ​faster,​ ​and​ ​more​ ​secure​ ​with less​ ​or​ ​no​ ​bugs. You​ ​should​ ​also​ ​disable,​ ​and​ ​even ​delete​ ​the​ ​plugins​ ​that​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​use​.​ ​More​ ​plugins​ ​doesn’t necessarily​ ​mean​ ​a​ ​slower​ ​site,​ ​but​ ​lots​ ​of ​low​ ​quality​ ​plugins​ together​ ​will​ ​slow​ ​down​ ​your​ ​site significantly. #8:​ ​Optimize​ ​Your​ ​Database You​ ​can​ ​optimize​ ​your​ ​WordPress​ ​MySQL​ ​database​ ​directly​ ​from​ ​PHPMyAdmin,​ ​or​ ​by​ ​using​ ​a plugin​ ​like ​WP-Optimize​ or ​WP-DBManager​. These​ ​plugins​ ​are​ ​capable​ ​of​ ​deleting​ ​all​ ​your​ ​pending​ ​spam​ ​comments,​ ​trashed​ ​posts, auto-saved​ ​drafts,​ ​post​ ​revisions​ ​to​ ​name​ ​a​ ​few.​ ​They​ ​can​ ​also​ ​perform​ ​general​ ​MySQL database​ ​optimization​ ​queries​ ​without​ ​you​ ​having​ ​to​ ​access​ ​PHPMyAdmin. A​ ​well​ ​optimized,​ ​fast​ ​responding​ ​database​ ​is​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​bonus​ ​for​ ​a​ ​database-driven​ ​software​ ​like WordPress. #9:​ ​Optimize​ ​Uploaded​ ​Images Images​ ​are​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​heavier​ ​elements​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site.​ ​There​ ​are​ ​a​ ​few​ ​ways​ ​you​ ​can​ ​optimize your​ ​uploaded​ ​images. First​ ​of​ ​all,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​specify​ ​the​ ​maximum​ ​image​ ​dimensions​ ​for​ ​thumbnail,​ ​medium,​ ​and large​ ​sized​ ​images.​ ​That​ ​means,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​upload​ ​an​ ​image​ ​1024px​ ​wide,​ ​and​ ​your​ ​content​ ​area​ ​is only​ ​604px​ ​wide,​ ​normally​ ​the​ ​image​ ​will​ ​be​ ​scaled​ ​down​ ​using​ ​CSS.​ ​When​ ​you​ ​specify​ ​the maximum​ ​width​ ​of​ ​your​ ​‘large’​ ​images​ ​as​ ​604px,​ ​it’ll​ ​then​ ​display​ ​the​ ​pre-resized,​ ​604px​ ​wide image,​ ​which​ ​will​ ​be​ ​significantly​ ​smaller​ ​in​ ​size.

The​ ​second​ ​thing​ ​you’d​ ​want​ ​to​ ​do​ ​is​ ​to​ ​reduce​ ​the​ ​sizes​ ​of​ ​your​ ​uploaded​ ​images​ ​without resizing​ ​them,​ ​or​ ​messing​ ​with​ ​their​ ​quality.​ ​Yahoo’s​ ​Smush.it​ ​is​ ​your​ ​ally​ ​in​ ​this​ ​case.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​able to​ ​losslessly​ ​reduce​ ​image​ ​sizes. And​ ​I​ ​quote​ ​from​ ​the​ ​official​ ​site:​ ​“Smush.it​ ​uses​ ​optimization​ ​techniques​ ​specific​ ​to​ ​image format​ ​to​ ​remove​ ​unnecessary​ ​bytes​ ​from​ ​image​ ​files.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​“lossless”​ ​tool,​ ​which​ ​means​ ​it optimizes​ ​the​ ​images​ ​without​ ​changing​ ​their​ ​look​ ​or​ ​visual​ ​quality”. Fortunately​ ​for​ ​you,​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​need​ ​to​ ​visit​ ​the​ ​Smush.it​ ​website​ ​every​ ​time​ ​you​ ​need​ ​to compress​ ​a​ ​couple​ ​of​ ​images.​ ​There’s​ ​a​ ​WordPress​ ​plugin​ ​for​ ​that! The ​WP​ ​Smush.it​ plugin​ ​allows​ ​you​ ​to​ ​upload​ ​images​ ​normally​ ​while​ ​it​ ​automatically​ ​optimizes them​ ​using​ ​Yahoo’s​ ​Smush.it​ ​API​ ​behind​ ​the​ ​scenes. #10:​ ​Replace​ ​PHP​ ​with​ ​HTML​ ​Wherever​ ​Possible​ ​in​ ​Your​ ​Code Unless​ ​you​ ​know​ ​what​ ​you're​ ​doing,​ ​don't​ ​try​ ​this​ ​on​ ​a​ ​serious​ ​site. Plain​ ​and​ ​simple​ ​HTML​ ​is​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​faster​ ​to​ ​process​ ​for​ ​web​ ​servers than​ ​PHP.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a preliminary​ ​knowledge​ ​about​ ​both​ ​PHP​ ​and​ ​HTML,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​replace​ ​a​ ​few​ ​instances​ ​of​ ​PHP​ ​in your​ ​site’s​ ​code​ ​(in​ ​themes​ ​or​ ​plugins)​ ​with​ ​plain​ ​HTML. I​ ​always​ ​recommend​ ​choosing​ ​something​ ​(to​ ​replace)​ ​that​ ​doesn’t​ ​usually​ ​gets​ ​changed,​ ​such​ ​as the​ ​URL​ ​to​ ​your​ ​favicon,​ ​or​ ​your​ ​site’s​ ​name,​ ​or​ ​your​ ​theme’s​ ​stylesheet​ ​URL. For​ ​example,​ ​in​ ​many​ ​themes,​ ​functions​ ​like​ ​these​ ​are​ ​executed​ ​for​ ​each​ ​page​ ​load: And​ ​when​ ​you​ ​replace​ ​the ​bold​ PHP​ ​functions​ ​with​ ​simple​ ​HTML,​ ​it​ ​looks​ ​like​ ​this:

Plain​ ​HTML​ ​is​ ​around​ ​20-times​ ​faster​ ​than​ ​PHP.​ ​A​ ​simple​ ​way​ ​to​ ​replace​ ​such​ ​PHP​ ​executions with​ ​HTML​ ​is​ ​to​ ​open​ ​your​ ​site​ ​(the​ ​page​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​hard-code​ ​HTML​ ​for)​ ​in​ ​a​ ​normal​ ​browser and​ ​right-click​ ​and​ ​click​ ​on​ ​‘view​ ​source’.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​simply​ ​copy​ ​the​ ​entire​ ​HTML​ ​of​ ​a​ ​portion​ ​of your​ ​site’s​ ​code​ ​and​ ​replace​ ​the​ ​PHP​ ​in​ ​your​ ​theme​ ​with​ ​that.​ ​Use​ ​your​ ​judgement​ ​to​ ​determine which​ ​PHP​ ​commands​ ​are​ ​responsible​ ​for​ ​which​ ​HTML​ ​output. #11:​ ​Delete​ ​Old​ ​Post​ ​Revisions Do​ ​you​ ​really​ ​need​ ​10s​ ​of​ ​revisions​ ​of​ ​your​ ​old​ ​posts ​that​ ​have​ ​already​ ​been​ ​published​ a​ ​long time​ ​ago?​ ​You​ ​probably​ ​don’t. The ​Revision​ ​Control​ plugin​ ​allows​ ​you​ ​to​ ​remove​ ​old​ ​post​ ​revisions​ ​from​ ​your​ ​WordPress database,​ ​making​ ​it​ ​considerably​ ​smaller,​ ​and​ ​your​ ​site​ ​slightly​ ​faster. #12: Reduce​ ​Spam​ ​– Speed​ ​up​ ​WordPress Spam​ ​comments​ ​take​ ​up​ ​significant​ ​space​ ​in​ ​your​ ​database.​ ​You​ ​should​ ​setup​ ​the​ ​pre-installed Akismet​ ​plugin​ ​properly​ ​to​ ​catch​ ​those​ ​comments​ ​and​ ​prevent​ ​them​ ​from​ ​going​ ​live​ ​on​ ​your site,​ ​and​ ​additionally​ ​to ​discourage​ ​spammers​ ​from​ ​posting​ ​them​ ​in​ ​your​ ​site​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​place​. Setting​ ​up​ ​Akismet​ ​is​ ​pretty​ ​simple,​ ​in​ ​reality.​ ​All​ ​you​ ​need​ ​to​ ​do​ ​is​ ​to​ ​register​ ​for​ ​an​ ​Akismet API​ ​key​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Akismet​ ​website​ ​using​ ​your​ ​WordPress.com​ ​account. The​ ​next​ ​thing​ ​you’d​ ​want​ ​to​ ​do​ ​with​ ​Akismet​ ​is​ ​checking​ ​the​ ​box​ ​in​ ​Akismet​ ​settings​ ​that​ ​says “Auto-delete​ ​spam​ ​submitted​ ​on​ ​posts​ ​more​ ​than​ ​a​ ​month​ ​old”. Of​ ​course,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​manually​ ​empty​ ​the​ ​spam​ ​queue​ ​anytime​ ​from​ ​the​ ​‘comments​ ​->​ ​spam’ section. #13:​ ​Turn-off​ ​Trackbacks​ ​&​ ​Pingbacks Trackbacks​ ​and​ ​Pingbacks​ ​aren’t​ ​good​ ​for​ ​your​ ​site​ ​speed.​ ​Whenever​ ​someone​ ​links​ ​to​ ​you,​ ​a trackback​ ​gets​ ​created,​ ​utilizing​ ​server​ ​and​ ​database​ ​resources. So,​ ​unless​ ​absolutely​ ​necessary​ ​(I​ ​have​ ​no​ ​idea​ ​why​ ​they’d​ ​be),​ ​you​ ​can​ ​simply​ ​disable trackbacks​ ​and​ ​pingbacks​ ​from​ ​WordPress’​ ​Discussion​ ​Settings.

#14:​ ​Use​ ​CSS​ ​Sprites Theme​ ​images​ ​and​ ​miscellaneous​ ​other​ ​small​ ​(both​ ​in​ ​size​ ​and​ ​dimensions)​ ​images​ ​should​ ​be combined​ ​into​ ​as​ ​few​ ​images​ ​as​ ​possible,​ ​using​ ​CSS​ ​sprites.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​there​ ​are​ ​six​ ​small images​ ​that​ ​get​ ​loaded​ ​on RohitPalit.com in​ ​the​ ​footer,​ ​three​ ​main​ ​images,​ ​and​ ​three low-opacity​ ​variants​ ​that​ ​are​ ​seen​ ​when​ ​you​ ​place​ ​your​ ​mouse​ ​cursor​ ​over​ ​the​ ​original​ ​images or​ ​click​ ​them.​ ​This​ ​how​ ​the​ ​sprites.png​ ​of​ ​the​ ​site​ ​looks​ ​like: There’s​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​(intentionally​ ​reserved)​ ​blank​ ​space​ ​on​ ​the​ ​bottom​ ​of​ ​the​ ​image,​ ​but nevertheless,​ ​that’s​ ​what​ ​a​ ​CSS​ ​sprite​ ​image​ ​looks​ ​like. The​ ​browser​ ​gets​ ​unique​ ​portions​ ​of​ ​it​ ​as​ ​individual​ ​images​ ​using​ ​CSS​ ​positioning,​ ​and​ ​loads them​ ​on​ ​the​ ​page​ ​in​ ​the​ ​desired​ ​position. This​ ​single​ ​image​ ​saves​ ​me​ ​5​ ​HTTP​ ​requests.​ ​So​ ​creating​ ​CSS​ ​sprites​ ​is​ ​worth​ ​it.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​even use​ ​a​ ​drag​ ​and​ ​drop​ ​online​ ​tool​ ​like SpritePad. #15:​ ​Use​ ​A​ ​Responsive​ ​Design You​ ​can​ ​use​ ​a​ ​responsive​ ​theme​ ​to​ ​load​ ​less​ ​resources​ ​(for​ ​example,​ ​images)​ ​for​ ​mobile​ ​devices or​ ​specify​ ​high-resolution​ ​images​ ​for​ ​high-resolution​ ​screens.​ ​That​ ​way,​ ​mobile​ ​users​ ​won’t​ ​see heavy​ ​images,​ ​and​ ​desktop​ ​users​ ​won’t​ ​see​ ​small,​ ​highly-compressed​ ​images. You​ ​can​ ​specify​ ​what​ ​to​ ​load​ ​for​ ​what​ ​type​ ​of​ ​users,​ ​based​ ​on​ ​their​ ​screen​ ​width.​ ​There​ ​are​ ​lots of​ ​other important​ ​advantages​ ​of​ ​using​ ​a​ ​responsive​ ​design. And​ ​responsive​ ​sites​ ​are​ ​preferred​ ​by​ ​Google,​ ​so​ ​you​ ​can​ ​expect​ ​a​ ​slight​ ​boost​ ​in​ ​SEO​ ​once​ ​you switch​ ​to​ ​a​ ​responsive​ ​design. Sites​ ​that​ ​use​ ​responsive​ ​web​ ​design,​ ​i.e.​ ​sites​ ​that​ ​serve​ ​all​ ​devices​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​set​ ​of​ ​URLs, with​ ​each​ ​URL​ ​serving​ ​the​ ​same​ ​HTML​ ​to​ ​all​ ​devices​ ​and​ ​using​ ​just​ ​CSS​ ​to​ ​change​ ​how​ ​the​ ​page is​ ​rendered​ ​on​ ​the​ ​device. ​This​ ​is​ ​Google’s​ ​recommended​ ​configuration​. #16:​ ​CSS​ ​in​ ​Head,​ ​JS​ ​in​ ​Body CSS​ ​should​ ​be​ ​loaded​ ​in​ ​the​ ​​ ​section​ ​as​ ​per​ ​HTML​ ​recommendations.​ ​Referencing stylesheets​ ​outside​ ​of​ ​the​ ​​ ​section​ ​will​ ​prevent​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​from​ ​displaying​ ​content​ ​as soon​ ​as​ ​it​ ​is​ ​loaded.

JavaScript​ ​blocks ​progressive​ ​loading​ as​ ​well.​ ​When​ ​a​ ​browser​ ​encounters​ ​a​ ​