WordPress​ ​Page​ ​Loading​ ​Speeds​ ​and​ ​Google​ ​Search​ ​-​ ​Try​ ​to​ ​Avoid​ ​Plugins Having​ ​been​ ​an​ ​information​ ​systems​ ​architect​ ​and​ ​large​ ​corporate​ ​website​ ​developer​ ​for​ ​many years,​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​things​ ​I​ ​have​ ​been​ ​ever​ ​cognizant​ ​of​ ​is​ ​the​ ​necessity​ ​of​ ​getting​ ​a​ ​web​ ​page​ ​to render​ ​quickly.​ ​With​ ​this​ ​in​ ​mind,​ ​I​ ​had​ ​always​ ​gone​ ​the​ ​route​ ​of​ ​custom​ ​website​ ​development because​ ​you​ ​can​ ​design​ ​such​ ​streamlined​ ​webpages​ ​that​ ​you​ ​can​ ​be​ ​assured​ ​that​ ​they​ ​render very​ ​quickly​ ​to​ ​an​ ​end​ ​user.​ ​I​ ​had​ ​never​ ​delved​ ​into​ ​the​ ​world​ ​of​ ​WordPress​ ​until​ ​recent​ ​times but​ ​had​ ​always​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​check​ ​it​ ​out​ ​architecturally​ ​-​ ​I​ ​am​ ​just​ ​built​ ​that​ ​way​ ​-​ ​a​ ​true​ ​geek.

Building​ ​a​ ​blog​ ​site​ ​recently​ ​gave​ ​me​ ​this​ ​opportunity.​ ​After​ ​constructing​ ​a​ ​draft​ ​blog​ ​site​ ​using WordPress,​ ​I​ ​took​ ​the​ ​time​ ​to​ ​add​ ​it​ ​to​ ​my​ ​Google​ ​"Webmaster​ ​Toolbox"​ ​portfolio​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how Google​ ​perceived​ ​these​ ​pages​ ​from​ ​a​ ​loading​ ​speed​ ​perspective​ ​as​ ​opposed​ ​to​ ​my​ ​previously built​ ​custom​ ​websites​ ​and​ ​I​ ​was​ ​startled​ ​to​ ​see​ ​the​ ​results.​ ​First​ ​off,​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​engine likes​ ​to​ ​see​ ​pages​ ​load​ ​in​ ​around​ ​250​ ​milliseconds​ ​or​ ​better.​ ​These​ ​custom​ ​sites​ ​built​ ​previously had​ ​no​ ​issues​ ​with​ ​this​ ​speed​ ​requirement.​ ​My​ ​primary​ ​one​ ​loaded​ ​on​ ​average​ ​at​ ​175 milliseconds​ ​per​ ​page​ ​and​ ​the​ ​second​ ​at​ ​186​ ​milliseconds​ ​per​ ​page​ ​respectively. Then​ ​I​ ​looked​ ​at​ ​the​ ​recently​ ​created​ ​WordPress​ ​blog​ ​site​ ​and​ ​it​ ​came​ ​in​ ​at​ ​a​ ​whopping​ ​1,950 millisecond​ ​average​ ​load​ ​speed​ ​per​ ​page.​ ​This​ ​would​ ​be​ ​a​ ​totally​ ​unacceptable​ ​page​ ​load​ ​speed in​ ​Google's​ ​eyes​ ​and​ ​this​ ​site​ ​would​ ​obviously​ ​be​ ​penalized​ ​in​ ​their​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​rankings​ ​as​ ​a result.​ ​Not​ ​to​ ​mention,​ ​people​ ​would​ ​often​ ​just​ ​give​ ​up​ ​waiting​ ​for​ ​the​ ​page​ ​to​ ​render​ ​and would​ ​go​ ​elsewhere​ ​instead,​ ​costing​ ​the​ ​site​ ​owner​ ​a​ ​potential​ ​sale.​ ​A​ ​real​ ​shame​ ​after​ ​doing the​ ​marketing​ ​work​ ​to​ ​bring​ ​them​ ​to​ ​your​ ​site​ ​in​ ​the​ ​first​ ​place. This​ ​got​ ​me​ ​thinking​ ​about​ ​why​ ​this​ ​problem​ ​was​ ​occurring​ ​as​ ​I​ ​definitely​ ​want​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​on these​ ​averages​ ​with​ ​the​ ​WordPress​ ​site​ ​recently​ ​constructed​ ​so​ ​I​ ​went​ ​to​ ​an​ ​online​ ​tool​ ​that one​ ​can​ ​use​ ​to​ ​test​ ​your​ ​webpage​ ​load​ ​speeds​ ​and​ ​get​ ​some​ ​detailed​ ​analysis​ ​as​ ​to​ ​what​ ​is causing​ ​the​ ​slowness​ ​on​ ​the​ ​site's​ ​pages.​ ​This​ ​tool​ ​by​ ​the​ ​way​ ​is​ ​provided​ ​by​ ​a​ ​company​ ​called Pingdom​ ​Tools​ ​who​ ​can​ ​be​ ​found​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Internet. After​ ​researching​ ​my​ ​page​ ​load​ ​issues​ ​using​ ​the​ ​tool,​ ​I​ ​realized​ ​that​ ​my​ ​approximate​ ​8-10 second​ ​load​ ​speeds​ ​were​ ​being​ ​caused​ ​by​ ​excessive​ ​embedded​ ​JavaScript​ ​callouts​ ​to​ ​3rd​ ​party plugins​ ​while​ ​my​ ​page​ ​was​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​load​ ​and​ ​thus,​ ​the​ ​loading​ ​of​ ​this​ ​external​ ​code​ ​into​ ​my page​ ​while​ ​the​ ​page​ ​itself​ ​was​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​load;​ ​was​ ​bringing​ ​my​ ​page​ ​load​ ​performance​ ​to​ ​its knees. This​ ​led​ ​me​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​Developers​ ​site​ ​to​ ​look​ ​for​ ​solutions​ ​to​ ​these​ ​problems​ ​and​ ​it​ ​actually did​ ​not​ ​surprise​ ​me​ ​to​ ​learn​ ​that​ ​the​ ​primary​ ​culprit​ ​causing​ ​the​ ​slowness​ ​of​ ​my​ ​page​ ​loading was​ ​that​ ​my​ ​pages​ ​were​ ​using​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​"WordPress"​ ​plugins.​ ​In​ ​fact,​ ​just​ ​having​ ​fun​ ​with WordPress​ ​plugins,​ ​I​ ​had​ ​used​ ​them​ ​for​ ​everything​ ​and​ ​had​ ​as​ ​a​ ​result,​ ​activated​ ​about​ ​26​ ​of them​ ​on​ ​my​ ​site​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​all​ ​the​ ​features​ ​I​ ​wanted​ ​to​ ​have​ ​on​ ​my​ ​blog​ ​site​ ​pages​ ​-​ ​and​ ​several of​ ​these​ ​were​ ​activated​ ​to​ ​work​ ​with​ ​a​ ​WordPress​ ​"Theme"​ ​that​ ​I​ ​had​ ​purchased​ ​from​ ​a​ ​3rd party​ ​vendor.​ ​The​ ​Google​ ​Developer​ ​site​ ​went​ ​on​ ​to​ ​say​ ​and​ ​I​ ​will​ ​directly​ ​quote​ ​a​ ​couple excerpts​ ​from​ ​their​ ​site​ ​here: "Avoid​ ​Plugins:​ ​Plugins​ ​help​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​process​ ​special​ ​types​ ​of​ ​web​ ​content,​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Flash, Silverlight,​ ​and​ ​Java.​ ​Most​ ​mobile​ ​devices​ ​do​ ​not​ ​support​ ​plugins,​ ​and​ ​plugins​ ​are​ ​a​ ​leading cause​ ​of​ ​hangs,​ ​crashes,​ ​and​ ​security​ ​incidents​ ​in​ ​browsers​ ​that​ ​provide​ ​support.​ ​Due​ ​to​ ​these concerns,​ ​many​ ​desktop​ ​browsers​ ​restrict​ ​plugins."​ ​They​ ​go​ ​on​ ​to​ ​say​ ​that​ ​"Most​ ​content​ ​that once​ ​required​ ​plugins​ ​can​ ​now​ ​be​ ​created​ ​using​ ​native​ ​web​ ​technologies,​ ​including​ ​content requiring​ ​first-class​ ​support​ ​for​ ​audio​ ​and​ ​video,​ ​advanced​ ​graphics,​ ​and​ ​presentation​ ​effects, network​ ​connections,​ ​local​ ​storage​ ​and​ ​file​ ​access."​ ​Using​ ​these​ ​web​ ​platform​ ​features​ ​will​ ​help ensure​ ​that​ ​your​ ​rich​ ​content​ ​can​ ​be​ ​accessed​ ​on​ ​all​ ​devices."

So​ ​the​ ​bottom​ ​line​ ​for​ ​some​ ​WordPress​ ​site​ ​owners​ ​who​ ​are​ ​wondering​ ​why​ ​they​ ​may​ ​be seeing​ ​high​ ​one​ ​page​ ​bounce​ ​rates​ ​for​ ​customers​ ​coming​ ​to​ ​their​ ​sites,​ ​is​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​directly​ ​being caused​ ​by​ ​slow​ ​page​ ​load​ ​speeds​ ​on​ ​their​ ​sites​ ​which​ ​are​ ​probably​ ​being​ ​caused​ ​by​ ​using​ ​a​ ​lot of​ ​JavaScript​ ​callouts​ ​on​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​load​ ​which​ ​is​ ​the​ ​primary​ ​method​ ​of​ ​invoking​ ​the​ ​3rd​ ​party plugins​ ​being​ ​used.​ ​To​ ​see​ ​your​ ​own​ ​loading​ ​truths,​ ​go​ ​somewhere​ ​to​ ​a​ ​computer​ ​that​ ​has never​ ​been​ ​to​ ​your​ ​site​ ​and​ ​try​ ​to​ ​load​ ​it​ ​from​ ​there​ ​or​ ​use​ ​the​ ​tool​ ​I​ ​mentioned​ ​above​ ​to​ ​get​ ​a more​ ​accurate​ ​loading​ ​assessment.​ ​You​ ​will​ ​also​ ​get​ ​an​ ​inkling​ ​of​ ​the​ ​problem​ ​if​ ​you​ ​are​ ​seeing high​ ​bounce​ ​rates​ ​when​ ​you​ ​are​ ​viewing​ ​your​ ​site​ ​using​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​Analytics​ ​toolset. My​ ​concern​ ​as​ ​I​ ​finish​ ​off​ ​this​ ​article​ ​by​ ​the​ ​way,​ ​is​ ​that​ ​I​ ​know​ ​there​ ​are​ ​many​ ​people​ ​out​ ​there starting​ ​their​ ​own​ ​at​ ​home​ ​online​ ​businesses​ ​who​ ​have​ ​very​ ​little​ ​in​ ​depth​ ​website development​ ​knowledge​ ​as​ ​they​ ​start​ ​out.​ ​The​ ​sad​ ​truth​ ​is​ ​that​ ​they​ ​hope​ ​to​ ​use​ ​these​ ​sites they​ ​create​ ​to​ ​make​ ​extra​ ​money​ ​from​ ​home​ ​yet​ ​would​ ​more​ ​than​ ​likely​ ​be​ ​oblivious​ ​to​ ​the negative​ ​impacts​ ​on​ ​their​ ​site​ ​performance​ ​caused​ ​by​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​plugins.​ ​They​ ​don't​ ​know​ ​that they​ ​should​ ​be​ ​minimizing​ ​or​ ​eliminating​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​these​ ​plugins​ ​wherever​ ​possible​ ​in​ ​the interests​ ​of​ ​having​ ​a​ ​better​ ​performing​ ​website​ ​which​ ​is​ ​necessary​ ​for​ ​Google​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​the​ ​site high​ ​enough​ ​to​ ​send​ ​traffic​ ​there. Their​ ​strategy​ ​should​ ​be​ ​to​ ​minimize​ ​or​ ​completely​ ​eliminate​ ​these​ ​plugins​ ​on​ ​their​ ​sites​ ​over time​ ​as​ ​they​ ​learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​how​ ​to​ ​design​ ​and​ ​build​ ​websites.​ ​Also,​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​expecting​ ​to be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​get​ ​sustained​ ​organic​ ​traffic​ ​from​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​to​ ​have​ ​their​ ​pages​ ​render​ ​properly​ ​on most​ ​mainstream​ ​browsers​ ​(such​ ​as​ ​Chrome,​ ​Firefox​ ​and​ ​whatever​ ​browsers​ ​Microsoft​ ​is supporting​ ​currently,​ ​as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​on​ ​mobile​ ​devices;​ ​they​ ​will​ ​ultimately​ ​have​ ​to​ ​learn​ ​how​ ​to directly​ ​code​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​their​ ​websites​ ​using​ ​website​ ​development​ ​tools​ ​to​ ​start​ ​using​ ​native​ ​and advanced​ ​web​ ​technologies​ ​to​ ​build​ ​in​ ​the​ ​higher​ ​end​ ​features​ ​that​ ​they​ ​want​ ​to​ ​utilize.

My​ ​closing​ ​recommendations​ ​with​ ​this​ ​article:​ ​Start​ ​to​ ​look​ ​at​ ​all​ ​your​ ​plugins​ ​and​ ​widgets​ ​used on​ ​your​ ​WordPress​ ​website(s)​ ​to​ ​see​ ​which​ ​ones​ ​you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​without​ ​and​ ​deactivate​ ​and​ ​get​ ​rid of​ ​them​ ​if​ ​you​ ​can.​ ​Some​ ​may​ ​be​ ​doing​ ​nothing​ ​for​ ​you​ ​at​ ​all​ ​and​ ​are​ ​just​ ​negatively​ ​impacting your​ ​load​ ​speeds​ ​by​ ​being​ ​activated​ ​on​ ​your​ ​site.​ ​Then​ ​see​ ​which​ ​other​ ​ones​ ​are​ ​easily replaceable​ ​by​ ​some​ ​simple​ ​coding​ ​you​ ​can​ ​implement;​ ​such​ ​as​ ​using​ ​hyperlinked​ ​URL​ ​code​ ​to get​ ​to​ ​a​ ​3rd​ ​party​ ​site​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​using​ ​that​ ​3rd​ ​party's​ ​provided​ ​plugin​ ​or​ ​widget​ ​on​ ​your​ ​site. This​ ​will​ ​give​ ​you​ ​a​ ​start​ ​on​ ​improving​ ​your​ ​page​ ​load​ ​speeds,​ ​improving​ ​your​ ​site​ ​bounce statistics,​ ​and​ ​thereby​ ​increasing​ ​your​ ​site​ ​access​ ​numbers​ ​and​ ​sales​ ​conversions. There​ ​will​ ​be​ ​more​ ​you​ ​need​ ​to​ ​do​ ​with​ ​your​ ​site​ ​coding​ ​structures​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​loading​ ​speeds to​ ​get​ ​fully​ ​"righteous"​ ​with​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​engine,​ ​but​ ​this​ ​at​ ​least​ ​can​ ​be​ ​a​ ​starting​ ​point for​ ​improving​ ​your​ ​site's​ ​performance. Recommended​ ​Links https://goo.gl/Qx99EN https://goo.gl/AmuQmV https://goo.gl/hjS5FE https://goo.gl/WqvWKg https://goo.gl/r46SgS https://goo.gl/1bTQUP https://goo.gl/66Qgns https://goo.gl/Ae33S8 https://goo.gl/F3QbL5 https://goo.gl/rX9itU https://goo.gl/hm6SXH https://goo.gl/iKLQPL https://goo.gl/Y8EakM https://goo.gl/tTq7vt https://goo.gl/XYo21U https://goo.gl/op3UDd https://goo.gl/1oZ66Y

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