9 Signs You Need to Speed Up Your WordPress Site

WordPress websites utilize a wide variety of plugins. Because of this, they can be particularly susceptible to slow load times. The issue is that you might have trouble determining whether or not your WordPress website is, indeed, too slow.

Are you curious as to how you can tell if your site is too slow?

If so, then you’re reading the right article. Below, we’ll cover the surest signs of a slow loading WordPress website, which should help you determine whether you need to speed up a WordPress site of your own.

1. Your Site Crashes During Busy Times of the Day

Generally speaking, your website thrives. When it’s, say, 11:00 PM, it runs as smoothly as a website can run. However, in many cases, when it’s the middle of a work day, your website struggles.

In fact, in some cases, it might even crash.

This is a sure sign that your website needs to speed up. At the present, it likely doesn’t possess the server size needed to accommodate its needs. In other words, until you upgrade your hosting package, you’ll likely have the same problem in perpetuity.

That said, it could also be a lack of website optimization that’s leading to the problem. For instance, you might need to minify your website’s code or even reduce the size of its images. These measures can make a world of difference in a website’s speed.

Try optimizing your website’s speed first. If that doesn’t work, strongly consider upgrading your hosting.

2. Your Pages Only Partially Load

From time to time, you’ll be on a website and its pages will load only slightly. They might have the text necessary, however, it won’t be styled and there will be no images present. In other words, it will look like a website from 1995.

If this happens once in a blue moon, it’s not a huge cause for concern. However, if it happens weekly or more, it’s likely because your website doesn’t possess the server power needed to properly facilitate the presentation of your website.

Depending on the exact circumstances, there are a few different fixes you can utilize. First, you should try reducing the size of your images and minifying the website’s code. If that doesn’t solve the problem, you should upgrade your hosting so as to have more server space.

If you need assistance with this, call up a WordPress support company. They’ll determine the source of the issue and make all of the required fixes.

3. Your Website Goes White

Every once in a while, you might be cruising a website only for your screen to go completely white. When this occurs, it’s because the website doesn’t possess enough bandwidth to handle the number of people who are using it.

So, if your website ever does this, you should know that it needs a speed upgrade as soon as possible. Odds are, it requires a whole new hosting plan.

That said, it could likely benefit from some speed optimization measures as well. These include image size reduction, code modification, data caching, and more.

If your website has crashed due to a white screen, and if you need help recovering its data, you should give a call to a WordPress support specialist. They’ll help recover as much data as possible and will also work to back up your data so that your website can thrive through future crashes.

4. Your Site’s Forms Are Inconsistent

Another sign that your website is too slow is that its forms are inconsistent in their functionality. This includes forms such as contact forms and checkout forms.

For instance, while they may load easily at some points, at other points, they may fail to load at all. In other cases, they may fail to transfer all entered information from one page to the next.

Regardless, this is typically a sign of a lack of server memory. In a case such as this, you’ll need to upgrade your WordPress hosting so as to have more server space.

5. You Have an Ecommerce Site

Now, this isn’t absolute. However, it’s important to note that E-commerce sites require stronger servers than standard information websites. Therefore, if you have an E-commerce site, there’s a decent chance that it needs to be sped up.

Some signs that your E-commerce website needs increased speed include failed transactions, time-out errors, and full-scale crashes. You might also notice a lag in load speed whenever you’re clicking on products.

To counteract this problem, you can start by getting rid of unnecessary plugins. From there, you can minify the website’s code and reduce the size of its images.

Finally, you can upgrade your hosting. As was noted above, E-commerce sites in general require much more server memory than standard websites.

6. Traffic is Up But Conversion Rates Are Down

If the point of your website is to sell a product or service, you likely gauge its traffic and conversion rate. Traffic, of course, refers to the number of online users who visit your website. Conversion rate refers to the percentage of these visitors who actually do something that you want them to do, such as contact you, buy something, or otherwise.

Generally speaking, your conversion rate will stay the same, regardless of how much traffic you’re getting. So, if your conversion rate is decreasing, even as your traffic is increasing, it’s likely due to a slow website.

See, when a person arrives at a website, they’re trying to get through it as quickly as possible. If they have to wait more than 5 seconds every time they click something on it, they’re quickly going to be turned off and click out of the website entirely.

In cases such as these, simply speeding up your website will make all the difference in the world. Yes, you’ll likely have to pay more for an upgraded hosting package. However, the increased sales will cancel that out and then some.

Not tracking your website’s metrics currently? Not sure how to do so? If so, you should consider speaking to a digital marketing agency.

7. You’re Getting Warnings from Your Hosting Service

In some cases, when traffic to a website increases, it will exceed the bandwidth that the hosting server is meant to accommodate. When this occurs, it puts tremendous stress on the hosting service and requires them to charge more money as a means of facilitating an upgrade.

But oftentimes, before that upgrade is made, the service will let you know about it. In fact, they’ll generally send numerous emails to you informing you that you’ve exceeded what your hosting package is capable of. They will then prompt you to pay for improved hosting or threaten to shut your website down entirely.

This is a clear sign that your website needs to be faster. So, keep an eye on those emails and act as soon as possible. The last thing you want is to have to pay fees for exceeding your server’s capabilities.

8. Traffic is the Same But You Keep Having to Upgrade Your Hosting

If you gauge your traffic, you more or less know how many people your website is seeing on a regular basis. Generally speaking, if traffic numbers stay the same, there’s no reason to be upgrading your hosting.

But let’s say that you are upgrading, despite the fact that your traffic remains relatively similar from month to month. Odds are, there’s something else about your website that’s slowing it down. The hosting is not the problem.

Instead, consider reducing the size of images, minifying code, caching data, and the like. These seem like small steps but they could make a world of difference.

9. Your SEO Ranking Has Dropped

One last sign that you need to increase site speed is that your site’s SEO ranking has dropped. Now, this can happen for a variety of reasons. For instance, it could be lagging in quality content or backlinks.

However, page speed is absolutely a factor that can make a difference. Let’s say that users show up to your website only to find that it takes forever to get through. At some point, they’re going to grow restless and click out of it.

When users click out of your website prematurely, search engines notice and essentially penalize your website for such. This drops its rank, first slightly, and then substantially.

Speeding up your WordPress website could very well be the key to getting your past ranking back. Note, however, that you should pursue other SEO measures as well.

Again, this is a job best reserved for an SEO agency. They can help identify problem areas in your SEO efforts and then take action to improve upon them.

Need to Speed Up a WordPress Site?

Is your WordPress website too slow? Do you need help speeding up a WordPress site? If so, look no further than WP Assist.

We’re well-versed in the processes of WordPress speed optimization. We’ll do everything necessary to ensure that your website runs at max speed.

Book a call to discuss your needs now!