We all would like our websites to load quickly. We want visitors to get the best experience when they visit our website, and no one likes a slow loading website. Slow loading website make you feel like you are back in the days of AOL CDs and dial up Internet. Wouldn’t we all rather leave those days remain in the past? But how can we make our websites more efficient and work the best for not only us, but most importantly the visitors? For WordPress websites, there are two easy ways to speed up a website. The first has to do with installing a plug-in and the second has to do with changing the way we think about file naming.
1 – Install a cache plug-in.
Cache plug-ins are plug-ins which take a snapshot of your WordPress website periodically so that your site in not loading constantly. They use the snapshot for users to view. Cache plug-ins make it easier for people to view your website quickly. WP Super Cache is a good cache plug-in, that is easy to install and works well. To find out more information about WP Super Cache visit the following website: http://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-super-cache/.
2 – Updating file-naming habits.
When choosing the name of a file for your website you should make sure your file name is not too long and does not contain spaces. For example if you have an image with the file name of “Big fish picture with white dots.jpg” the image will take longer to load than if it was titled “big_fish.jpg.” Why is this? In the first example the file name is too long and there are too many spaces. Instead of placing spaces in your image’s file name, add one of the following: “_” or “-“. By making sure your file names are not too long and do not contain spaces, you can increase the speed at which your website loads.
I hope these two tips will help you get your WordPress website working more efficiently.
