How to speed up WordPress

Measure before making changes

Test several important pages before changing the site. Record how long pages take, which pages are slow, whether WordPress admin is also slow, whether logged-out visitors are affected, and whether it happens all day or only at busy times.

Test again after each change. Changing many settings at once makes it difficult to identify what helped or broke the site.

Back up the website

Before changing caching, PHP or plugins, back up the website files, the WordPress database and important settings.

Use the correct page cache

DirectAdmin (OpenLiteSpeed)

Most DirectAdmin servers use OpenLiteSpeed. On these servers, use the LiteSpeed Cache WordPress plugin.

1. Sign in to WordPress.
2. Open Plugins › Add New Plugin.
3. Search for LiteSpeed Cache.
4. Install and activate it.
5. Open its cache settings.
6. Enable page caching.
7. Clear the cache.
8. Test the public site while logged out.

Start with the standard settings. Test carefully before enabling CSS, JavaScript or database optimisations.

cPanel (Apache)

cPanel servers use Apache. LiteSpeed Cache page caching does not work on Apache. Use a caching plugin designed to work without a LiteSpeed web server.

Do not run several page-caching plugins at the same time.

Use a supported PHP version

A newer supported PHP version can improve speed and security. Check that WordPress, the theme and all required plugins support the version before changing it. See How to change my PHP version and PHP settings.

Optimise images

Large images are a common cause of slow pages. Before uploading:

• Resize images to the largest size actually displayed.
• Compress them.
• Use modern formats such as WebP where practical.
• Enable lazy loading for images below the visible part of the page.

Review plugins and themes

Deactivate and remove plugins you no longer need. Pay particular attention to page builders, security scanners, backup plugins, statistics plugins, related-post plugins, broken-link scanners, and plugins that call external services or load scripts on every page.

Use a maintained theme and remove unused themes, keeping one standard fallback theme.

Keep WordPress updated

Update WordPress core, plugins, themes and PHP. Take a backup first and test important site functions after updating.

Reduce external requests

A page can be delayed by services outside Webway: advertising networks, analytics, social-media widgets, external fonts, maps, video embeds, chat tools and payment services. Remove integrations you do not need and load optional services only on pages that use them.

Check scheduled tasks

Frequent or failing WordPress scheduled tasks can slow the site. For busy sites, consider running WordPress cron through a real scheduled task. See How to set up a cron job.

Check hosting resources

The default account limits are 2 GB memory, 30 entry processes and 90 processes. Open Resource Usage (cPanel) or Extra Features › Resource Usage (DirectAdmin) to check whether the account is repeatedly reaching a limit.

Repeated resource-limit events usually point to expensive PHP requests, excessive traffic, a faulty plugin or background work.

Clear caches after changes

1. Clear the WordPress page cache.
2. Clear a CDN or Cloudflare cache if used.
3. Test in a private browser window.

Do not assume a speed problem is fixed until you test as a logged-out visitor.