WordPress provides a ton of benefits, but there are some downsides. One of the biggest knocks on the open-source CMS is that is it can be slow if it's not optimized properly.
Many different factors can slow down the speed of your WordPress website, including image size, the server it's hosted on, coding structure, and user behavior. You can try changing these things yourself, hire a WordPress developer, or work with a speed optimization expert. In this article, we'll share some of our favorite services that can help you speed up your WordPress website.
We offer this website completely free to our visitors. To help pay the bills, we’ll often (but not always) set up affiliate relationships with the top providers after selecting our favorites. However, we do our best not to let this impact our choices. There are plenty of high-paying companies we’ve turned down because we didn’t like their product.
An added benefit of our relationships is that we always try to negotiate exclusive discounts for our visitors.
Google penalizes websites that take too long to load, which can lead to a loss of clients. As a result, they aid in time-saving and a better ranking. To begin with, WP Speed Fix gathers information about what is causing the problem in the first place.
They correct it as soon as they identify it. Then, as soon as the problem with the site's performance has been solved, the focus shifts to speed it up.
WP Speed Fix offers a free site speed review. All you need to do is complete a form, and you will receive the results within one business day or less. But for a faster site, the charge starts at $249 to implement its optimization plan.
Features
WordPress optimization
Caching configuration and tuning
Sets HTTP2 and HHTPS protocol
Fix 404 errors
WordPress database cleanup
Free audit reports and regular reporting
VPS migration for sub 1-second load times
HTAccess optimization
Video and image optimization
Pros
Strong reputation for good customer service
Quick, effective service
They share insight to help customers maintain a fast site
WP Buffs is a premiere WordPress speed optimization company that offers several packages for different needs. They provide WordPress website management and support services available around the clock to help businesses flourish online.
They also offer a variety of custom, comprehensive managed services to help your WordPress-powered website operate at peak performance. Maintain plan starts at $79 that includes Weekly WP Updates, 24/7 Emergency Support, 24/7 Uptime Monitoring, Google Analytics Integration, and Weekly Reports.
Features
Unlimited edits
Performance enhancements
Daily maintenance
Security troubleshooting
Plugin updates
Google Analytics installation
Desktop and mobile optimization
Backups and restoration
Website management services
Pros
Weekly website reports
Daily backups
White Label WP support for your clients
Customizable plans and services
Cons
Several complaints about slow response time and poor customer service
WP Tangerine is one of the top unlimited WordPress companies on the market. They have the ability to help you optimize every aspect of your website, including design, user experience, and functionality.
WP Tangerine takes care of all your WordPress needs through several service packages. Their Basic plan, which charges $197 per month, gives you a Dedicated developer, designer, client manager, and QA Specialist. You can use this resource to focus on identifying ways to speed up your website.
Features
Theme and plugin updates
24/7 unlimited requests
Site restoration
Site backups
Uptime monitoring
WooCommerce support
Graphic design tasks for the higher plan tiers
Pros
Receive a dedicated client manager, developer, designer, and WooCommerce expert.
Includes graphics with tasks.
They remove malware
Affordable basic plan
Experienced company with a strong reputation
Cons
Daily hour caps are limited to your plan
Does not include a task management system, but you can use your own
Based in Brisbane, Australia, WP Runner is our #1 recommended provider for monthly WordPress maintenance and support. They offer a complete range of services for all things WordPress, as well as additional website and marketing related tasks.
WP Runner's monthly maintenance plan provides unlimited updates to core files, plugins or themes; installation of new releases; performance optimization via caching and database optimization; security monitoring & remediation on an ongoing basis and first response within one hour in the event of an emergency.
Features
Bug fixes
Site speed audits
Customer service suite
Uptime monitoring
Monthly performance and security audit
Weekly site backup
Offers 20 website training videos
Pros
Offers excellent value compared to other providers
Includes uptime monitoring
Senior developers do the QA code testing
WooCommerce and eCommerce platform expertise
Deliberate deployment methods
24/7 services and audits
Personalized, dedicated service
Cons
The task dashboard is not user-friendly
Australian-based, which can make communication tough
UnlimitedWP is a one-stop solution for all your WordPress needs.
The company provides various services ranging from design services to speed optimization, security, and optimization. If you are looking for an agency that can do it all, Unlimited WP is the way to go!
UnlimitedWP's WordPress speed optimization service takes care of all the tedious tasks, so you don't have to! Speed optimization service that starts at $497 per month.
Features
New website design
Website Redesign
Plug installation
Theme customization
Landing page development
Pros
Developers assist with other website tasks including security, malware, page speed, and more.
They offer PSD to HTML and other WordPress needs.
Includes QA testing
They offer a custom task management system that you can white label
Affordable prices, especially for agencies
Cons
Capped daily tasks based on the plan, cannot batch hours in shorter periods.
They do not use outside task management systems
Does not include graphic design
May not be the most effective solution for small blog owners, but they are ideal for agencies.
Convertica is a conversion rate optimization company that allows you to maximize revenue for your online business.
They help online businesses generate more bottom line profit by increasing existing value per visitor by using tried-and-tested conversion techniques that are validated by split testing. They provide a number of services and design a campaign tailored to your business goals.
Because slow websites can impact conversions, Convertica would be a great company to not only look at page speed, but other elements that impact your conversion funnels and revenue.
Features
Free website audit
Data analysis
Split testing
End-to-end reporting
Website design improvements
Pros
Personalized services
Leverages split-testing for data-driven strategies
Regular communication about the progress of your site
Customers rave about the efficacy of their CRO services
Cons
Pricing is not up-front. They require data from Google Analytics to give you a pricing quote
Fix My Site is a leading WordPress speed optimization company offering the best in both on-site and off-site performance solutions.
Their “Speed Optimization” plan, priced at a one-time payment of $99, ensures that your website is optimized for speed, your pages load quickly, and visitors stay entertained. They also offer different services like Redesigning, Migration, and Malware Removal.
Features
WP optimization
Website repair
Malware removal
Website redesign
Small tasks including text, image, layout, or feature updating.
Pros
Responsive customer service
Offer guidance to site owners to prevent additional issues
They aim to address site problems fast
Simple process to request support
Affordable prices
Cons
A few complaints about service time
As a small company, they can get bogged down by an influx of requests
How Do I Optimize My WordPress Speed?
There are a number of different ways to speed up your WordPress website with and without plugins. Here are some popular ways to reduce page load times and improve site performance:
1. Install an SSL Certificate
SSL, short for Secure Sockets Layer, is a standard security protocol for establishing encrypted links between a web server and a browser in an online communication. The usage of SSL technology ensures that all data transmitted between the web server and browser remains encrypted.
One of the key benefits of using SSL is it works with HTTP/2, which has a key focus on performance improvements. By installing an SSL certificate, your site will be able to make use of HTTP/2, which can help result in faster page load times.
2. Reduce Number of Plugins
The more plugins you use, the slower your site can be. It helps to reduce the amount of plugins you use because some are outdated and slow. Often times, plugins are left activated and can chew up unnecessary bandwidth by working in the background.
3. Use a CDN
CDN, short for content delivery networks, accelerate website speed by caching your frequently accessed files on different edge servers spread across the world. This is one of the most effective ways to speed up your website. It would help if you chose a CDN for WordPress for best results.
4. Minify Files
Minifying files means compressing them into the smallest size possible while still keeping their functionality intact. This makes it easier for your website to load.
6. Use Better Hosting
If your website is slow, you may need to change your hosting provider. Usually, lower-priced providers are not good because they use cheaper servers that are slower to respond.
Make sure you use a web host that prioritizes technology and speed. A number of shared hosts also now have packages specifically dedicated for WordPress websites.
7. Remove Query Strings
Query strings are the extra information at the end of a URL that allows you to see different versions of your page in the Google Search results.
If you remove them, your page will load faster. You can do this by going to your WordPress Dashboard and going to Settings>Permalinks>Default Directory or Date & Name, depending on which one you have selected.
8. Improve Code Architecture
WordPress doesn't load when there are unnecessary tags in the page's HTML code, so you should learn how to write clean WordPress code for best results. If you aren't doing the coding, make sure to vet the themes and plugins that you use thoroughly.
9. Learn How to Use Caching Plugins
Caching is one of the main factors that impact WordPress speed. If you don't use a caching plugin, users may need to load files and images every time they hit your website. This creates unnecessary loads on the server that can bottleneck traffic. If you're looking for a high-quality WordPress caching plugin, we recommend WP Rocket.
10. Remove Unnecessary Files
WordPress may sometimes make copies of your posts and pages for various reasons, which will slow it down. You need to check these files before changing any settings to ensure that you are optimizing them correctly.
How Much Does Website Speed Optimization Cost?
It depends on the type of service, but most WordPress websites can be sped up without breaking the bank. In our experience, most businesses will typically pay between $100-$200 for a fixed tune up. If you want to hire a freelance developer, then it might cost more as you'll need to pay them hourly. Paying a competent developer in the United States can cost between $40-$60/hour and they will likely need at least 5-6 hours to diagnose issues and implement some changes.
Beyond making direct changes to your site, there are number of third-party plugins, technology and software that can also impact cost. For example, using a CDN can require additional subscription costs depending on the service you choose. There are also a number of free and paid caching plugins on the market.
As you can see, there are many factors at play here. It's not as simple as throwing money at it to speed up your WordPress website. If someone offers you a quick fix for cheap, then they probably won't be able to provide you with a great solution.
If you are solely interested in cost savings, then we would recommend hiring an Unlimited WordPress Development company that can provide a number of ongoing services. These types of companies can initially help speed up your website, but they can also provide continuous maintenance and support, saving you time and money in the long run. You may pay this company more money up-front, but you can use the additional resources to make other updates to your site.
Summary
WordPress websites are often slow to load because of poorly designed themes, excessive plugins and scripts, server configuration, and hosting packages. WordPress speed optimization services can help your website load faster by identifying and ultimately fixing these technical issues.
No matter what the problem is, there's a service that will work for you, and it won't break your budget either! You may already know some basic web optimization concepts like minifying code files, compressing images, and generating sitemaps, but if not – no worries! These services will help you learn about those as well as other tricks to speed up your website. If you don't want to pay for a service, use the tips from this article to optimize your site yourself.
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.