20 Plugins for Faster Loading WordPress

Plugins are the bricks of WordPress. They assist WordPress website owners in multiple aspects. One of them is website loading. It is often overlooked yet a very important element for better user engagement.

You take multiple actions to enhance your website in terms of functionality, features, and better user interface. However, all of these come after your website's loading speed. Think of it from your audiences' view: Would you stay on a website that takes ten seconds to load each page?

Thankfully, there are many plugins provided by WordPress that can assist you with faster page loading and faster navigating. Additionally, these plugins provide features that can optimize other aspects of your WordPress website. However, as a website owner, it could be a daunting task to choose the best plugin from the long list. We have taken the initiative to introduce you to the 20 best plugins for faster loading WordPress.

Why Should Your WordPress Load Quickly?

We often hear experts go on and on about the 3-second rule. Here are some reasons why your website in WordPress should load under 3 seconds:

·???More than half of smartphone users tend to bounce from a website if it takes further than 3 seconds to load.

·???Around 90 percent of carts are left unchecked if your website takes too long on the transaction page.

·???Overall, the majority of your first-time buyers tend to lose interest if they have an inconvenient experience with your slow website.

How to Test Your WordPress Load Speed

Testing out the website speed is the first step towards enhancing it. It helps you structure a plan and work according to it to enhance the loading speed of your website. Thankfully, there are many options for you on where you can evaluate the loading speed of your website:

·???IsItWP

·???GTmetrix

·???Pingdom Website speed test

·???Load Impact

·???Web page test

·???Google page speed

What Can I Do to Make My WordPress Load Faster?

There are many measures you can take to boost your WordPress website loading speed. If things are already out of hand, you should consider the speed-boosting WordPress plugins right away. Perhaps, then you can consider other measures to further enhance the loading speed of your pages.

Consider avoiding heavyweight plugins right away from the get-go. It can be the plugins that boost your SEO, social media plugins, or any other plugins, consider going with the lightweight ones that don't impact your website loading heavily.

Additionally, you should strongly prioritize regular scanning for bugs on your WordPress websites. These bugs get introduced to your website without your knowledge and they affect both the loading speed of your website and the valuable user engagement of your valuable audience.

Avoid an abundance of posts on your homepage. Not only does it give your website a sluggish loading but it also confuses the audience as simplicity is the way to go.

Utilize the widgets that are absolutely required. Don't go designing your website with widgets that have no large-scale use on your website.

Lastly, Size does matter! And it goes for your WordPress website too. You would need the perfect-sized website based on your requirements and objectives and the perfect optimization tools that can complement your website efficiently. The inability to maintain this might cause a website that takes too long to load.

How Can Plugins Optimize Your WordPress?

WordPress gives more functionality than any other website builder does. And plugins are integral parts of WordPress.

These plugins can enhance many aspects of your website.

The WordPress Enhancing plugins tend to concentrate on different features:

·???Deferring Scripts

·???Lazy Loading

·???Concatenation

·???CDNs

·???Cache

·???Minification

·???Reducing Ajax

·???WordPress Heartbeat API

What Is Cache?

It is the most well-known method to enhance the speed of your website. It is the most-utilized method as well.

It is the practice that helps you optimize your website's loading speed and gives you more functionality.

Since WordPress is a CMS system, every time a user visits your website, WordPress needs data from the inventory and goes through several other processes. The Catching process makes it possible for WordPress to bypass the long steps by making a copy of the page when a user first time visits the website.

What Is Ajax?

To provide you with a simple answer, what Ajax does is it updates a part of your website without actually loading the whole page. Even though it sounds so useful, it can have an impact on your CPU.

What Is HeartBeat API?

It is a simple server polling that is already in there in WordPress. It provides you with live front-end updates. If you manage it well, it saves a lot of your CPU and keeps Ajax in control.

What Does It Mean to Defer Scripts?

It entails the loading of JavaScript or CSS files to load at the very end. It is done so that the users get to the website quickly.

What Is a CDN?

A CDN is a network of servers. These servers are panned out across a particular region. It delivers the content faster to the users based on which server is close to their region.

What Is Lazy Loading?

It is a very wicked feature! In spite of trying to load an entire WordPress website all at once, it loads up the total website in parts in accordance with what the user might see first upon their visit to your website.

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What Is Minification?

It diminishes the slow loading of your website by eliminating redundancies from the JavaScript and HTML files.

What Is Concatenation?

It is the procedure of combining multiple files into one file to diminish the number of requests on your WordPress website.

20 Plugins for Faster Loading WordPress

Did you know, when you take step towards your sluggish website, you not only get a much more enhanced website that loads faster but a website with much more functionality? Additionally, the loading speed and navigation of your website also affect the SEO. Therefore, make it a strong priority to enhance your website speed for better traffic and better user engagement.

As we understand how difficult it is to choose the perfect plugins from the long repository of WordPress, we have shortlisted the top 20 that will enhance your website effortlessly:

1. WP Rocket

If you are in search of the best cache plugin to boost your website speed, then your search starts and ends with the WP Rocket. It is very beginner-friendly due to its easy user interface. The installation of this plugin is as effortless as it can be. The built-in caching features make your website lightning-fast.

Pros

·???Easy installation.

·???It provides the lazy loading feature.

·???It is the perfect plugin for eCommerce optimization.

Cons

·???Cloudflare Integration can be complicated for beginners.

Price

The premium plan of this plugin is about $34.30 a year.

2. W3 Total Cache

Nowadays, a Caching plugin is always a first priority for website owners in WordPress. W3 Total Cache is in the top 3 in terms of cache plugins that have higher ratings.

If there is a plugin that can be ranked after WP Rocket, it is W3 Total Cache. This plugin ensures you up to 10 times the website loading speed boost. Overall, the plugin saves a lot of your website's resources and gives you additional features.

Pros

·???Conserves a lot of your website's resources.

·???It is a very trusted plugin in the WordPress community.

·???Promises 10 times website optimization.

Cons

·???Complex user interface.

Price

Along with the free version, the paid variant comes at $99 a year.

3. Smush

Smush is a very popular plugin in the WordPress realm. WPMU DEV is the big brain behind this plugin. Basically, this plugin assists in optimizing the images.

This amazing plugin works its magic by freeing the JPEG from all the metadata and removing the colors that are unused in the indexed images.

Pros

·???It has a free version.

·???It is very compliant with other plugins that you may use.

·???It can handle up to 50+ images at once.

Cons

·???It is more of a plugin that enhances your website in a passive way.

Price

There is a paid version available at $7.50 a month.

4. Wp-Optimize

WordPress usually stores the comments and posts that are old in its database. And as time flies by, it stores much more junk with it. Therefore, when a user visits your website and tries to access the old posts, they're pretty much a lot of junk stored there which ultimately slows down your website. This is where the WP-Optimize plugin comes into play.

Pros

·???It uses multiple ways to de-clutter the space of WordPress.

·???Helps you delete unwanted content.

Cons

·???It can be tricky to handle for beginners.

Price

The paid version pricing can vary from $49 to $199.

5. WP Fastest Cache

It is one of the best speed optimization plugins for website owners in WordPress. In addition to the bare minimum, this plugin provides you with additional features that can assist you in multiple aspects of your website. Furthermore, the user-friendly interface acts as the cherry on top.

Pros

·???It provides you with a disabling emoji option.

·???It gives you the authority to exclude a particular user.

Cons

·???The free version is limited.

Price

The premium plan is a one-time purchase of $49.99.

6. WP Super Minify

The idea of minifying is to provide users with a speedy website that reduces page loading speeds. WP Super minify is the epitome of the minification process.

However, you should take strong precautions when establishing this plugin and integrate it with your WordPress website.

Pros

·???Perfect minification tool.

·???The majority of the users get at least a 2 or 4 percent increase in Google page speed.

Cons

·???There are other technically-enhanced options out there,

Price

It is a free plugin.

7. Lazy Load

If you are on the hunt for an image optimization WordPress plugin then WP Rocket's Lazy load is the right fit for you. This amazing plugin displays the images and iframes on a specific page.

If you are already using the WP Rocket plugin, you are not required to obtain Lazy Load separately.

Pros

·???Thumbnails can be lazy-loaded.

·???Background images can be lazy-loaded automatically.

Cons

·???The free variant is very restricted.

Price

With the free version, there is a premium version costing around $34.30 a year.

8. PerfMatters

The name pretty much gives it away. This plugin was developed to serve the website owners of WordPress with a better and faster website because performance does matter!

The plugin indulges in switching off the unnecessary functions that WordPress enables by default to enhance the website's performance.

Pros

·???It enables you to reduce HTTPS requests.

·???It is a very lightweight plugin.

·???Built-in script manager.

Cons

·???Hosting Google analytics can be a daunting task for some.

Price

The premium plugin is around $24.95 a year.

9. Asset Cleanup

If you are willing to take minification to an advanced level then Asset Cleanup is your best bet. It works its magic by minimizing and compressing JavaScript and CSS files. Furthermore, it eliminates unnecessary elements from your website to give it a further boost. With over 90,000 downloads, it is one of the best plugins out there.

Pros

·???It has a free version.

·???Manages the website assets efficiently.

Cons

·???The updates are on yearly basis.

Price

The premium plan starts from $47.

10.?????????????????ShortPixel

When we are having the conversation of image optimization, ShortPixel is one of the strongest contenders out there. It has all the necessary tools and features that you may need to optimize your website in WordPress. If you are looking for an alternative to Smus, this can be a great pick.

Pros

·???It provides PNG to JPG transformation.

·???It allows WebP conversions too.

Cons

·???The free variants are limited.

Premium

If you want more credits with the free version, it will cost you $4.99.

11.?????????????????WP Super Cache

If you are fairly new as a website owner in WordPress, things might be extra difficult for you when you look for a plugin that can boost the speed of your website.

It is where the WP Super Cache plugin comes to rescue you. It is a very beginner-friendly plugin and is free to all website owners in WordPress.

Pros

·???Grants you the preload mode option.

·???Loads your content faster by connecting with CDN.

Cons

·???Very restricted in terms of features.

Price

This plugin is free for all users of WordPress.

12.?????????????????WP-Optimize

If you are in search of a speed-enhancing plugin that is an all-rounder and appreciated by the whole WordPress community for its efficiency, WP-Optimize is the perfect plugin for you.

It is one of the leading horses that utilize the caching method to declutter the unnecessary elements from your website to give you the speed boost you have been wanting.

Pros

·???Multiple sorts of caching are included.

·???It authorizes automatic clean-ups.

Cons

·???Retain-image information can be tricky

Price

The premium version comes at the price of $49 a year.

13.?????????????????Plugin Organizer

It is yet another plugin that is easy to set up and operate. It can be the best friend for every beginner who owns a website in WordPress. It works in a unique way. It gives you clarity on which plugins are to be loaded first and which are to be loaded later. With this command, you can manage the plugins you have employed and get the best out of your website.

Pros

·???You get the authority to disable the plugins you wish to.

·???Easy installation and implementation.

Cons

·???It can be dangerous for your website.

Price

The pricing starts from $0 per month.

14.?????????????????Autoptimize

Coming in hot, Autoptimize is one of the most underrated plugins out there. It minimizes a lot of elements to provide you with the optimum speed that you require. Additionally, it provides you with an abundance of other features that can assist you in enhancing a lot of aspects of your websites.

Pros

·???It has an extensive API

·???Supports AVIF and WebP variants.

Cons

·???It can be difficult to operate for some users.

Price

The plugin is free for all users.

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15.?????????????????HummingBrid

It is a very popular plugin due to its way of optimizing your website speed. It does so by adding and enhancing the Google PageSpeed Insights. It takes the initiative to find what is affecting the loading time of your website in WordPress. And then, it takes the proper actions to eliminate them.

Pros

·???Preloads the key requests.

·???It fixes the execution time of JavaScript.

Cons

·???The HummingBird Caching suite can be tricky for beginners.

Price

It is free for all users.

16.?????????????????OMGF

It is one of those feature-rich plugins that doesn't get the spotlight it deserves. It has built-in insights that let you know whether fonts are hosted locally or not. It is a plugin that is focused on fonts as those are one of many reasons that slow down your website.

Pros

·???It provides you with stylesheet generation.

·???It is free for all WordPress users.

Cons

·???It asks for further steps.

Price

Completely free for all WordPress website owners.

17.?????????????????LiteSpeed Cache

LightSpeed Cache is yet another plugin that utilizes the caching process to eliminate all the unnecessary elements from your website and renders you with a perfectly working website.

In terms of optimizing features, it offers a lot of advanced features that go the extra mile to meet your expectations.

Pros

·???It provides SEO-friendly sitemaps.

·???It authorizes automatically page caching.

Cons

·???Mobile views are not as optimized as you expect them to be.

Price

It is a free plugin.

18.?????????????????Flying Analytics

It is a plugin that has been created by the same developers of Flying Scripts. The plugin authorizes you to host Google Analytics by mere use of JavaScript. Even if it is a beginner-friendly plugin, it has more than enough capabilities to enhance the speed of your website.

Pros

·???Easy installation.

·???Enables you to host Google Analytics hassle-free.

Cons

·???There are other better options available.

Price

The pricing of this plugin starts from $0 a month.

19.?????????????????CDN Enabler

this plugin allows you to introduce a CDN to your website in WordPress in the most effortless way possible. The servers embedded in it store copies of your WordPress site for your visitors. The closest server of the plugin provides your website content. Therefore, it is much fast and more efficient.

Pros

·???Authorizes you to toggle on or off HTTPS.

·???Linking to CDN is easy.

Cons

·???It can be a complicated plugin to operate.

Price

It is free for all users of WordPress.

20.?????????????????Flying Scripts

It is one of the rare plugins provided by WordPress that delays the loading of javascript. It ultimately leads to faster website loading. By doing this, the Flyting Scripts enable your valuable audience a speedy landing on your homepage to view the content that you intended for them.

Pros

·???It is pretty efficient with the features it provides.

·???Ease of use.

Cons

·???Other better options are available.

Price

It is free for all WordPress users.

Conclusion

Although, you already know the 20 best plugins that can boost your website's loading speed, It is on you to do your due research.

Understand your requirements and look for a plugin that meets all those requirements with carrying minimal drawbacks. And lastly, compare the prices of the available alternatives to make a sane decision.

FAQ

·?Which plugins are used for speed optimization in WordPress?

Although, there is an abundance of options from which you can choose, WP Rocket and WP Total Cache are the popular picks in the WordPress community.

·?What are the top 5 plugins you typically use with WordPress?

1.???Yoast SEO

2.???JetPack

3.???WP Rocket

4.???MemberPress

5.???LightSpeed Cache

·?How do I use the asset CleanUp plugin in WordPress?

Upon your installation of the Asset CleanUp plugin, you need to look for the meta box called 'Asset CleanUp.'

·?What is WP asset cleanup?

Basically, it takes the initiative to scan your pages and detects all the assets that are loaded on your website.

·?Which plugin is used to clean your workspace?

When you visit the WordPress respiratory, you will notice there are a lot of options available. However, you need to do your due research to find out the best one from that list.

·?What is the difference between the asset CleanUp pro and WP Rocket?

Asset Cleanup is recommended to utilize to unload things that are unnecessary while WP Rocket cache that certain page that I not loading those assets.

·?How do I purge all in WordPress?

The first thing you need to do is to click the 'caching' button on your WordPress dashboard. From that, hover over to the 'Purge All' option and click it.