5 Common Issues That Slow Down Magento Websites

A couple of years ago Google upped the ante on search and site speed by place a higher value on the speed of your site in regards to search. Speed has always been a factor for how long shoppers stay on there and when two of the world’s biggest online retailers, Amazon and Walmart, made site speed a priority for their shoppers, each site experienced a 10% increase in revenue for each second of load time they could eliminate. However, site speed isn’t just something for international sellers to consider; it should be an essential metric for all eCommerce merchants to keep track of. Since an estimated 40% of online shoppers report abandoning websites that take more than 3 seconds to load, regardless of the company’s size or popularity, all sellers should be focused on speeding up their online stores to meet customers’ expectations.

If your Magento store isn’t performing as quickly as it used to, there could be a number of factors that are slowing down your site. This post will identify 5 of the most common problems that users experience, along with the recommended fixes for each issue. 

5. Server Misconfigurations

A slow Magento website may be due to a simple server misconfiguration. Your first course of action should be checking each of these configurations to determine any core problems: 

• Misconfigured PHP settings. There are a number of tweaks for your PHP setting as well as the version of PHP you are using. If your hosting partner is not used to Magento or you are setting up your own servers, make sure you check out the DevDocs at Magento here.
• Disabled MySQL Query Cache. Modern MySQL servers are disabled by default, which can slow down Magento performance. Make sure to enable this feature to begin optimizing your performance. 
• RAM Shortage. If your system has run out of RAM, it will transfer data to a disk. This process will make your website run noticeably slower, so be sure to monitor the amount of RAM storage space you have available.  If you are using virtual servers make sure you have enough RAM. Often you can run out of run just running a composer update command on a small virtual server. This is a good indication that your box is under capacity.
• Slow Disk I/O. Your host should provide you with solid-state disk (SSD) storage. 

4. Excessive 3rd-Party Extensions/Apps

Most Magento users frequently utilize 3rd-party options to offer a variety of payment options, connect with customers, market their products, create content, and further customize their sites. In the majority of cases, these extensions and applications shouldn’t even impact the speed of your online store. However, if these 3rd-party options aren’t kept up to date and the host is running slowly, it’s crucial to do an audit of your extensions.

Integrations with CRM, EPOS, and ERPs may be a significant factor if your site has noticeably slowed down. It might be beneficial to ask a developer to identify the cause of these issues by looking through any error logs from these apps. Furthermore, developers should also review your other applications to make sure that each extension is safe, up-to-date, and functioning correctly, along with deleting any apps that you don’t use anymore. Freeing up any space on your site is always recommended when it comes to speed optimization.

Using a queuing service is a good way to get around some of the bottlenecks associated with slow API connections. Magento has been slowly increasing coverage of GraphQL and this will further speed performance.

One overlooked point is too many modules and modules that are not optimized for high volume. Make sure you test your site at 10x the traffic you think you will ever get. Utilize a tool like NewRelic to find pain points in your code. This will help you to understand how your site will perform at peak volume.

3. Disabled Caching

If caching is disabled for your website, you and your customers will be sure to experience longer loading times. Sometimes, the cache might be turned off accidentally by a Magento developer or someone else in your organization who has full Admin capabilities. Luckily, enabling this feature again only takes a few moments:

• Login into the Magento Back-end.
• Navigate to System, then select Cache Management.
• Make sure that all of the cache types are green and showing the “Enabled” label.

Remember to take advantage of Varnish cache with Magento 2.

2. Unoptimized Front-End Content

If your store’s back-end seems to be in good working order, your site performance problem may have to do with your front-end content and customizations. Using a heavily customized theme, not optimizing or compressing your images, or going without a CDN (Content Delivery Network) are a few regular occurrences that can influence site speed. Follow these suggestions to address these common issues:

• Change your theme. It’s highly recommended using a lightweight fastest Magento theme as it can help you improve the loading speed of Magento 2 significantly.
• Optimize your images. eCommerce stores almost always have dozens, if not hundreds, of images to display products and highlight special features. The more pictures you have on your website, the more important it is to ensure that each image is properly optimized. Start the process with these key steps: 
• Compress your images.
• Make sure that your store’s logo is in PNG or SVG format.
• Ensure that all product photos are in JPEG format.
• Use A CDN. There are two immediate benefits to utilizing a content distribution network on your site. First, your customers will get to experience quicker loading speeds because the CDN takes some of the load off our server. Secondly, since a CDN places static assets on servers close to your customers, content like images and scripts won’t have to travel as far, which can speed up download times.

1. Insufficient Hosting

If your site is still running slowly after you’ve checked the previous solutions, the problem may ultimately lie with your hosting partner. Inadequate hosting is the number one explanation for slow Magento sites, and those with the wrong hosting solution can quickly outgrow their initial platform. Users who suspect that they need some hosting help can either upgrade their hosting capabilities or start searching for a new partner that can provide ample resources for a growing website. 

This is why Wagento is now offering a special Commerce Boost Package, which is equipped to help retailers of all sizes understand where they can optimize their site, learn the best practices and recommendations, receive a personalized performance review of their store, and much more. Simply click the link above to learn more about this offer and start improving your eCommerce site today!