Short answer
Measure first, then change one thing at a time. The three changes that help most sites are a caching plugin (LSCache works well here), properly compressed images, and removing plugins you don’t use.
Guessing is what makes this take all afternoon. Run a speed test, note the number, make one change, test again. Most WordPress slowness comes from a handful of heavy plugins or 3MB hero images rather than the server.
Learn more
- Why is WordPress slow? How to find and fix the causeMeasure before you change anything, then work through the usual causes of a slow WordPress site: no caching, heavy plugins, big images and old PHP.
- Speeding up WordPress with LSCacheInstall the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, enable server-level page caching, and set exclusions for logged-in and shop pages.
- How to optimise images for a faster websiteResize, compress and convert images to WebP or AVIF, use lazy loading and responsive images, and stop oversized photos slowing your site.
- How to measure website speed properlyWhich speed metrics matter — TTFB, LCP, INP, CLS — how to test fairly, and how to read results without chasing a perfect score.
Step-by-step
- Speed up a slow WordPress siteAdvanced · 60 min · 9 steps
- Find out why a website is slowIntermediate · 40 min · 7 steps
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