Lots of website owners think speeding up a site is strictly a job for a developer. In reality, a big part of the problem is content – images, videos, plugins and embedded elements. You can deal with those yourself in your website’s admin panel. Here’s a seven-step process you can handle without writing a single line of code.
Why website speed matters
SEO
When ranking pages, Google also considers user experience, including Core Web Vitals metrics. These measure how fast the main content appears, how quickly the page responds and whether it shifts around while loading. A slow website starts the race for rankings with an unnecessary handicap.
Visitors leave
People are impatient, especially on mobile. If a page takes a long time to load, many of them go back to the search results and pick a competitor – even when you paid for their click with an ad.
Conversions
A fast website looks professional and trustworthy. Even speeding up key pages like the cart or a form can show up in the number of orders and inquiries.
Measure first
Before you change anything, write down where you stand. Run Google PageSpeed Insights for your homepage and your two or three most visited pages. Save the results and measure again after your changes. That’s the only way to find out what really helped.
7 steps to speed up your website without coding
1. Optimize your images
Images are usually the most common reason for slow loading. Here’s what you can do without a developer:
- Before uploading, resize the photo to the size it will actually be displayed at. A photo for a blog post doesn’t need large-monitor resolution.
- Use the modern WebP format, which is usually much smaller than JPG or PNG at comparable quality.
- Compress images with tools like Squoosh or TinyPNG, or with a plugin that does it automatically on upload.
You’ll find a detailed guide in our article on how to optimize images for faster website loading.
2. Remove unnecessary plugins
Over time, websites pile up plugins nobody uses anymore. Each of them can add files or run in the background. Go through the list and get rid of:
- duplicate plugins that do the same thing,
- plugins that haven’t been updated in a long time,
- features you already handle another way,
- plugins for one small thing that your theme or the content management system itself can handle.
Fewer plugins mean a faster and more secure website. Always make a backup before deleting anything.
3. Clean up your media library and database
Content management systems store old page revisions, unused images and attachments. Delete what you don’t need and limit the number of saved revisions. A database cleanup plugin helps too – again, with a backup.
4. Simplify embedded content
- Don’t upload videos directly to your website – put them on YouTube or Vimeo and embed them. Even better, show just a thumbnail and load the player only after a click.
- Instead of large animated GIFs, use a short video or a static image.
- Cut back on sliders and animations, especially on the homepage.
- Consider whether every page really needs an embedded map, a chat widget and a social media feed.
5. Trim external scripts
Every external script – an ad pixel, a chatbot, analytics or a click-tracking tool – is one more request for the browser. Keep only the ones you really use and actually read data from. If you have a lot of them, Google Tag Manager keeps them organized. We explain how in our article on how to get started with Google Tag Manager.
6. Turn on caching and a CDN
A cache stores a ready-made version of a page so the server doesn’t have to build it from scratch every time. A CDN is a network of servers that delivers files to visitors from the nearest location. You can turn on both without code – through a caching plugin, in your hosting control panel or through a service like Cloudflare, which also has a free plan. After turning them on, test your website to make sure everything works.
7. Declutter your pages
A cluttered page feels slow even if it loads quickly. A clear hierarchy, fewer elements on the first screen and a simple menu shorten the time it takes visitors to find what they’re looking for. That’s speed too – the kind people actually perceive.
A checklist for one afternoon
- Measure your homepage and your two most visited pages in PageSpeed Insights.
- Back up your website.
- Replace or compress the largest images on those pages.
- Delete unused plugins, old revisions and media.
- Replace embedded videos with thumbnails and review your external scripts.
- Turn on caching and possibly a CDN, then test your website.
- Measure the same pages again and compare the results.
The most common misconceptions
“It has to be done by a developer”
Not always. A big part of the problem is content – images, videos, plugins. You only need a developer for the theme, the server or the code itself.
“Better hosting will fix everything”
Good hosting is the foundation, but it won’t save you from ten-megabyte photos or thirty plugins.
“I’ll keep my images large so they look good”
With proper compression and the WebP format, you usually can’t see a difference in quality – but you can see it in speed.
“I’ll turn on all the optimizations at once”
Aggressive script combining and deferring can break menus, forms or your page builder. Turn them on one at a time and test your website after each change.
If you also want to understand the technical causes of a slow website, read our article on why your website loads slowly and how to fix it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find out what slows my website down the most?
Run PageSpeed Insights and look at the recommendations section. It shows specific large images, render-blocking scripts and other issues, sorted by impact.
Can I speed up my website on my own?
The steps in this article, yes. If the problem is in the theme, the server or the code, it’s faster and safer to turn to an expert.
How often should I check my website’s speed?
After every bigger change, and otherwise every few months. Over time, a website gets “clogged up” with new content and plugins.
Can optimization break my website?
It can, especially script combining or aggressive cache settings. That’s why you should make a backup before making changes and check your website after each step.
Don’t want to deal with it yourself? Check out our website development – we build fast websites and can speed up existing ones too. Send us your website’s address and we’ll tell you what will help the most.
