How Slow Is Too Slow
This is a dilemma... Following on from Kyle's blog yesterday about sitespeed and mobile friendly websites...
My site speed for desktop and mobile are not great... I was shocked to see on Kyle's blog that he has 100 on everything.... I sooooo do not have that... Some of my mobile speeds are no better than 10!
So I realise that there are certain things on some of my blogs that are slowing the process down such as animated infographics which look crazy but really must take an age to load... stupid me for doing it in the first place but I thought at the time it was clever..
Some articles and blogs I am at a loss to know why its so slow...
I hsve improved dramatically on quite a few going from around 40 to 88 using 3 new plugins - shortpixel for images - really really good, got a long way with this one, optimising all my images was a really good feeling, then I used autoptimise for CSS and fonts, then WP Sweep to clean up unused and orphaned data, WP Rocket improves data speed so another good plugin for me....
But this comes at a price.... I remember in basic training that we were told not to have too many plugins,,,, well Im up to 14 and thinking of adding in lazy loader too...
I do not have a single green sitespeed result yet...
So my final thought... and this is DEFINITELY one that I really don't want to consider.... is that its my theme that is at the bottom of all this. ...
I use DIVI... I LOVE Divi... How can I live without it?
But am I costing myself Google's love by continuing to hold out with it?
I love the adaptability, the freshness, and the control I have over how something looks.. but to be totally honest, can I get that with something else that doesn't compromise the speed...
This is one big headache and has been at the back of my mind for a little while.... Am I sabotaging my own success by stubbornly hanging onto a theme that I take pride in using? Is my pride at using a difficult theme successfully blinding me to the obvious truth that I would get more visitors if I sucked it up and changed it?
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Hi Helen, sure would like to know which plugins you use. The theme you are using will contribute to your site speed. I do not, and have not experimented with the Divi theme, so I can't say if it is good or bad. I am using an Astra theme with seven plugins.
Kraken became the new image optimizer. Site support installed it for me. Some of the plugins could counter act each other. Adding another plugin may just slow your speeds down more.
Always back up your site before doing anything. De-activate some of the plugins and start experimenting.
Best wishes,
Michael
Thanks Michael.. I’ve taken one off that was suggested in this comment feed, but not seen any difference. I couldn’t get on with Kraken, at one point it was causing an issue so I use short pixel which seems to be good, and it definitely improved things but otherwise the plugins are the basic ones, nothing special, I’m going to install the site on a siterubix and have a fiddle around with it.. so I’m not upsetting the main site while I do it. I just feel I have to sort this out now before the site gets too much bigger.
Hi Helen, I think that is a great idea. Getting things sorted out before your site gets too big. You may need site support to assist you with Kraken.
I also liked the results I got with, Lazy Load - Optimize Images. I would use only one plugin for images.
Perhaps deactivating short pixel and trying Lazy load may be worth a test.
Best wishes,
Michael
thanks for your support Michael. Chrystopher, a member here has been so kind and is taking a look at the site speed for me before i finally have to change it.. so I am super hopeful that he will be able to sort it out and give me an insight into what I need to do going forward, thats hoping that I dont need to change... 😁
I think he is too ! He's already managed to get my home page up to 95 on desktop and 57 on mobile, thats at least 50% improvement so I am thrilled !
Like Kyle said, Generate Press. I’m a rebel. Refuse to use Generate Press. Yeah, I get how you feel. I picked fast theme from MyTheme Shop. Works the same as Generate Press Pro, it’s the Schema theme, ultra fast. Some of my plugins are a bit too much so gonna have to deactivate it. My site overall health isn’t there yet. I haven’t been focusing on building it. I don’t know if lazy load plugin works, I don’t have it on my site. You can try Schema theme the free version, it’s simple almost similar to GP. Hope you find what you want.
thanks Brenda.. Im thinking Generate Press to be honest. I really got to improve the speed and if Im going to meet this head on, Im going to sort it out!
You will get it figured out I am sure. Be sure to ask for help if you struggle with it. Most use elementor plug in to design the pages , it helps but deactivate it when not using it as Kyle says it does increase speed. I know a few WAer use ThriveTheme, or Thrive Architect but Kyle said its worse for speed. Good thing that I didnt sign up. Im sticking to Schema for now.
Sometimes you just have to let go. I recently changed themes from one I really liked to a more functional theme an now my site still looks good but not as good.
You have to prioritize functionality over all else or you are making it harder for your potential customers to see your site.
Better to have an ugly tree in your yard than the most beautiful tree in the middle of the forest
Sadly that is i think what I am coming to realise. I love the way my site looks, but can't sacrifice functionality and my inflated ego in using a difficult theme.
Hi Helen,
Did you read Kyle's latest blog on how themes can influence site speed? I haven't read it yet so can't comment.
I feel we mistakingly think that all 3000 themes are fast because WA has them on the WordPress platform. Doesn't seem so.
My site speeds are reasonable good. Most Desktop speeds are over 90 and several at 100. Not do for mobile. A mix between greens and yellows and a couple of reds. But when I access the URL on my phone they all seem pretty good.
According to Jay, having a lot of plugins is not a problem as long as the ones you use do not have the reputation of slowing you down. 5 bad plugins can be far worse than 15 good ones. You should check what your plugins are rated online.
You are doing the right things. Hope you work out a solution.
Edwin
Thanks Edwin, Yes I read his blog which is why Im having to do some thing about it. I have known for a little while that Divi is a heavy theme, but with the google updates I just feel I cant hang onto it just because I like it, its got to be fast. So Im going to use the theme that Kyle suggested and set it up on a siterubix to change over so I dont upset the main site whilst it goes through the transformation... Its a nuisance but bette I do it now.
Helen, it takes a lot of experimenting to get it right. Keep changing and checking. WordPress works for me.
Joe
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Hey Helen, would you like me to take a look at your website before you make the plunge to change themes?
If you do, feel free to PM your website and I’ll take a look in the morning.
If you decide to change, you can contact SiteSupport and ask them to create a “Staging” site of your website. It will be identical to your current one, where you an then switch over the theme and make any customisations required. Once completed, they can push it to the main domain name seamlessly for you.