Speed affects search rankings, user experience and conversions. Here is a practical checklist to improve WordPress performance and Core Web Vitals.
Hosting and caching
- Choose quality hosting with modern PHP versions.
- Enable page caching and object caching where available.
- Serve static assets through a CDN.
Images and media
- Use WebP or AVIF formats and responsive image sizes.
- Lazy-load images below the fold; prioritise the hero image.
- Avoid auto-playing background videos on mobile.
Theme and plugins
- Use a lightweight theme and remove unused plugins.
- Limit third-party scripts such as trackers and chat widgets.
- Minify CSS/JS and defer non-critical scripts.
Measure
Test with PageSpeed Insights and real-user data, fix the largest issues first, and re-test after every change.
