Loading speed of websites: the best 10 plugins for WordPress

Loading speed is one of the main ranking factors for a website, because it constitutes a fundamental moment within the user experience. So, if a website is too slow, there is a risk that users will abandon it.

By acting on the loading speed of your website, you can obtain the following advantages:

• Users will visit multiple pages.
• User experience will be better and will have an impact on sales and engagement.
• A good user experience increases trust in your brand.

Therefore, the purpose of this article is to suggest you with all the means necessary to cope with this problem. In fact, below we provide you a list of the best plugins indicating their price, function and link to get more information.

Loading speed plugins: BJ Lazy Load

BJ Lazy Load uses a loading speed optimization technique which consists in delaying the loading of files until they are near the visible area of the page. In addition, it replaces images, thumbnails and gravatars with “placeholders”, i.e., a text or image that will be subsequently replaced.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Loading speed plugins: Lazy Load

Lazy Load is a plugin developed by WP Rocket that guarantees a better loading speed by reducing the number of HTTP requests. To do so, it shows images only when they are visible to the user, as we already described in the previous plugin. Therefore, no JavaScript library is used and the script weight is less than 10 KB.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Loading speed plugins: NitroPack

NitroPack is a plugin available on major platforms. When you enter the website, you will be asked to enter the link of your website to understand how NitroPack can improve its loading speed. In fact, it is one of the most complete plugins because it allows image optimization, cache management, code minification and lazy loading.

Pricing

There is a free version with limited functions or paid versions, each one with a growing number of features that you can consult on the website. In any case, the prices for each plan are:

• $17.50 per month
• $42.50 per month
• $146.67 per month

In addition, you can request a full refund within 14 days.

Loading speed plugins: Perfmatters

Perfmatters allows you to have control over the loading speed of your website by independently managing the number of HTTP requests, i.e., disabling unused plugins, eliminating useless code and optimizing the database. In addition, Perfmatters boasts 19 years of experience in optimizing WordPress websites and ensures updates and compatibility with all types of themes and plugins.

Pricing

You can choose among 3 types of licenses:

• One website: $24.95 per year.
• Three websites: $54.95 per year.
• Unlimited websites: $124.95 per year.

Loading speed plugins: Speed Booster

Speed Booster is a plugin developed by Optimocha, a company that offers various optimization services. Specifically, it uses constantly evolving code to increase website performance and loading speed. Furthermore, the dashboard is very intuitive and allows you to manage the cache, the static resources of the pages, the CDN (Content Delivery Network) and much more.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Loading speed plugins: WP Fastest Cache

As you can guess from the name, this plugin acts on the cache to increase the loading speed of the website. In fact, when a page is displayed, PHP (a programming language) and MYSQL (a database management service) are used and, in turn, they use RAM and CPU. So, the more users visit the website, the more the system will be burdened. However, with a cache system such as WP Fastest Cache it will no longer be necessary to continuously render the page because a static html file will be generated and saved.

Pricing

On the website above you will be able to download this plugin for free, while on the official website you can purchase a license without time limits and with more features for $49.99.

Loading speed plugins: WP Optimize

WP Optimize is a plugin that guarantees a better loading speed of your website by combining different features: database cleaning, image compression and cache management. In fact, in-depth tests have shown how cache management alone can make websites and, specifically, WordPress websites faster. However, if these features are combined with those listed above, the difference in terms of speed is very significant.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Loading speed plugins: WP Rocket

WP Rocket allows you to increase the loading speed of the website without having to put your hand to the code, i.e., in a simple way and, if necessary, by being followed by the support team of this plugin. In particular, WP Rocket allows you to:

• Cache the website.
• Compress web pages on the server and then decompress them in the browser.
• Preload the cache when making changes.
• Exclude sensitive pages from the cache without interfering with the purchase process.
• Save the resources of the website that you access most frequently.

Pricing

On the website above you will be able to download this plugin for free, while on the official website you can choose one of the following licenses with more features:

• Single (one website): $49 per year.
• Plus (three websites): $99 per year.
• Infinite (unlimited websites): $249 per year.

Loading speed plugins: WP Super Cache

WP Super Cache generates static html files and replaces WordPress php scripts, which are heavier and more expensive. In this way, the loading speed of the site will improve and 99% of users – those who are not logged in, those who don’t interact through comments on the blog and those who haven’t viewed password protected posts – will be shown the static html files. Instead, the rest of the users will be shown cached and customized files tailored to them.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Loading speed plugins: W3 Total Cache

W3 Total Cache improves the SEO and the user experience by increasing the website performance, including the loading speed. In order to do this, it uses the best and latest techniques and the CDN, which is a system of computers connected to the network that collaborate to distribute content (especially multimedia) to users.

Pricing

It can be downloaded for free by clicking on the link indicated above.

Conclusions

At the beginning of this article, we explained to you that the loading speed of a website is one of the Google ranking factors, but it is for your users that you need to act on this problem promptly. In fact, we must take into account the fact that we live in an increasingly hectic world and, on the web, we tend to want everything immediately. For this reason, it is essential that users can access to your website as quickly as possible and immediately obtain the information they need. In order to make this possible, plugins are the simplest solution because in most cases they do not require you to put your hand to the code and perform their function independently.

If you want to know more about WordPress, please read The best CMS tool for startups: WordPress