If you have any questions about optimization, feel free to ask! I'm happy to help and share my knowledge!

[ThinkWar]

This thread is geared towards people who share a passion for web design and are similarly focused on optimization, just like myself

When I resumed web design a few years ago, I became rather obsessive about website performance and optimization. However, I eventually realized that achieving a perfect score of 100/100 or A100, or any other maximum score, was unattainable once you start adding content to your site.

If you participate in WP/Dev Facebook groups or peruse certain forums, you may come across people who criticize WP page builders. They claim that these builders are either inferior, slow, or dysfunctional.

As I finish up my agency site, I decided to run some tests to identify any flaws or errors and see how it compared to competitors with multi-million dollar budgets, even though two out of three competitors also use WP. I'm assuming that these competitors have opted for custom coding.

I conducted my test using GTmetrix, and my results are presented from left to right: my agency's site, the biggest agency in my country, one of the biggest publicissapient (formerly Razorfish) in the world, and one of the top five worldwide WebFx.


Despite ongoing testing of some plugin settings and running multiple tests, my full load time is not currently the fastest. However, my overall website performance is better compared to my competitors. Interestingly, I ran the test again, and the full load time improved to 2.4 seconds, showcasing the impact of server load.

Next, I checked my site using Pingdom and compared it with the fastest competitor using the closest servers to both them and myself. I'm pleased to report that the results were very good.

While it's true that I have fewer requests, which contributes to my faster load times, this factor only influences certain metrics on GTMetrix, which as we've seen, has its flaws. Nonetheless, WebFx is truly a beast in this space, boasting an annual revenue of around $53 million.

Despite my limited resources and having to host my own website, I feel proud of the progress I've made in overcoming many obstacles during the setup process. I also compared my site with many local competitors, but unfortunately, the majority of them are subpar.

If you have any questions about optimization, don't hesitate to ask me. I'd be happy to help out in any way I can!

For anyone curious, this is my current website setup:

• Self-configured cloud hosting for $5 per month
• Astra Pro theme
• Elementor Pro page builder
• Ultimate Addons plugin
• Free Cloudflare, although I'm not currently using their minification feature

In addition, I currently have 19 plugins running on my front page.

If you have any questions about my setup or optimization in general, feel free to ask. Peace!

 

[MadJack]

I'm curious about the prioritization of video content, particularly on YouTube, over websites in search engine rankings. Why does video content often receive higher rankings than websites?

 

[Desperado]

Do you use any minification or caching plugins on your website? If so, which ones do you recommend?

Additionally, which hosting service do you suggest for optimal website performance?

 

[ThinkWar]

I'm curious about the prioritization of video content, particularly on YouTube, over websites in search engine rankings. Why does video content often receive higher rankings than websites?

While this isn't directly related to website optimization, it's worth noting that YouTube and Google are closely intertwined, which likely contributes to the prioritization of video content in search engine rankings. As videos continue to gain popularity and surpass written content, it makes sense that search engines would favor video results.

However, it's important to note that not all searches result in video content, and some topics may be better suited for written content. Nevertheless, video guides and tutorials are becoming increasingly popular and widely used.

Do you use any minification or caching plugins on your website? If so, which ones do you recommend?

Additionally, which hosting service do you suggest for optimal website performance?

I employ several tools to optimize my websites, such as 3, WP Fastest Cache, Autoptimize, and Litespeed Cache for critical CSS. For my own sites, I host them on a Vultr cloud, which requires some initial configuration. However, for my clients, I use a local hosting resale package.

 

[Shoot2kill]

What is your opinion on the Astra and Divi themes? In terms of speed and customization, do you believe Astra is the best option? As for Divi, I personally dislike it, but I am curious to hear your thoughts.

 

[TheExecutor]

While this isn't directly related to website optimization, it's worth noting that YouTube and Google are closely intertwined, which likely contributes to the prioritization of video content in search engine rankings. As videos continue to gain popularity and surpass written content, it makes sense that search engines would favor video results.

However, it's important to note that not all searches result in video content, and some topics may be better suited for written content. Nevertheless, video guides and tutorials are becoming increasingly popular and widely used.

I employ several tools to optimize my websites, such as 3, WP Fastest Cache, Autoptimize, and Litespeed Cache for critical CSS. For my own sites, I host them on a Vultr cloud, which requires some initial configuration. However, for my clients, I use a local hosting resale package.

I am currently using WP Fastest Cache and Autoptimize to optimize my website's performance. I am curious if a plugin such as WP Rocket might be a better choice. Also, I would like to know if you have any knowledge of whether the paid version of WP Fastest Cache is being used.

 

[Babushka]

I am currently using WP Fastest Cache and Autoptimize to optimize my website's performance. I am curious if a plugin such as WP Rocket might be a better choice. Also, I would like to know if you have any knowledge of whether the paid version of WP Fastest Cache is being used.

While WP Rocket is often a great option and I am planning on purchasing the agency subscription, in my case, using WP Fastest Cache and Autoptimize has geted better results for my website, as you can see from its good performance. Furthermore, I am currently using the free version of WP Fastest Cache.

 

[Eyeshooter]

Once my website is completed, it will have a lot of images. Do you recommend that I start hosting all the images in my S3 bucket? Also, for my videos, I am considering hosting a teaser video on YouTube for about three minutes and then redirecting viewers to my site to watch the full videos that are self-hosted. What is your opinion on this approach?

 

[Fabulous]

Once my website is completed, it will have a lot of images. Do you recommend that I start hosting all the images in my S3 bucket? Also, for my videos, I am considering hosting a teaser video on YouTube for about three minutes and then redirecting viewers to my site to watch the full videos that are self-hosted. What is your opinion on this approach?

Since I haven't had experience dealing with a large number of images, it's difficult for me to make a recommendation. However, personally, I prefer not to host images on an external server because it could negatively impact loading times and encounter connection issues. The common practice is to use a subdomain to load images and let a Content Delivery Network (CDN) handle the work.

Regarding your video question, using a teaser video on YouTube to redirect viewers to your site is a great method. However, if the video receives a lot of traffic, hosting it on your server could become costly in terms of bandwidth. If this occurs, I suggest using a player that hides the fact that the video is being served from YouTube.

 

[PowerRobber]

While WP Rocket is often a great option and I am planning on purchasing the agency subscription, in my case, using WP Fastest Cache and Autoptimize has geted better results for my website, as you can see from its good performance. Furthermore, I am currently using the free version of WP Fastest Cache.

I would appreciate it if you could provide more information on why WP Rocket is often considered a great caching plugin for WordPress. Although I have tried both WP Rocket (paid version) and WP Fastest Cache (free version), the latter performed better on GTMetrix. However, I do find WP Rocket easier to set up.

 

[Wookiesrppl2]

I would like to know how to self-configure a cloud. Additionally, I read on another thread that someone experienced slower site speed due to AdSense. Have you observed any ad networks that slow down websites, and if so, which ones? Also, can you recommend a good host for non-technical people? Lastly, I want to say that you have excellent information, and your inspiring story is fantastic.

 

[Sniperinstinct]

I would appreciate it if you could provide more information on why WP Rocket is often considered a great caching plugin for WordPress. Although I have tried both WP Rocket (paid version) and WP Fastest Cache (free version), the latter performed better on GTMetrix. However, I do find WP Rocket easier to set up.

Based on my experience, WP Rocket provided an instant improvement when I tested it with GTMetrix. However, for my own site, which is more complex, I obtained better results with the three cache plugins that I previously mentioned. Nevertheless, for most client sites, I prefer WP Rocket because, in my experience, it outperforms any other plugin as long as the site is not too complicated.

I would like to know how to self-configure a cloud. Additionally, I read on another thread that someone experienced slower site speed due to AdSense. Have you observed any ad networks that slow down websites, and if so, which ones? Also, can you recommend a good host for non-technical people? Lastly, I want to say that you have excellent information, and your inspiring story is fantastic.

From my personal experience, I have found that injecting ads may cause GTmetrix to show reduced performance, but it doesn't necessarily mean that your site will be slow. I haven't encountered any issues with this.

If budget is not a concern, I would recommend managed cloud hosting providers like Cloudways. However, if you have a limited budget, I suggest looking into hosting options such as SiteGround or A10.

Thank you for the compliment. It's always great to hear that my story can still inspire others.

 

[Casanova]

Is there a CDN plugin available to fetch images from a sub-domain, or would it be sufficient to configure a cache plugin for this purpose? Alternatively, can I simply use a URL to accomplish this? Thanks once again for the advice; I plan to implement this combination of cache plugins.

 

[KingOfWolfStreet]

Is there a CDN plugin available to fetch images from a sub-domain, or would it be sufficient to configure a cache plugin for this purpose? Alternatively, can I simply use a URL to accomplish this? Thanks once again for the advice; I plan to implement this combination of cache plugins.

I might have misspoken earlier. While I was able to successfully point a subdomain to my root, site, and wp-content folders, this method may not be the most efficient for larger websites with hundreds of images. If you're dealing with a lot of media content, it would probably be better to use Amazon S3 in combination with Cloudflare. In terms of our cache combination settings, it's possible that you may need to experiment with different configurations and test the results with GTmetrix, since my website and content, as well as other plugins, are different from yours.

What is your opinion on the Astra and Divi themes? In terms of speed and customization, do you believe Astra is the best option? As for Divi, I personally dislike it, but I am curious to hear your thoughts.

While I cannot speak to the quality of all popular themes, based on the ones I have worked with so far, I prefer Astra the most. However, the performance of a theme also depends on various factors such as hosting, plugins, resources, memory, caching, and more. On a separate note, I strongly dislike Divi.

 

[AnnaBoss]

The server setup for the project will use a LEMP stack with Nginx and Redis cache, among other features. We can also chain reverse proxies if necessary. Although Varnish was effective in the past when used in combination with HHVM (which is owned by Facebook), for most standard websites, PHP7 and Nginx will suffice.

 

[Aashiq]

The server setup for the project will use a LEMP stack with Nginx and Redis cache, among other features. We can also chain reverse proxies if necessary. Although Varnish was effective in the past when used in combination with HHVM (which is owned by Facebook), for most standard websites, PHP7 and Nginx will suffice.

I appreciate the humor. Just to clarify, I already have experience in marketing, SEO consulting, and web design. At the moment, my server configuration uses PHP 7.3x and Apache with Nginx caching. I previously used Litespeed, but encountered some problems with it.

 

[EinsteinBaba]

I might have misspoken earlier. While I was able to successfully point a subdomain to my root, site, and wp-content folders, this method may not be the most efficient for larger websites with hundreds of images. If you're dealing with a lot of media content, it would probably be better to use Amazon S3 in combination with Cloudflare. In terms of our cache combination settings, it's possible that you may need to experiment with different configurations and test the results with GTmetrix, since my website and content, as well as other plugins, are different from yours.

While I cannot speak to the quality of all popular themes, based on the ones I have worked with so far, I prefer Astra the most. However, the performance of a theme also depends on various factors such as hosting, plugins, resources, memory, caching, and more. On a separate note, I strongly dislike Divi.

I appreciate you! Love your response; it's exactly what I needed to hear.

I'll use Astra and Elementor.

Even though Salient theme deserves a special mention for all of its features.

 

[Bahadur]

I appreciate you! Love your response; it's exactly what I needed to hear.

I'll use Astra and Elementor.

Even though Salient theme deserves a special mention for all of its features.

I experimented with the new Hello theme from Elementor, and while it's a good option for other projects, I still prefer Astra Pro with Elementor Pro. While I sometimes use Astra only as a frame, I find that its header, combined with Elementor sections, offers great mega menu features. Plus, Astra 2.0 has impressive customization options even without using Elementor.

 

[Chikna]

Can you recommend a tutorial for setting up Vultr cloud for someone new to it like myself?

Also, I'm curious if you use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) and what your thoughts on it are.

Lastly, what is your experience with Google Page Speed Insights when using Astra?

 

[CharsiMoney]

Can you recommend a tutorial for setting up Vultr cloud for someone new to it like myself?

Also, I'm curious if you use AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) and what your thoughts on it are.

Lastly, what is your experience with Google Page Speed Insights when using Astra?

I've looked for guides on setting up Vultr cloud, but I haven't found any that are detailed enough for someone new to it. I might consider writing one myself in the future.

As for AMP, I have it turned on in Cloudflare.

I don't rely heavily on PageSpeed because it's challenging to achieve a high score on mobile unless the site is very basic. On my agency site, I score 77 on mobile and 97 on desktop, but that's partly because I have a JSON script running in the header. Compared to other sites, my score is still quite good. For example, WebFx scores 55 on mobile and 96 on desktop, while the largest agency in my country scores 18 on mobile and 54 on desktop. So, in terms of PageSpeed, I'm doing well.