WordPress and other platforms
What you can and cannot change on WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify and site builders, and the fixes that pay off first.
Every platform has the same speed rules, but each one decides what you are allowed to change. On WordPress you can change almost everything, which is why most of the work is choosing what to leave out. On hosted builders, many of the levers are not yours. These guides say what matters on each platform, in the order it pays off.
On WordPress, begin with is WordPress slow? for what the data says, then follow how to speed up a WordPress website and keep the WordPress speed checklist at hand. The detail is in hosting, caching, themes and plugins, page builders, images and the database.
For stores, read online store speed, then the guides for WooCommerce, its checkout and Shopify.
On hosted builders, read about Wix, Squarespace and Webflow.
Guides in this topic 13 guides
- How to speed up a WordPress website, step by step
A practical order of work for a slow WordPress site: measure, fix hosting and caching, then the theme, plugins, images, scripts and database. No guesswork.
- WordPress caching: page, object and browser caches
WordPress does not cache finished pages by itself. The five layers of caching, how WordPress tests for them, what to leave out, and how to check each one works.
- Hosting for WordPress speed: what to ask and test
What a WordPress host should provide for speed: PHP, opcode and page caches, an object cache, resources and location. How to test your host and when to move.
- WordPress themes and plugins: what slows a site
Themes and plugins decide most of a WordPress site's speed. How core loads their files, how to find the heavy ones, and how to remove, limit or replace them.
- Elementor, Divi and page builders: the speed cost
Page builders make layouts easy and pages heavier. What the data shows, how to measure your builder's footprint, and which settings and habits help.
- WordPress images: what core does and what you must do
WordPress resizes, lazy-loads and prioritizes images for you, up to a point. What core does on its own, where it stops, and how to get the main image right.
- WordPress database cleanup: what is safe to do
A bloated database slows WordPress in a few ways. What to clean (autoloaded options, revisions, transients, trash), what to leave, and how to do it safely.
- WooCommerce speed: what to fix first
WooCommerce stores need caching where it is allowed and a light cart and checkout. What the data shows, what the plugin loads and caches, and what to fix first.
- WooCommerce checkout speed: a lighter, faster purchase
The checkout cannot be cached, so it depends on the server, its scripts and payment tools. How it recalculates, what slows it, and how to test it with a cart.
- Is WordPress slow? What the 2025 data shows
WordPress sites pass the Core Web Vitals less often than sites on managed builders, but the spread is wide. What the 2025 Web Almanac found and what to do.
- Shopify speed: what you can change and what to ask
Shopify runs the servers, so speed work is about the theme, apps, images and scripts. What the data shows, what a fast theme does, and how to review your store.
- Wix, Squarespace and Webflow: what you can speed up
On a hosted site builder you cannot change the server, so speed work is about content. What the data shows for each, what you control, and when to move.
- Cloudflare APO for WordPress: how it works
What Cloudflare's Automatic Platform Optimization caches on a WordPress site, what it skips, how to switch it on and check it, and when to leave it off.
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