WordPress is a very user-friendly site, which is why it is popular among those who are blogging for fun, and those who use blogs for business blog marketing. However, too much traffic to your website can slow it down, and if you’re not prepared, and influx of traffic can crash your site. Here are some suggested tips and tricks from Mashable, to make sure you can handle a high number of viewers.
1. Utilize WordPress Object Cache or a Caching Plug-In – There are several ways to cache database queries, preventing new server requests on each load, which lessens the strain on the server. There are several plug-ins you can download, like WP Super Cache and W3 Total Cache. Or, you can enter the following code into your wp-config.php file:
// Enable the WordPress Object Cache:
define(ENABLE_CACHE, true);
Read more on this topic:
2. Choose the Right Web Hosting Service – Some web hosts are optimized to run Wordpress, and some are not. Here is a list of what you should look for when choosing a host:
PHP 4.3 or greater
MySQL 4.1.2 or greater
suPHP for security
Apache or Nginx
3. Be Selective About Plug-ins – Remove any inactive plug-ins, and any active plug-ins that you are no longer using. Also, make sure you are running the most current release of Wordpress, and all your plug-ins.
4. Choose a Simple Theme – With a myriad of themes to choose from, and the ability to customize your theme, it might be temping to go all out. However, themes with images, tables, or frames can slow down your site’s loading time. Want to know if your page is too slow? You can test it on YSlow or Pingdom’s Page Test.
5. Compress Images – People like pictures, so don’t omit them just to speed up your site. If images are formatted and compressed correctly. For black and white images, or images with only a few colors, it should be saved as a .GIF or .PNG. Images in full color should be saved as a .JPG. If you edit an image in Photoshop, use the “save for the web” option. When sizing an image, smaller is better.
These are a few of the easier ways to speed up your site. Next week we’ll get into more advanced techniques, so you can soon be on your way to a faster Wordpress site, ideal for great business blog marketing.
