We all want our WordPress sites run super fast. This becomes a challenge if you have a shared hosting account. Let’s face it not all good sites are on their own server or even a Virtual Private Server. This session will cover what you can do to make the best of your shared hosting account, without the need to code (or at least not much).

1. Speeding up WordPress
on Shared Hosting
Kevin Cristiano
kcristiano@tadpole.cc

2. Do you feel like your site loads like a ….

3. Why is Speed Important
• Why do you care about the speed of your
sites?
• Because your readers care
• The Google Factor
• So what can we do about it? What are
our options on Shared Hosting

4. How to Speed up WordPress
• Stay up to Date- Update WordPress
Core!
• Core is faster today than previous versions

5. Hosting Matters
• It’s not just about price
– “Unlimited” doesn’t exist
• Read the Terms of Service (TOS)
• Call them – ask questions
– If they won’t answer a question to get a new customer, how will
respond if you call for support
WordPress.org Hosting Page Links to Hosting Sites listed below

6. Themes
• Where do I get a good theme?
– WordPress Theme Repository
• How do I know it’s a ‘Fast’ Theme
– Use a plugin called “Display Queries” to see
what the theme is doing to the database
– Test Site

7. Plugins
• Plugins: Avoid Plugin Overload

8. Settings
• Home Page – How many Posts are you
loading?

9. Media
• Images What format should I use
• Use the smallest size possible that preserves quality
– In general jpg for photos
• Resize to the published size
• Don’t resize on the fly
• Set your Media Settings to match your theme
• Gravatars: Check your Discussion Settings
• Video
– Use a service built to handle streaming video like YouTube or
Vimeo

10. Sharing and Widgets
• Social Media Buttons and Counters
– How many times will they load each page
• Call home each time they load
• Balance your content needs with speed considerations
• Widget Areas
– Be judicious about what you load
– Load dynamically – Use Widget Logic or
Display Widgets

11. Database Tweaks
• Post Revisions
– Manage The amount of Post revisions stored in your database
• Revision Control Plugin

12. Database Tweaks
• Optimize your database
– Ensure best performance by keeping your database clean
– WP Optimize is a plugin that will assist you in doing this

13. To Cache or not to Cache
• Once you have addressed Hosting, Theme and Plugin issues. Look
at Caching
• Which Plugin to use?
• W3 Total Cache
• WP Super Cache
Both Plugins are reliable with a solid history.

14. Finding and fixing Speed Issues
• Testing Your Site with External Tools
• Ismyblogworking.com
• Pingdom Tools
• Yslow (extensions for Firefox and
Chrome)
• Page Speed from Goohle

15. Questions?

16. Contact Info
Kevin Cristiano
kcristiano@tadpole.cc
@kcristiano
http://www.tadpole.cc

17. Links
Hosts
• http://www.liquidweb.com/web-hosting/
• http://www.siteground.com/wordpress-hosting.htm
• http://www.westhost.com/web-hosting/
• http://laughingsquid.us/
• http://mediatemple.net/wordpress-webhosting.php
• http://www.bluehost.com/wordpress_hosting
• http://www.dreamhost.com/
• http://page.ly/
• http://wpengine.com/b/