WordPress Speed Tutorials & Reviews
Yo, I’m Tom! I’ve been writing WordPress speed guides since 2013. Most people come here to get the down low on hosting companies, configure optimization plugins, and optimize core web vitals + TTFB.
Hosting
After a decade of digging through thousands of critical Reddit, Facebook group, and TrustPilot reviews, I added my research to spreadsheets while collecting the specs of 65 plans.
Cache Plugins
FlyingPress (on Nginx/Apache servers) and LiteSpeed Cache (on LiteSpeed servers) are the current leaders which optimize core web vitals better than their alternatives with more features.
CDNs
Cloudflare, QUIC.cloud, and Cloudflare Enterprise (for WooCommerce sites) are safe bets. However, many hosting companies leave out features when integrating Cloudflare.
High Performance Hosting
All hosts below (except Rocket.net + Cloudways) use LiteSpeed servers or OpenLiteSpeed on most plans. Which means you’ll use LiteSpeed Cache and QUIC.cloud’s CDN which are top performers. It also uses less CPU/RAM and handles more concurrent visitors.
CPUs with higher clock speeds (in GHz) are arguably the #1 factor for high performance hosting. Each of these disclose their CPU model(s) which you’ll find in their reviews. Fast hosting = fast CPUs close to your visitors. MechanicWeb’s CPUs vary by server location.
ChemiCloud has 3 CPU cores + 3 GB RAM on their WordPress Turbo plan (scalable to 6 CPU cores + 6 GB RAM), Rocket.net gives you access to 32 CPU cores + 128 GB RAM, and Vultr High Frequency + Scala Hosting’s VPS are scalable. That’s more than most competitors.
All these hosts use NVMe SSDs which are roughly 10x faster in terms of read/write speeds and latency. WooCommerce/dynamic sites with high traffic will see the most significant improvement, especially when using newer generations (e.g. PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 NVMe SSDs).
If you max out resources, you have the option to scale CPU + RAM without having to “jump to the next plan” like most competitors. ChemiCloud’s Turbo+ Boost add-on, Vultr High Frequency, and Scala’s VPS plans all scale without having to jump to higher plans.
This can reduce CPU usage by 60% while speeding up both your frontend and wp-admin (by caching objects and database queries which are heavily used on WooCommerce/dynamic sites). Unlike Cloudways, Rocket.net includes it on their Business plan with Relay.
Most of these include free migration(s) and have reliable support teams with higher TrustPilot ratings. ChemiCloud does 10-200 migrations, Scala Hosting does unlimited, Rocket.net does unlimited, and MechanicWeb’s varies. Vultr High Frequency is more DIY.
LiteSpeed: LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC.cloud Standard Plan. Nginx/Apache = FlyingPress + Cloudflare APO (or a proper integration of Cloudflare Enterprise).
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ChemiCloud ($)
Affordable shared hosting on LiteSpeed servers, faster CPUs, NVMe SSDs, and solid live chat support. You also get more CPU + RAM + 10 free migrations. My go-to for smaller sites/projects.
Scala Hosting ($$)
Customizable VPS with 4 GHz CPUs and custom SPanel with OpenLiteSpeed. Arguably the best cPanel alternatives I’ve seen to save money on cPanel, LiteSpeed, Imunify360 licenses.
xCloud ($$)
40% cheaper (and faster) than Cloudways. Launch a Vultr High Frequency on xCloud with $300 in Vultr credits, OpenLiteSpeed (or Nginx), and no markups on their lightweight control panel.
MechanicWeb ($$)
5.7 GHz AMD Ryzen 9950X servers, DDR5 RAM, PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs, and LiteSpeed. Unpopular due to their much lower paying affiliate program, but some of the best hardware.
Rocket.net ($$$)
Highly optimized for dynamic and WooCommerce sites with a powerful Cloudflare Enterprise + Object Cache Pro integration and ~100ms global TTFB. Also more set and forget (who I use).
Why Big Hosting Companies Aren’t The Best Choice
These hosts often skimp on CPU cores/RAM (e.g. Hostinger) or have low limits on CPU usage (SiteGround’s CPU seconds), monthly visits (WP Engine + Kinsta), PHP threads (Kinsta), or inodes (Bluehost + HostGator). Which can lead to 5xx errors and forced upgrades.
Be prepared to pay significantly more than your original bill due to upgrades from inadequate resources, high renewals, and paid add-ons/upsells. Always add the billing date to your calendar since hosts like SiteGround/Hostinger can bill you 14-15 days prior to renewal.
Most of these hosts don’t disclose their CPU models and frequencies – just try asking them! But when they don’t give you an answer, you can probably guess why your website, wp-admin, and TTFB (time to first byte) are slow. Use a host who is transparent about CPUs.
Your hosting company’s CDN is usually limited compared to setting it up directly through the CDN provider. While convenient, it often lacks performance/security features and yields a slower TTFB. You can test TTFB in multiple locations using KeyCDN or SpeedVitals.
Many of these advertise “managed WordPress hosting,” but charge for migrations, don’t provide WordPress support, and won’t help you reduce resource usage. That’s because managed hosting is a gimmick where the only thing they’re managing to do is take your money.
If you actually read the terms of service, acceptable use policies, resource usage policies, and all the other limits (which often scattered throughout their website), you’ll realize why so many people run into problems which are often frequent at big hosting companies.
These hosts are usually recommended because they pay high affiliate commissions. I’m an affiliate too (I still gotta eat) but I do my best to recommend hosts based on your best interest (and after doing way too much research) without letting commissions get in the way.
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SiteGround
Went downhill in 2019 after price increases and declined support. Covers up negative reviews with fake ones (why you only see glowing reviews).
Hostinger
Based in Lithuania with scams/fake reviews (check Reddit), hidden limits, poor support, and issues related to their billing, DNS, and email.
GoDaddy
Too many people are getting taken advantage of by their upsells & overpriced services. It’s likely just the start of your problems, so run while you can.
Bluehost
Mainly promoted by “how to start a blog” affiliates who target noobs that don’t know better. Old infrastructure and pays WP to be “recommended.”
HostGator
Owned by the same company as Bluehost (Newfold Digital) with very similar problems related to CPU usage, backups, refunds, and warnings on BBB.
WP Engine
Low limits on bandwidth, monthly visits, and storage can lead to constant upgrades. Says “managed” but they won’t actually fix your websites.
Kinsta
Similar issues as WP Engine with additional limits on PHP threads. Add-ons are absurd and show you how limited their base hosting plans actually are.
Elementor Cloud
Extremely slow, way too minimal, and you should get your hosting from an actual hosting company – not your page builder/domain registrar.
WPX
Not the fastest host like they claim. <400ms target TTFB, shared hosting, downtimes, and no redundancy system caused a worldwide outage.
CDNs
Your CDN should have PoPs (points of presence) close to your users and a fast data transfer rate measured in terabytes per second (Tbps). CDNs usually list both numbers on their network page. Generally, a larger/faster network means less distance and latency.
Dynamic caching can often improve TTFB (time to fist byte) by 72%. Most CDNs (including QUIC.cloud and Cloudflare APO) include dynamic caching. If your TTFB is slow in KeyCDN or SpeedVitals, double checking your CDN is probably the first thing you should do.
Smart routing reduces latency and TTFB by monitoring real-time traffic congestion and directing traffic through the fastest network paths (similar to a GPS). It’s especially good for dynamic content (e.g. WooCommerce). Cloudflare Argo and QUIC.cloud support this.
All things equal, optimizing images with a CDN is better than a plugin because it dynamically resizes images for mobile devices and browsers without adding plugin overhead or using server resources. This means more optimizations and a lighter load on your server.
When hosts integrate Cloudflare (or Cloudflare Enterprise), they often heavily restrict Cloudflare’s features, plus there’s more room for caching issues. With limited exceptions (e.g. Rocket.net), you’re almost always better off setting it up directly from your CDN provider.
Besides hosting, Google lists CDNs as the #2 way to improve TTFB. Since TTFB is 40% of LCP (and part of FCP), CDNs play a huge role in optimizing core web vitals. Plus, who doesn’t want their site loading fast nearly everywhere in the world? Choose your CDN wisely.
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Cloudflare Enterprise
WooCommerce/dynamic sites greatly benefit from Argo Smart Routing, priority routing, load balancing, and bot mitigation. Only some hosts use it properly.
Cloudflare
Massive network of 330 PoPs and one of the fastest at 321 Tbps. Set up manually (not through your host) to access more features in the dashboard.
QUIC.cloud
LiteSpeed’s CDN is often top 3 on CDN Performance Checker with native dynamic caching, page/image optimizations, and HTTP/3. Use the standard plan.
FlyingCDN
Solid integration of Cloudflare Enterprise and convenient if you’re using FlyingPress and want CF Enterprise features without moving to Rocket.net.
RocketCDN
Uses BunnyCDN, but adds no benefit compared to setting up BunnyCDN directly (other than the extra convenience). Doesn’t specify bandwidth limits either.
SiteGround CDN
Very limited optimization and security features without smart routing. SiteGround’s DNS was also blocked by Google, causing 2M+ domains to get deindexed.
Optimization Plugins
FlyingPress
#1 in core web vitals according to the Chrome UX Report which collects performance data from real users. Leading the way with better features & optimizations.
LiteSpeed Cache
Free cache plugin for LiteSpeed servers. Learn to configure the settings and set up QUIC.cloud (or Cloudflare full page caching) with object cache via your host.
Perfmatters
When using FlyingPress or LiteSpeed Cache, you mainly want this for the script manager to disable plugins on specific pages/posts (reducing CSS/JS).
Database Cleaner
Cleans up the database junk cache plugins can’t: delete unused plugin tables, detect plugin autoloads, and repair corrupted or damaged tables.
WP Rocket
Poor job optimizing LCP, images, and third-party code compared to FlyingPress. Also can’t remove bloat or lazy load HTML. Slow to release features.
SiteGround Optimizer
Poor 4/5 star rating, lacking features, and compatibility issues. Get your optimization plugin from better developers – not your hosting company.
NitroPack
Delivers a stripped-down version of your website to manipulate scores, but falls behind FlyingPress even with the manipulation techniques.
W3 Total Cache
I have a soft spot for this plugin since this guide is how my blog got popular (645+ comments)! But since FlyingPress/LSC came along, it’s not the best option :/
Full List
Overkilled list of 50+ speed plugins. Which ones you need (or don’t need) largely depend on which hosting/cache plugin you use, so choose both wisely.
Core Web Vitals
LCP
Learn the 4 sub-parts of LCP and how optimizing TTFB (and above the fold content) can improve scores. The core web vital people struggle with most.
CLS
Stop things from shifting on your website which is often fixed with CSS/font settings, adding dimensions, delaying JS, and preloading local fonts.
TBT
Blocking time is usually from JavaScript added by plugins, themes, and third-party code (including jQuery). Remove it from the source or optimize it.
TTFB
Test your global TTFB in KeyCDN’s Performance Test or SpeedVitals. A good host and CDN (with full page caching) can solve most TTFB problems.
Third-Party Code
Host fonts/Gravatars locally, then delay JavaScript for most other third-party domains (as long as their JavaScript loads below the fold, try delaying it).
Image Optimization
Optimize LCP, mobile, and background images. Image CDNs generally do a better job compared to plugins, and they also don’t use server resources.
Page Builder Optimizations
Speed Up Elementor
Enable performance settings, remove wp-block-library, and exclude Elementor files when removing unused CSS/delaying JavaScript in your cache plugin.
Speed Up Divi
Similar to Elementor’s tutorial only specific to Divi. However, both page builders add extra CSS/JS – especially when you add extra page builder plugins.
GeneratePress
Why I used GeneratePress + GenerateBlocks to redesign my site and how it fixed several design/speed issues I’ve been having (cheaper than Kadence).
tom dupuis
Why I Started OMM
Because for over a decade, I’ve constantly seen people choose garbage hosting and get taken advantage of because of marketing.
I started challenging “how to start a blog” affiliates in 2015 and haven’t stopped. All I care about is giving people factual, sourced reviews so they can make better decisions in a $100 billion hosting industry (the profits are insane… no wonder there’s so much noise).
Outside of hosting, I’ve written several popular WordPress speed guides, including my first popular tutorial on W3 Total Cache in 2013 (a big reason my blog blew up in the first place). Times have changed!
When I’m not working, I’m usually hiking, exercising (boxing and yoga), letting loose at Red Rocks concerts, or traveling with my crew.
