How To Speed Up Your Slow Divi Website For Faster Load Times And Core Web Vitals

Have a slow Divi website?

It’s true that Divi slows down your website from extra CSS and JavaScript. But since you’re already using Divi, I wanted to share solutions I found myself as well as solutions from the Divi Theme Users Facebook Group. If you’re not part of that Facebook group yet, you should join.

Core web vitals punishes websites using slow page builders because many items in PageSpeed Insights are related to CSS/JavaScript (which Divi adds).

To speed up Divi, start by fixing server issues in Divi’s system status, check Query Monitor for your slowest plugins, use fast hosting (Rocket.net is awesome), and a top-rated cache plugin like FlyingPress or LiteSpeed Cache. A fast infrastructure can rule out 90% of speed problems. Then you can focus on the more specific recommendations in your PageSpeed Insights report.

Good luck and drop me a comment if you have questions.

 

1. Enable Divi’s Performance Settings

Activate Divi’s performance settings under Divi → Theme Options → General → Performance.

You can learn what each setting does on Divi’s website, but most of them help reduce CSS, JS, and fonts by only loading things when they’re being used (while other settings address specific PageSpeed Insights items like render-blocking resources). You usually want to enable all these.

This video describes what each setting does:

 

2. Remove Unused CSS/JS

There are 3 main ways to remove unused CSS/JS:

1. Don’t use themes/plugins that add extra CSS/JS in the first place.

Open Chrome Dev Tools, check the Coverage tab, and you’ll see the heaviest CSS/JS files on your site. You can search for “Divi” to see all files related to Divi. Also look at the URLs to see whether high usage files are caused by Divi, Divi plugins, other plugins, or third-party scripts.

2. Use the “remove unused CSS” feature in plugins (FlyingPress or Perfmatters are best).

As Vikas explains in a Facebook post, FlyingPress is more effective at removing unused CSS than WP Rocket or Perfmatters. Perfmatters also added the option to load used CSS in a separate file.

3. Use Perfmatters or Asset CleanUp to remove unused CSS/JS on specific pages.

I use Perfmatters because the interface is cleaner and it has several optimizations not found in most cache plugins or Asset CleanUp, including many bloat removal options (but it’s $25/year). Once you upload the plugin and activate the script manager, you can view any page on our site and find “script manager” in the top menu. This shows plugins, CSS, and JS files loading on the page. You can disable these if they’re not being used on the page. I listed some examples below.

• Disable contact forms everywhere but contact page
• Disable social sharing plugins everywhere but posts
• Disable table plugins everywhere but content with tables
• Disable font files if they’re only being used in certain areas of your site
• Disable WooCommerce scripts/styles everywhere but eCommerce pages

 

3. Optimize Google Fonts

Fonts are one of the heaviest elements.

The first thing you should do is host Divi fonts locally (WP Johnny has a nice tutorial on this or you can use OMGF).

Instead of pulling from fonts.gstatic.com (resulting in third-party requests), they will be hosted locally on your server. This means you can also preload fonts in your CSS file and fonts loading above-fold, and PageSpeed Insights will usually tell you which fonts to preload under preload key requests. Finally, if you see ensure text remains visible during webfont load in your PSI report, use font-display:swap (many cache/speed plugins have this option). And of course, don’t forget to be minimal with the number of font families, weights, and font icons – this is a big one.

 

4. Fix Errors In Divi’s System Status

Divi’s system status is found under Divi → Support Center → Show Full Report.

The last few items tell you whether certain options are enabled in the performance settings while most other options are pulled from your server’s configuration. If you see red errors for post_max_size or similar, you would need to change these in your hosting account (see below).

• Writable wp-content directory – ensures compatibility with Divi.
• PHP version – use PHP 8.0 or higher which is faster and more secure.
• WordPress version – keep your WordPress site updated to the latest version.
• Memory-limit – increasing this to 256MB is recommended by WordPress and WooCommerce. But it should really be done for every site especially if you’re getting fatal memory limit errors. You can do this in most (cloud) hosting accounts or with a simple line of code. Alternatively, contact your host and request them to increase your memory limit.
• Post-max-size – 64MB is recommended by Divi. This is the maximum size a page or file can be. There’s no reason you should come even close to this even if you have a large site.
• Max-execution-time – Divi recommends 120. A lower number prevents things from using lots of resources and lagging the server. High is good for backups or long imports/exports.
• Upload-max-filesize – 64MB is fine unless you need to upload something that’s very big.
• Max-input-time – 60 is fine unless you need to upload something that takes a long time.
• Max-input-vars – 1,000 is fine unless plugins require a higher number (then increase it).

These can be changed in your hosting account:

• cPanel – found under “Select PHP Version” or similar, then go to the “Options” tab.
• Cloudways – most of these settings are found under Servers → Settings & Packages.
• SiteGround – some settings can be found under Site Tools → PHP Manager. With others, you will need to contact SiteGround’s support and request them to change these for you.

 

5. Use Hosting With Better Specs + Cloudflare Enterprise

Rocket.net with their free Cloudflare Enterprise will outperform any “mainstream host” since you get 32 CPU cores + 128GB RAM, NVMe storage, Redis, and Cloudflare’s full page caching + Argo Smart Routing. I use them and average a <100ms global TTFB (or click through my posts).

Mainstream hosts (like SiteGround, Hostinger, and WPX) don’t have a lot of CPU/RAM, use slower SATA SSDs, and are shared hosting with strict CPU limits which force you to upgrade plans. Cloud hosting is faster, but Kinsta still uses SATA SSDs with low CPU/RAM, PHP workers, and monthly visits (Redis also costs $100/month). Cloudways Vultr HF is who I previously used, but again, they start with only 1 CPU + 1GB RAM on slower Apache servers, PHP-FPM, and GZIP.

Here are Rocket.net’s:

All plans use 32 CPU cores + 128GB RAM with NVMe (faster than SATA), Redis (better than memcached), LiteSpeed’s PHP, and Brotli (smaller compression than GZIP). They have no PHP worker limits since only about 10% of traffic hits your origin due to their Cloudflare Enterprise.

	SiteGround	Hostinger	Kinsta	Cloudways Vultr HF	Rocket.net
Hosting type	Shared	Shared	Cloud	Cloud	Private cloud
Storage	SATA	SATA	SATA	NVMe	NVMe
CPU cores	Not listed	1-2	12	1	32
RAM (GB)	Not listed	.768 – 1.536	8	1	128
Object cache	Memcached	x	Redis ($100/mo)	Redis (Pro)	Redis
Server	Nginx	LiteSpeed	Nginx	Apache	Nginx
PHP processing	FastCGI	LiteSpeed	FastCGI	FPM	LiteSpeed
Compression	Brotli	Brotli	Brotli	GZIP	Brotli
CPU limits	Very common	Low memory	PHP workers	Average	None

 
Why you need Cloudflare Enterprise

Because you get Enterprise features like 270+ PoPs, prioritized routing, full page caching, HTTP/3, WAF, and image optimization. 3 problems with most CDNs are their small network (PoPs) and no full page caching or image optimization. For example, WP Rocket’s RocketCDN uses StackPath which was removed from cdnperf.com and doesn’t include image optimization with a mediocre Tbps speed of 65+. SiteGround’s CDN only has 14 PoPs. QUIC.cloud CDN (for LiteSpeed) and BunnyCDN are good, but they still don’t beat Cloudflare Enterprise. Sure, you can pay $5/mo for Cloudflare’s APO, but you’re still missing out on all other Enterprise features.

3 popular hosts with Cloudflare Enterprise

Rocket.net’s Cloudflare Enterprise is free, setup automatically, and uses full page caching (unlike Cloudways). And unlike Kinsta’s, Rocket.net has Argo Smart Routing (specifically good for WooCommerce sites), load balancing, and image optimization. Rocket.net CEO Ben Gabler also used to be StackPath’s Chief Product Officer and went as far as building Rocket.net’s data centers in the same locations as Cloudflare’s. And unlike both hosts, Rocket.net doesn’t limit PHP workers (there’s no CPU limits) and monthly visit limits are 10-25 times more than Kinsta’s.

	Cloudflare Enterprise (Kinsta)	Cloudflare Enterprise (Cloudways)	Cloudflare Enterprise (Rocket.net)
CDN PoPs	270	270	270
Prioritized routing	✓	✓	✓
Full page caching	✓	x	✓
HTTP/3	✓	✓	✓
WAF	✓	✓	✓
Argo smart routing	x	✓	✓
Load balancing	x	✓	✓
Image optimization	x	✓	✓
Automatic configuration	x	x	✓
Price	Free	$5/mo (1 domain)	Free

 
Problems with mainstream hosts

I’ve written some pretty bad reviews about SiteGround’s slow TTFB, CPU limits, and why SG Optimizer does a poor job with core web vitals (they also control several Facebook Groups and threaten to sue people who write bad reviews). Hostinger writes fake reviews and is only cheap because you get less resources like CPU/RAM. Kinsta and WP Engine are way too expensive for how many resources, PHP workers, and monthly visits you get. Along with major incidents like WPX’s worldwide outage and SiteGround’s DNS getting blocked by Google for 4 days (both WPX and SiteGround denied responsibility). One thing is clear: most mainstream hosts appear to be more interested in profits than performance. Please do your own research before getting advice.

Getting started

Step 1: Create a Rocket.net account and you’ll be prompted to add a coupon. Sign up with coupon OMM1 to get your first month for $1 (renews at $30/mo or $25/mo when paying yearly). If you sign up with my coupon or affiliate links, I get a commission which I seriously appreciate.

Step 2: Request a free migration. They did this the same day and let me review my website before it was launched with no downtime. For the record, their support is better than Kinsta’s and you can reach out to Ben Gabler or his team (via phone/chat/email) if you have questions.

Step 3: Upgrade to PHP 8.1 and ask support to install Redis (they use Redis Object Cache). These are the only things I did since Cloudflare Enterprise and backups are both automatic.

Step 4: Retest your TTFB in SpeedVitals and click through your pages to see the difference. You can also search their TrustPilot profile for people mentioning “TTFB” where they’re rated 4.9/5.

I was previously on Cloudways Vultr HF which was great, but their Cloudflare Enterprise doesn’t use full page caching (yet) and is $5/mo with annoying challenge pages. Even if their Cloudflare Enterprise was identical, Rocket.net still outperforms them with better specs like more CPU/RAM, Brotli, and LiteSpeed’s PHP (plus better support, easier to use, and usually pricing). While Cloudways is a big improvement than most hosts, you’re already spending $18/mo for Vultr HF’s lowest 1 CPU plan with Cloudflare Enterprise. At that point, the extra $7/mo you’d be spending at Rocket.net is worth it. Rocket.net’s dashboard is also much easier.

For small sites on a budget, NameHero’s Turbo Cloud plan is similar to Hostinger between LiteSpeed, cPanel, and pricing. However, NameHero’s Turbo Cloud plan has about 1.5x more resources (3 CPU + 3GB RAM) with NVMe storage. NameHero’s support/uptimes are also better shown in TrustPilot reviews. This is one the fastest setups on a budget… you get a LiteSpeed server + LiteSpeed Cache + QUIC.cloud CDN, and email hosting. The main con is their data centers are only in the US and Netherlands. If these aren’t close to your visitors, make sure to setup QUIC.cloud’s CDN which has HTML caching (ideally the paid plan which uses all 70 PoPs).

 

6. Go Easy On Divi Plugins

Don’t get wrapped up in extra Divi plugins and extensions.

It may be tempting to stay loyal to Divi, but some extensions are not lightweight. They’re not always modular either (modular plugins let you disable features based on what you’re using). Try to use modular plugins, test their load time impact, and don’t limit yourself to Divi plugins.

Find Your Slowest Plugins

Query Monitor lets you see your slowest loading plugins (P3 Profiler was also updated recently and seems to work now, but I would still use Query Monitor). Install Query Monitor, view a page on your Divi website, click the Query Monitor tab, and go to Queries → Queries By Component.

Common Slow Plugins

Some plugins increase memory usage while others load CSS, JavaScript, and fonts on the frontend (neither are good and can be seen using WP Hive). Try to avoid plugins related to statistics, sliders, most portfolios, calendars, chat, Wordfence, WPML, and plugins that run ongoing scans/processes. I haven’t tested Divi’s plugins so you’ll need to test them yourself.

Plugin	Category	Memory Impact	PageSpeed Impact
Analytify	Analytics	X	✓
Backup Buddy	Backup	X	✓
iThemes Security	Security	X	✓
Broken Link Checker	SEO	X	✓
Jetpack	Security	X	X
Query Monitor	Analytics	X	✓
NextGEN Gallery	Gallery	X	X
Site Kit by Google	Analytics	X	✓
Wordfence	Security	X	✓
wpDiscuz	Comments	X	X
WPML	Translate	X	X
Yoast SEO	SEO	X	✓

 

7. Code Your Header, Footer, And Sidebar In CSS

You can use Divi to design pages, but don’t use it for your header, footer, or sidebar.

When I was using Elementor, I hired WP Johnny to code these in CSS instead of Elementor’s bloated code. My site loaded much faster and it reduced the use of “Elementor” in the source code from over 2,000 to just a couple hundred. Johnny is a busy guy but if you can find a developer to do this for you, it’s definitely worth it. CSS is more lightweight than Divi’s code.

 

8. Invest In A Premium Cache Plugin

FlyingPress or LiteSpeed Cache for the win (see my post on best cache plugins).

WP Rocket optimizes for scores but forgets about real world browsing (I noticed a big difference when clicking through my pages after moving). FlyingPress can also do many things WP Rocket can’t (preloading critical images, lazy rendering HTML elements, lazy loading background images is easier, hosting fonts locally, and even hosting YouTube placeholders locally to avoid requests from ytimg.com). Not to mention FlyingCDN is significantly better than RocketCDN in all aspects (faster Tpbs, geo-replication, and Bunny Optimizer’s image optimization are built-in).

SiteGround Optimizer is just like any other SiteGround product: unstable with premature updates, then they use people’s complaints to squash bugs. Up until recently, the plugin wouldn’t even purge cache when content is updated. Even though they’ve added multiple caching layers and connected it more to SiteGround’s hosting, it still lacks many features in FlyingPress and LiteSpeed Cache. I personally wouldn’t trust this plugin with any serious site.

With the exception of LiteSpeed Cache, most free cache plugins don’t address core web vitals and aren’t maintained by the developers. That’s why you should really invest in a premium one.

 

9. Use A Better CDN

Cloudflare Enterprise on Rocket.net or FlyingProxy are the 2 best options IMO (QUIC.cloud’s paid standard plan and FlyingCDN are also up there).

Depending on which third-party Cloudflare service you use, it gives you access to Cloudflare’s Enterprise CDN with prioritized routing, WAF, DDoS protection, image optimization (you can remove your image optimization plugin), more PoPs, and other Enterprise-level CDN features.

QUIC.cloud is solid if you’re on a LiteSpeed server (but use their paid standard plan, not their free plan which only uses 6 PoPs). For most other cases, I recommend Cloudflare + BunnyCDN. Avoid WP Rocket’s RocketCDN which has a slower Tbps, lacks features, and is not “unlimited.”

You could also consider FlyingCDN from FlyingPress which uses BunnyCDN, Bunny Optimizer image optimization, and geo-replication which is easy to setup if you already use FlyingPress.

Getting Cloudflare Enterprise through Rocket.net or BunnyCDN through FlyingCDN is actually cheaper than buying them directly. See my tutorial on best WordPress CDNs if you’re confused.

 

10. Use Multiple Caching Layers

Cache plugins, CDNs, and hosting usually all have their own caching layers.

• Opcode cache – usually done by your host.
• Object cache – Redis or memcached are usually activated in your host then connected through your cache plugin like LiteSpeed Cache or SiteGround Optimizer. Only use one.
• Browser cache – usually done by your cache plugin.
• HTTP accelerators – Varnish and PHP-FPM or FastCGI done through some hosts.
• Cloudflare full page cache – APO (or QUIC.cloud HTML caching) is another layer. You should keep caching on in your cache plugin if using APO since they’re different layers.

One benefit of LiteSpeed servers, Kinsta, SiteGround, and other hosts/servers are that some of them use server-level caching which is faster than the file-based caching done by cache plugins.

 

11. Lazy Load Background Images

Ever turned on lazy loading but you still see PSI errors for defer offscreen images?

It’s probably because your background images aren’t being lazy loaded. With WP Rocket, you will need to use inline HTML for WP Rocket to do this. With FlyingPress, you’ll simply add the “lazy-bg” helper class which is much easier. Check your cache plugin’s documentation to see what needs to be done to lazy load background images. Optimole has a similar solution too.

 

12. Use Transform + Translate In Animations

I’m not a fan of animations but if you must use them, use the CSS transform properly instead of changing width/height attributes. It’s recommended by Google and should reduce layout shifts.

 

13. Optimize Images

There are quite a few ways to optimize images on your Divi site. Most speed testing tools only show errors for the single page that’s tested, so make sure you test your most important pages.

• Properly size images – avoid huge images and resize them to correct dimensions.
• Defer Offscreen images – lazy load them (including background images in step #10).
• Efficiently encode images – compress them using a plugin like Smush or using a CDN.
• Serve images in next-gen formats – most image optimization plugins or CDNs do this.
• Preload largest contentful paint image – PSI tells you whether you need to do this. Preloading can be done with most cache plugins, Perfmatters, or manually with code.
• Specify width/height attributes – many cache plugins have a “add missing image dimensions” settings, or you can view these images manually and add a width/height.
• Serve images from a CDN – make sure images (and other files) are actually being served by your CDN. If you’re using BunnyCDN, make sure you add the CDN URL to both the BunnyCDN plugin as well as your cache plugin which helps serve more files from the CDN.

 

14. Optimize Third-Party Code

Check your PSI report and try to optimize third-party code.

• Google Analytics – host locally.
• Google Tag Manager – host locally.
• Google Fonts – host locally and preload them.
• Google AdSense – delay JavaScript and specify dimension to avoid layout shifts.
• Google Maps – only use them on contact/local pages, definitely not in the footer.
• Embedded Videos – lazy load iframes, replace iframes with a preview image,
• Facebook, Twitter, Social Media – use a lightweight social sharing plugin like Grow by Mediavine and try disabling your social plugin everywhere but posts if it’s only used there.
• Gravatars – host locally, use a local avatar plugin, and try delaying Gravatars/comments.
• Prefetch, Preload, Preconnect – prefetch URLs of all third-party domains on your site, but preconnect third-party fonts (i.e. fonts.gstatic.com) and CDN URLs (usually done automatically by cache plugins). Preload is only for local files. See the screenshot below.

 

15. Clean Your Database

Some cache plugins let you clean your database, but they don’t let you go through your plugin tables and delete tables left behind by old plugins. That’s why you should install WP-Optimize every so often (especially if you installed a plugin then deleted it). Otherwise, it usually leaves behind old tables – especially security, SEO, and other plugins that need to collect lots of data.

Install the WP-Optimize plugin and look for tables with “not installed” by them. These are plugins you installed but aren’t installed anymore. If you don’t plan on using them, delete them. You may also find certain plugin features are adding database bloat, which is why it’s a good idea to disable all plugin features/modules you don’t use, like those in Rank Math + Wordfence.

 

16. Disable WordPress Heartbeat

The WordPress Heartbeat shows you when other users are editing a post and real-time plugin notifications. It creates a request every 15 seconds so it should generally be disabled or limited.

To disable the WordPress Heartbeat API on your Divi site, go to Appearance → Theme Editor, then edit the functions.php file of your theme. Next, paste the code right after the <?php tag:

add_action( 'init', 'stop_heartbeat', 1 );
function stop_heartbeat() {
wp_deregister_script('heartbeat');
}

If your cache plugin has options to disable/limit heartbeat in certain areas, you can usually disable it in the backend/frontend and reduce it in the post editor (since you’ll want autosaves).

 

17. Block Bad Bots

Bad bots are a common problem and increase CPU usage. Cloudflare’s bot fight mode and Cloudflare Pro’s super bot fight mode are good solutions. Cloudflare Enterprise on Cloudways also comes with advanced bot mitigation. Or you can use the Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin.

The live traffic report in Wordfence shows you bots hitting your site (Cloudflare Pro users also have access to bot analytics). So you can see if they’re actually being blocked and whether you need to manually block hostnames which you can do in Cloudflare’s firewall rules. I’m not a fan of Wordfence since it can actually slow down your site, but it has many bot protection features.

Tips To Block Bad Bots

• Use Cloudflare bot fight mode.
• Use the Limit Login Attempts Reloaded plugin.
• Move your wp-login page (can be done in Perfmatters or WPS Hide Login).

 

18. Switch To Gutenberg’s Block Editor

The inevitable truth: Divi is slow.

Even when testing the fastest WordPress themes using starter sites, layouts, and page builders, Divi was the slowest theme in the test. And this was with all Divi performance settings enabled.

The die hard Diviers will say “Divi can be fast” and post their PageSpeed Insights report in Facebook Groups. But when you look at the CSS, JavaScript, and fonts it adds to your site compared to block editors and Oxygen, Divi is anything but fast. I hesitated to switch to Gutenberg but I love it now and you still get to choose between tons of themes and block templates. It’s not drag and drop, but it’s still relatively easy and better for core web vitals.

I would personally lean towards GeneratePress (what I use) or Kadence (similar with more features but much more expensive). They both use Gutenberg and you can use GenerateBlocks or Kadence Blocks. I would avoid Elementor (also slow) and Oxygen Builder just because of the steep learning curve. You’re probably using Divi because it’s easy… I wouldn’t call Oxygen easy.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my Divi website slow?

Divi's CSS, JavaScript, and fonts are larger than block editors and most page builders, making Divi websites slower compared to lightweight options. This can also flag multiple issues in PageSpeed Insights since many items are related to your CSS and JavaScript files.

Why is the Divi backend slow?

Divi's backend can be slow when running cheap, shared hosting which has limited resources and CPU limits. It can also be from resource-hungry plugins and bloat.

Why is the Divi Builder slow?

Divi Builder loads more resources than block editors. They have been working on performance enhancements but it can still take awhile to load. Removing bloat and limiting background processes will help.

Why is Divi slow on mobile?

If your Divi mobile site is slow, try serving smaller images on mobile using adaptive image plugins or your CDN. Otherwise, most desktop optimizations will be carried over to mobile.

Cheers,
Tom