When it comes to dependable hosting providers, Bluehost is often mentioned as one of the best. However, it may not be the ideal choice for everyone. Whether you’re thinking about a switch or merely exploring other options, we invite you to consider Hostinger as an excellent Bluehost alternative. Read on for a detailed comparison between […]
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If you use WooCommerce for your WordPress eCommerce store, it’s important to understand the need for the best hosting possible. We’ll help you understand what that is and where to find it.
The post “The 5 Best WooCommerce Hosting Options Compared” first appeared on WP Mayor.
A website is like your physical storefront — it’s your virtual chance to showcase your business, welcome customers, and close deals. But just as the foundation of a building must be strong and secure, the hosting of your WordPress website must be, too.
Whether you’re a one-person business or a rapidly-expanding startup, choosing a hosting solution is a vital decision that can significantly impact your website’s performance, security, and overall success. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk you through the essential considerations and factors to help you navigate the maze of options and find the perfect match for your business.
In addition to the guide below, take a look at the list of our recommended WordPress hosting providers.
Finding the perfect host for your WordPress website requires an understanding of each type of hosting solution. In this section, we’ll demystify the options, so you can make a solid choice.
Shared hosting is the equivalent of renting a room in a house full of tenants. You share the server’s resources with other websites. It’s an economical option for startups and small businesses. However, if one website on the server experiences a surge in traffic or a security breach, it could affect the performance and security of your website. You also tend to have fewer resources allocated to your site, since you’re sharing a finite number with everyone else.
VPS hosting is like upgrading to a townhouse from a cramped apartment. You still share the server, but resources are divided into separate virtual environments. This provides better performance and more control over your website. VPS is ideal for businesses that have outgrown shared hosting but aren’t quite ready for dedicated server hosting.
Managed WordPress hosting is like having a personal butler for your website. The hosting provider takes care of technical aspects like updates, backups, and security. This allows you to focus on growing your business. Managed hosting is best for those who want a hands-off approach to website maintenance.
Dedicated server hosting is the equivalent of owning a single-family home. You have an entire server to yourself, with unparalleled control, performance, and security. However, it comes with a hefty price tag and is best suited for large businesses or high-traffic websites. And it typically requires more maintenance, so you’ll either need to have some server management experience or hire someone who does.
Cloud hosting is like having an ever-expanding floor plan. Your website is hosted on a network of servers, allowing you to scale resources as needed. This offers flexibility and performance without the need for a dedicated server. Cloud hosting is ideal for businesses with fluctuating traffic or those anticipating rapid growth.
Before diving into the sea of hosting providers, it’s essential to assess your needs and budget. This will help you narrow down your options and find the best fit for your business.
Estimate your website’s traffic to determine the amount of bandwidth needed. High-traffic websites require more resources, so look for hosting plans that offer generous bandwidth allowances or even unmetered bandwidth.
If you’re just starting, it’s unlikely that you’ll need to account for massive amounts of traffic. However, if you have an aggressive marketing plan or expect national exposure, you may want to plan accordingly. It’s somewhat common for unprepared sites to crash when they get sudden, unexpected exposure from major influencers or national press.
If you’re moving your site from another platform or buying an existing property, you can reference Google Analytics or Jetpack Stats data to help you make a more informed decision.
Consider the amount of storage needed for your website’s files, databases, and emails. Websites with large media files or extensive databases may require more storage space than others. Ensure the hosting plan you choose offers enough to accommodate your needs, and allows you to easily scale as you grow.
Images are often the biggest offenders when it comes to taking up website space. Learn how to optimize and compress images in WordPress.
Memory is different from storage in the sense that it’s space used temporarily to process data. Once that’s complete, the data no longer takes up space unless it’s moved to storage.
WooCommerce, for example, recommends a minimum WordPress memory limit of 256MB, though it’s possible to run with less if you’re willing to sacrifice performance (you shouldn’t be).
Popular sites can receive numerous requests simultaneously, and a lack of memory can overwhelm its ability to process data. This can crash a site or, at the very least, make it run very slowly.
Ensuring your host allocates enough memory to process all the plugins and features on your website is just as important as having enough storage.
Security should be a top priority for every business. Assess the level of security your website needs, including protection against hackers, malware, and DDoS attacks. Some hosting providers offer built-in security plugins such as Jetpack Security, while others may let you figure out security on your own.
Determine how much control you want over your server environment. If you have the technical expertise, you may prefer a hosting solution that allows for more customization. On the other hand, if you prefer a hands-off approach, managed hosting may be a better fit.
Evaluate your budget to ensure that you choose a hosting plan that offers the features you need at a price you can afford. Keep in mind that some providers offer promotional pricing for the first term, which may increase dramatically upon renewal.
A website that’s constantly down is like a store with its doors locked — customers can’t access it, and you lose potential sales. Reliability and uptime are crucial factors when choosing a hosting provider.
Examine the hosting provider’s Service Level Agreement (SLA) to understand their uptime guarantees and the compensation offered for any downtime. A good SLA should guarantee at least 99.9% uptime, ensuring your website is accessible the vast majority of the time.
Review the provider’s historical uptime performance to determine if they consistently meet their SLA guarantees. Look for third-party downtime monitoring services or independent reviews that track uptime data for a less biased view.
Inquire about the hosting provider’s redundancy and backup measures to ensure your website’s data is safe and recoverable in the event of a disaster. A robust backup solution should include daily or weekly backups, offsite storage, and easy restoration options.
You’ll also want an independent, real-time WordPress backup solution from a third party. This way, your investment is protected in case your host is compromised.
People won’t stick around for a slow-loading site. In addition to strong WordPress performance optimization for your site, ensuring your hosting provider offers excellent server performance and speed is vital for a positive user experience and improved search engine rankings.
Investigate the hosting provider’s server hardware and infrastructure to ensure that they use up-to-date, high-quality components. Look for providers that use solid-state drives (SSDs), as they offer faster data retrieval compared to traditional hard drives.
Instead of serving your website to everyone around the world from a single location, a content delivery network (CDN) stores your website’s content in locations around the world and serves it to visitors from the location nearest to them. CDNs help reduce latency and improve page load times. Check if the hosting provider offers CDN integration or if you can easily set up a free third-party CDN such as Jetpack CDN.
Caching technologies store and serve frequently-accessed data, reducing server load and improving website performance. Look for hosting providers that offer built-in caching solutions or support popular caching plugins.
Choose a hosting provider with data centers located near your target audience to reduce latency and improve page load times. If your audience is spread across multiple regions, consider using a CDN to further enhance performance.
Your site and host should be like a fortress, keeping unwanted visitors out to protect valuable contents inside. Evaluating the hosting provider’s security measures is essential for safeguarding your website and customer data.
Ensure the hosting provider uses firewalls and intrusion detection systems to protect your website from hackers and other security threats. These security measures act as a barrier, preventing unauthorized access to your server environment.
An SSL certificate encrypts data exchanged between your site and visitors. They’re essential for protecting sensitive customer data. In fact, they’re so important that Google includes SSL certificates in their ranking factors and some browsers will display bright red warning labels on sites that don’t have them. Look for hosting providers that offer free SSL certificates or support third-party SSL installation.
If you need one, learn how to get your own free SSL certificate.
Check if the hosting provider performs regular malware and virus scanning to protect your website from threats. Some providers offer built-in scanning tools, while others may require additional plugins or services.
Data encryption and backup are crucial for protecting your website’s data from unauthorized access or loss. Look for hosting providers that offer encryption options and robust backup solutions. Ideally, you’ll also install a WordPress backup plugin that provides more control and keeps your backups safe if your server is compromised.
Choosing a hosting provider with exceptional support and customer service is essential for resolving issues quickly and efficiently.
If you’re not an experienced developer — and aren’t working with someone who is — this becomes even more important. Without good support, your site could go down for long periods of time during an emergency.
Evaluate the hosting provider’s support channels, such as live chat, email, phone, or ticket systems. Multiple support options ensure you can reach out for help in a way that’s convenient for you.
Inquire about the hosting provider’s response times and availability. Look for providers that offer 24/7 support and quick response times to minimize downtime and frustration.
Assess the technical expertise of the hosting provider’s support team to ensure they can effectively assist you with any issues. Additionally, a comprehensive knowledge base with tutorials, guides, and FAQs is invaluable for self-help and troubleshooting.
Read customer reviews and testimonials to gauge overall satisfaction with the hosting provider’s support and customer service. Look for patterns in feedback, such as consistently slow response times or unresolved issues.
Carefully review each hosting provider’s pricing options to ensure you’re getting the best value for your money. Remember to account for introductory offers that may expire after your initial commitment period.
Examine the features and limitations of each hosting plan to ensure it meets your needs. Look for any restrictions on bandwidth, storage, or the number of websites you can host.
Review the hosting provider’s payment terms and renewal rates. Some providers offer discounted pricing for the first term, which may increase significantly upon renewal. Understand these pricing changes to avoid unpleasant surprises.
Investigate the hosting provider’s additional services and features, such as website migration, domain registration, or email hosting. These extras may be included in your hosting plan or available as paid add-ons.
Choose a hosting provider that offers an intuitive control panel and website management tools.
Evaluate the hosting provider’s control panel features and customization options. Popular control panels like cPanel or Plesk offer extensive functionality and are widely supported.
Examine the hosting provider’s access and permissions management options. This is especially important if you have a team working on your website and need to grant varying levels of access to different users.
Explore the website management tools and applications offered by the hosting provider. Look for an automated installation for WordPress, as well as tools for managing databases, email accounts, and domains.
Since WordPress powers your website, it’s crucial to choose a hosting provider that offers features and compatibility tailored to the platform.
Ensure the hosting provider offers a one-click WordPress installation or streamlined setup process to simplify the installation and configuration of your WordPress site.
Implementing strong security measures is paramount for protecting your website from threats. Consider hosting providers that offer built-in security features or include popular security plugins.
Jetpack, for example, is considered to be the best all-around WordPress security plugin. Jetpack’s Security plan includes a comprehensive array of prevention, detection, and recovery options for a wide variety of threats. From brute force attack prevention and malware scanning with one-click fixes to downtime monitoring and real-time backups with quick restore options, it provides unparalleled peace of mind.
Regular backups are essential for safeguarding your website’s data and ensuring quick recovery in case of data loss or corruption. Consider hosting providers that offer automatic backups.
However, you shouldn’t solely rely on your host’s backups as an issue that takes down your site may have also compromised your servers, rendering those backups useless.
Jetpack VaultPress Backup is a reliable plugin, providing real-time backup and easy restoration features. It’s also included as part of the comprehensive Security plan for Jetpack.
Optimizing your WordPress site’s performance can improve user experience and search engine rankings. Look for hosting providers that offer built-in performance optimization features or support plugins that help enhance your site’s speed.
Jetpack Boost is one such solution, offering features such as critical CSS generation, deferring of non-essential JavaScript, and lazy image loading. Discover more about Jetpack Boost here: https://jetpack.com/boost/
Before making a decision, it’s essential to gather as much information as possible about your top hosting provider candidates. Reading reviews and comparing providers can help you make an informed choice.
Examine independent reviews and ratings of the hosting providers you’re considering. Look for unbiased opinions from reputable sources, such as industry experts, bloggers, or publications.
Social media can be a treasure trove of customer feedback and recommendations. Browse the hosting providers’ social media pages and search for mentions of their services to gain insight into customer satisfaction and common issues.
Create a side-by-side comparison of the features and pricing offered by each hosting provider. This will help you visualize the differences and make a more informed decision based on your needs and budget.
Don’t underestimate the power of word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals. Consult your professional network, friends, or online communities to gather personal experiences and opinions about the hosting providers you’re considering.
Finding the best hosting for your WordPress website is a critical decision that can impact your business’s online presence and growth. By understanding the different types of hosting, assessing your needs and budget, and carefully researching and comparing hosting providers, you can find a solution that serves your needs and protects your investment for years to come.
Want to get recommendations from a trusted source? See the hosts recommended by Jetpack.
There are several sources to find recommended WordPress hosting providers, such as independent reviews, community forums, and industry experts’ opinions.
Additionally, you can explore the hosting providers recommended by trusted WordPress partners, such as Jetpack. Jetpack’s recommended hosting providers have been vetted for their compatibility, performance, and reliability.
Discover Jetpack’s recommended hosting partners.
Migrating your WordPress site to a new hosting provider typically involves the following steps:
Some hosting providers offer free website migration services.
Ready to make a change? Read our full guide to migrating a WordPress site.
To be safe, you should always have an off-site, real-time WordPress backup solution in place. This way, every time you make a change on your site, it will be safely stored, and you’ll never lose your work again.
For maximum safety, you should have backups from both your hosting provider and a third-party backup plugin. Many hosting providers include automated backups as part of their hosting plans, while others may charge extra for this service. The frequency of backups, how securely they’re stored, and what they include can vary.
Third-party backup services, such as Jetpack VaultPress Backup, provide specialized features and options tailored for WordPress sites. Consider factors such as cost, ease of use, and restoration options when selecting a backup solution.
It’s also important to understand that if your server is compromised in any way, such as an error from your provider or a hack, you may also lose your backups. That’s just one reason that also using a third-party plugin is critical.
Website security is crucial for any WordPress site, as it helps protect your site from hackers, malware, and other potential threats. This allows you to safeguard your customers’ data, maintain your online reputation, and prevent downtime or data loss. Learn more about WordPress security.
When evaluating a hosting provider’s security features, look for the following:
To protect your WordPress site from malware and viruses, follow these best practices:
Uptime guarantees refer to the percentage of time a hosting provider promises to keep your website accessible and online. These guarantees are essential, as they indicate the hosting provider’s commitment to maintaining the availability and reliability of your site. A higher uptime guarantee, such as 99.9%, minimizes the chances of your website experiencing downtime, ensuring a positive user experience and protecting your online reputation.
Monitoring your WordPress site for uptime and performance can be done through various methods, including:
Regularly monitoring your site’s uptime and performance helps you identify and address issues promptly, ensuring a smooth and satisfying user experience for your visitors.
It’s essential to emphasize the critical role that security and backups play in the success and safety of your website. Jetpack offers powerful, enterprise-grade solutions accessible to all WordPress websites.
Jetpack Protect offers features such as malware scanning with one-click fixes, instant threat notifications, and a robust web application firewall (WAF), ensuring your website remains safe from cyber threats. By choosing Jetpack Protect, you can confidently secure your site without breaking the bank. Learn more about Jetpack Protect here: https://jetpack.com/protect/
Jetpack VaultPress Backup is a robust backup solution that safeguards your site’s data and offers seamless restoration in case of data loss or corruption. With real-time backups and easy-to-use restoration features, VaultPress Backup ensures that your website’s precious data is always protected and recoverable. Discover more about VaultPress Backup here: https://jetpack.com/upgrade/backup/
For those seeking a comprehensive solution that combines the best of both worlds, Jetpack Security is the answer. This all-in-one option bundles Jetpack Protect, VaultPress Backup, and additional features to provide a complete security suite for your WordPress site. By choosing Jetpack Security, you can rest assured that your website is protected by a powerful and reliable solution that offers enterprise-grade security and backups tailored for WordPress. Explore Jetpack Security here: https://jetpack.com/features/security/
Choosing the best WordPress hosting is just the beginning of your journey to building a secure, high-performing, and reliable website. By complementing your hosting solution with Jetpack’s suite of plugins, you can elevate your site’s security and backup capabilities, giving you the peace of mind to focus on what truly matters: growing your business and providing an exceptional online experience for your visitors.
Don’t wait; fortify your WordPress site today with Jetpack’s unparalleled security and backup solutions.
When building a small business website, it’s crucial to use the right web hosting service to ensure optimal uptime and performance. Selecting wrong may result in a slow website, harming your business’ credibility and possibility for conversions. To help you make an informed decision, we will explore the 10 best web hosting providers for small […]
The post 10 Best Web Hosting for Small Business Websites in 2023 and How to Choose the Right Plan appeared first on Hostinger Tutorials.
Have you ever needed to clone your website? You might be migrating, or wanting to transform your existing website into a WordPress theme. Either way, we’ve got the best solutions for you!
The post “4 Ways to Clone A Website; Content, Design & All” first appeared on WP Mayor.
When you’re in the market for a new WordPress theme for your website, one of the most important things to consider is speed. The faster a website loads, the better the user experience. Plus, you’ll have a better chance of getting more eyes on your site, especially since Google’s algorithm favors fast-loading websites. Therefore, it’s essential to choose a WordPress theme that is optimized for speed. In this post, we’ll discuss what to look for in a WordPress theme, the benefits of using a fast WordPress theme, and list our picks for the ten fastest WordPress themes in 2023.
Let’s dive in.
When considering the fastest WordPress themes for your website, it’s important to look for one that prioritizes speed and performance without sacrificing features, functionality, and design. A fast theme can improve your visitor’s experience, reduce bounce rates, and boost your search engine ranking page (SERP) position. Start by looking for a lightweight theme that uses minimal resources, focuses on low HTTP requests, has clean, optimized code, and avoids bloated or unnecessary scripts.
Your chosen theme should also be responsive, which means it’s optimized for all screen sizes. Mobile design is especially important, considering Google uses a mobile-first algorithm to prioritize its results. Also, remember to evaluate the level of support the theme’s developer provides. After all, support is crucial when encountering any issues when building your website. Choosing the right theme allows you to create a website that loads quickly and provides an excellent experience for your site’s visitors.
When building our list of the fastest WordPress themes, we considered a few factors. First, and most importantly, is page speed. Secondly, we relied heavily on web core vitals, such as first contentful paint, page size, and the required HTTP requests. Finally, we considered reviews. After all, there’s a lot to be said about community feedback. So, without further delay, let’s get on to our list.
Divi is the most robust WordPress theme on the market. It comes packed with design features, including over 200 modules, a no-code front-end Visual Builder, and the ability to create custom templates with Divi’s amazing Theme Builder. Additional notable features include an impressive layout library, which contains more than 2300 professional designs, WooCommerce integration, and stellar support. However, the most impressive thing about Divi is that despite all this amazing tech, it’s lightning-fast.
Divi is a super lightweight, highly customizable full-site editing theme. It uses a modularized PHP framework, which means Divi’s design elements are loaded on demand based on the modules and features you use. For example, if you only use eight design modules on a page, Divi will only load the required code to allow those modules to function while eliminating the ones you aren’t using. It also has built-in technology to automatically identify critical CSS while deferring non-critical styles, so your site will load fast. It won’t bog down due to duplicate styling. Plus, Divi’s total theme-wide CSS size is a mere 54kb. Additionally, Divi puts the performance in its user’s hands by providing a comprehensive performance dashboard with options to control the level of caching, render-blocking requests, and unneeded resources.
Best For:
Divi is an excellent choice for beginners and seasoned web developers alike. With a lightweight footprint, impressive design features, and the ability to create unlimited looks for your websites, Divi is perfect for just about anyone.
Pricing: Licenses start at $89 per year.
At the top spot on our list, Hello Elementor is one of the fastest WordPress themes available. You can build a light, fast-loading website without coding with a lightweight frame and unlimited customization options. Made for use with one of the best page builder plugins, Elementor, you can choose from over 100 design widgets, over 300 pre-made designs, and onboard WooCommerce support.
The best thing about Hello Elementor is how fast it is. With a minuscule page size of only 6kb, your website’s pages will load nearly instantly. GTMetrix results boast a .25 second page load time, minimal HTTP requests, and no-bloat WordPress optimized code to provide a fast, stable, responsive website as the basis of a great framework.
Best For:
Hello Elementor is perfect for creators of all skill levels thanks to its no-code drag-and-drop page builder. With unlimited customization options, hundreds of premade designs, and compatibility with WooCommerce, you can build a fast, mobile-friendly website in minutes.
Pricing: Free, with a pro license starting at $59 per year.
Up next is GeneratePress, one of the best block themes out there, with a lightweight framework optimized for speed. In addition to using blocks, you can install one of your favorite page builders, such as Divi, Elementor, or Beaver Builder, or add the Generate Blocks plugin to extend customization options. Don’t have time to design your site? No worries. With GeneratePress Premium, you can build your site on one of a hundred professionally designed starter templates, all with the same speedy features that make GeneratePress a worthy contender.
GeneratePress is a theme that truly stands out when it comes to performance. It proudly flaunts impressive scores on Google and GTMetrix, showcasing its commitment to delivering exceptional results. Even with a basic ecommerce site, you can anticipate an almost perfect 100% page speed score, thanks to its remarkably small 7.5kb page size.
But that’s not all — GeneratePress takes performance to another level by minimizing HTTP requests to just two, ensuring your website operates smoothly and efficiently. What sets it apart as one of the fastest themes on the market is its independence from external dependencies like jQuery. Its code is specifically optimized for WordPress, making it a powerhouse that launches your website to lightning-fast speeds.
Best For:
GeneratePress is the ultimate choice for Block Theme enthusiasts. Its compact size, optimized code, and page builder compatibility make it the perfect solution for creating a site from scratch or using one of the provided starter templates.
Pricing: Free, with premium prices starting at $59 per year.
Our next theme, Neve, is one of several offerings from ThemeIsle. It provides a mobile-first approach, can be used alongside any of your favorite page builders, and offers compatibility with accelerated mobile pages (AMP). By including these features, Neve secures itself as one of the faster themes on our list, making it easy to encompass what you need to make Google’s SEO algorithm happy.
Neve is confident in its ability to be a speedy option for the masses by providing concrete speed scores on its website. With a 28kb page size, 100% Google page speed scores, and a GTMetrix page loading time of .6 seconds, it’s easy to see why. In addition to speed and performance optimizations, Neve offers more than 100 premade templates, global color palettes, multiple blog, header, and footer templates, and stellar support.
Best For:
If you need a speedy website for your ecommerce store, try Neve’s premium license. It has tons of WooCommerce enhancements, such as a quick view, cart notices, off-canvas product filtering, a wishlist feature, and more.
Pricing: Free, with a $99 per year premium version.
Astra is one of the most popular, easiest WordPress themes to work with. Out of the box, Astra comes with over 240 premade design templates for all major business categories that you can import with one click. From there, it’s as simple as adding text and images, setting your global colors and typography, and you’re off to the races. However, thanks to major page builder support, you can build any site you’d like.
Astra’s main focus is performance. It’s based on a vanilla javascript framework with no jQuery. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about render-blocking code slowing your site down. Plus, it only requires about 50kb worth of resources to run the entire theme, which gives it a massive speed boost. Additional performing enhancing features include a half-second page load time, optimized code, and self-hosted Google fonts, so your site won’t have a bunch of time-sapping HTTP requests when visitors land on your site.
Best For:
If you need a simple, lightning-fast website with hundreds of pre-made themes, give Astra a spin. You can use the free version to decide if it’s right for you. Upgrading to a premium license adds massive amounts of features, such as WooCommerce upgrades, a mega menu, the ability to white-label WordPress, and more.
Pricing: Free, with a $59 per year pro version.
The next entry on our fastest WordPress themes list is Sydney. Available in free and premium versions, Sydney offers many features that make it worthy of consideration. With multiple layout options for blog posts, sidebars, headers, and footers, you can easily create a layout that suits your business. If you need a little creative inspiration, dozens of pre-built sections, elements, and designs are available. That, combined with speed-enhancing features, makes Syndey an excellent choice.
Syndey is blazing fast, sporting a 63kb page size, a little over a half-second loading time, and a 99% Google page speed score. Syndey packs a punch with options, too, so you won’t have to sacrifice features for speed. With elements such as parallax backgrounds, global typography and colors, integration with plugins such as WP Forms, WooCommerce, Toolset, and stellar multi-lingual support, you can build the website of your dreams on a lightweight framework.
Best For:
Its free version includes seamless integration with Elementor and WooCommerce, multiple blog layouts, and diverse header and footer designs, giving you ample room for customization. And if you yearn for additional possibilities, the premium license offers even more features. The best part? You can explore Sydney at your own pace, thanks to the 30-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to familiarize yourself with it without any risk.
Pricing: Free, with a $69 per year premium version.
Schema is quite possibly the most SEO-friendly theme on our list. It incorporates rich snippets site-wide, so you’ll get an enormous headstart on SEO. There are also many customization options, including one-click demo import and an extensive Theme customizer with options for colors, typography, layout, and more. In addition to that, you can turn your website into a money-making powerhouse with onboard ad management, a built-in review system, and integrated social media sharing.
In addition to Schema’s customization features, you’ll benefit from a super-fast, lightweight framework with impressive speed stats. With a page size of less than 100kb, a half-second loading time, and a 99% performance score on GTMetrix, your website will be screaming up the SERPs in no time. Another excellent feature of Schema is the stellar options panel, which gives you several performance-enhancing features. You can easily enable async Javascript, cache prefetching, lazy loading of images, and optimization of WooCommerce scripts. Plus, you can remove ver parameters from CSS and javascript files, which can help older browsers serve your website faster.
Best For:
If you want to enhance your site’s performance and improve your SEO, consider trying Schema. It offers free and paid versions, allowing you to test it before committing. Creative types benefit from importable demos, installed with a single click, or compatibility with popular page builders to unleash creativity.
Pricing: Free, with a $39 per year pro license.
Next, we have OceanWP, a popular and highly-rated freemium theme known for its exceptional performance and customization options. With over 700,000 active installs, the proof is in the pudding. One of its major strengths is its fast load times, which is a result of highly-optimized coding. Additionally, OceanWP offers customization features such as one-click importable demos, compatibility with page builder plugins, and extensive styling options in the WordPress customizer.
Although not the fastest option on our list, OceanWP still showcases impressive speed scores. It boasts a commendable 99% Google page speed, optimized WordPress code, and an average page loading time of less than one second, showcasing its substantial power under the hood. In addition to its speed and performance enhancements, OceanWP offers a range of other appealing features. These include individual post controls with detailed meta boxes, a scripts and styles panel for enabling or disabling unnecessary scripts, and custom hooks that further expand OceanWP’s impressive functionality.
Best For:
OceanWP is both beginner and developer friendly, with unlimited customization options and impressive speed-enhancing capabilities. Users with any budget can benefit from its features thanks to the free or premium license.
Pricing: Free, with a $54 per year premium version.
Our next theme, Zakra, takes the hassle out of creating a WordPress website and turns it into a breeze. It offers many customization options and ready-to-use layouts, allowing you to effortlessly bring any website concept to life. Whether you’re looking to design a blog, set up sidebars, enhance headers, or refine footers, Zakra’s multiple layouts have you covered. Additionally, Zakra includes over 800 Google fonts, all conveniently hosted locally. This means you can freely mix and match various typesets without the concern of slowing down your site due to font load times.
Zakra includes several performance features that make it a speed demon. Rather than using page-draining jQuery scripts, Zakra is built entirely using vanilla javascript, which helps increase page speed. Other features include optimization for AMP, page loading times on Pingdom and GTMetrix under one second, and WordPress-optimized code to cut down the bloat.
Best For:
If you need a convenient solution for creating a fast, feature-rich website, check out Zakra. As a freemium theme, you can decide whether it suits your needs. The free version is fairly robust, but we suggest upgrading to the premium license to get the most out of it. By doing so, you’ll unlock unlimited customization options, such as eye-catching header features like transparent or sticky headers, access to local Google fonts, enhanced WooCommerce functionality, and various page templates.
Pricing: Free, with a $69 per year premium license.
Last but not least, Blocksy is one of the most popular block themes in the WordPress repository, with over 100,000 active installations. It features a lightweight framework, is translation ready out of the box, and works with popular plugins and page builders such as Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, and Brizy. Other benefits of Blocksy are built-in WooCommerce integration, 28 demo sites, white-labeling, and local Google fonts, to name a few.
Blocksy uses a unique coding structure, called code splitting, to load only the javascript needed when a user hits your website. Because of this, Blocksy consistently obtains the coveted 100% GTMetrix page speed load score. Other performance boosts include local Google Fonts and limiting HTTP requests to keep your site speedy. Another feature that makes Blocksy an attractive option is its simplicity. The theme is clean and light and gives you unlimited creative freedom to build the site of your dreams.
Best For:
If you’re a developer who wants to build your kingdom from scratch, you’ll love Blocksy. It provides the speed you need to rank well in search engines and is a blank canvas. However, if you ever find yourself in need of some assistance, fear not! You can easily enhance your building experience by installing a page builder like Elementor or using the user-friendly Gutenberg editor to craft your masterpiece.
Pricing: Free, with a $49 per year premium license.
Speed and performance are the top things to consider when deciding on a new WordPress theme. Using a fast theme helps your site load faster, increases user satisfaction, and can help your rank higher in search results. Thankfully, Â all of the themes on our list focus on Google’s core web vitals, so your site will be speedy no matter which theme you choose. Read on to find out which of these fastest WordPress themes we recommend the most.
Of all the entries on our list, we recommend Divi and Hello Elementor. Both themes are built with minimal bloat, only including the clean code and most essential features. Because of this, both themes boast incredible fast page speed scores. This makes both themes excellent options for ecommerce sites and high-traffic blogs. Whether you want to use Divi’s page builder, or WordPress’s onboard block editor, either of these themes will put you miles ahead of your competition, resulting in higher rankings, more satisfied customers, and less worry for you.
| Plugin | Price | Free Option | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Divi | $89/year | ⌠| Visit |
| 🥈 | Hello Elementor | $59/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 🥉 | GeneratePress | $59/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 4 | Neve | $99/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 5 | Astra | $59/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 6 | Sydney | $69/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 7 | Schema | $39/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 8 | OceanWP | $54/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 9 | Zakra | $69/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
| 10 | Blocksy | $49/year | âœ”ï¸ | Visit |
Need more themes? Check out these articles for the best themes to use with WordPress.
Featured Image via Fonstra /Â Shutterstock.com
The post 10 Fastest WordPress Themes in 2023 (Compared & Reviewed) appeared first on Elegant Themes Blog.
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