Advice - website is slow
I'm just after some advice, my website runs slow a lot and I was wondering how to determine if the issue is with:
- The Wordpress theme that I use,
- Is it because I'm located in Australia, along with all my targeted visitors
- Or do I need to upgrade my plan? I'm on the Launch Plan
I don't get a large amount of visitors but it is increasing so I'd like to figure this out.
My website is https://www.storageproviders.com.au/
Thanks
Hello Storage,
Thanks for your question in regards to improving your site performance. I'll answer your question based on the three items you listed and add a few things as well.
1. Is your site slow due to the WordPress theme that you're using? In general, it's not a theme issue, because the theme is merely the framework for the content. It is possible that parts of a theme may cause the site to be slow, but mainly due to slow-loading graphics or other elements that affect the way the site loads. However, for the most part, the theme will rarely be the reason that a site is loading slow. You can see what's loading slowly by using a software service like Gtmetrix or even the performance tools provided with your browser. We often recommend Gtmetrix because it compiles results from tools available through Google and Yahoo. And they also explain their results so that you can understand why they show something.
2. Is your site slow based on your geographic location - Australia? And it's good that you recognize that your targeted visitors are there as well. This very possibly a good reason for latency in the site loading. Although modern networks have improved, signals traveling over a distance will still face latency due to the sheer distance that the data must travel. The best you can do to check this is to use a TRACEROUTE diagnostic. I would recommend it from your location and, if possible, from a possible viewer location in order to get results from different networks in your location. Click on the link I provided to learn more about using and reading a traceroute. Basically, it provides times to get to a particular destination. To measure your site, you would simply trace to your website URL.
3. Will my speeds increase if I upgrade my plan? If you upgrade your hosting plan you are still not upgrading the networks that connect you to the network. The upgrade will give you more resources that would help your site to run faster. However, if the network is slow, then your site will still load slower. You can have the fastest computers in the world on one end of the network, but if the latency is bad, then it may still appear to be loading slow on a viewer's computer.
There are also other factors that could cause a system to load slow. It may be related to how the site is built, or what it is attempting to be displayed. For example, if you may have 50 plugins on a WordPress site, that are causing the site to load slowly due to the demands on memory and CPU of the server. Or, your site might be trying to load a large file in a non-optimized way. A good example of this is video. For wide geographic distribution, we often recommend that static content (like a video file) be placed in a CDN (Content Distribution Network) or into a service that provides that type of distribution. Youtube is a great example of this. Instead of a large video file trying to be loaded or streamed from a server in the US to be seen in Australia, Youtube provides a network where the video is optimized to play in remote locations. So, instead of trying to play from the US, the video file would be distributed on their internal networks so that playback is optimal for playback for a viewer's local geographic area.
Also, keep in mind that if your site is mostly static and not transferring large amounts of data, then it may be okay to have it hosted in a remote location. However, if you're doing something that requires better response times, then you may be better off looking for a hosting service nearer to you and your customers.
Apologies for the length of my answer! I hope that helps to answer your questions! If you have any further questions, please let us know!
Kindest regards,
Arnel C.