Do you have a Google page speed insights problem? I know I do.
I'm obsessed with the tool. I'm always checking my score, frantically clicking the analyze button, hoping that I'll get a mobile score that's in the green.
But, it never seems to happen. Does all that sound familiar? Are you also stuck in the orange on the Google page speed insight score? You've tried some things, but you can't get that score up into the green.
Well, this post could be the one to help you.
What are you going to learn?
In this post, I'm going to show you how you can speed up WordPress in 2021. I'm going to show you how you can improve your Google page speed score.
And it's effortless. We're going to be using some plug-ins. I will show you a few different plug-ins that I've tested out with their results from Google page speed and GTmetrix. And, by the end of the post, you'll be able to see which plug-in offers the best performance boost.
Test Site – Best Pressure Washer
The site that I'm going to be testing the plug-ins out on is bestpressurewasher.com, one of my affiliate marketing websites.
And in fact, I did a full-length tutorial on exactly how I created that site here. Check it out if you'd like to build a similar site on your own.
Plugins for speeding up WordPress
But, I'll show you all the scores and everything before any plug-ins are installed. And then I'll show you the effect of the various plug-ins.
The plug-ins that we're going to be taking a look at in this video are:
About the site Google Speed Insights score & GTmetrix
In terms of plug-ins, there is only a handful, just the essentials like:
- AAWP
- Imagify
- Rank Math SEO
- Thrive Architect
- Thrive Production Manager
I host the site. It's on Wp Eagle Hosting.
If we run it through Google page speed without any optimization, it is scoring:
- 59 on the mobile
- 94 on the desktop
I was pretty impressed with, to be fair. With no optimization, I think that's a pretty good score.
Let's take a look at GTmetrix:
- Score B
- Performance 83%
- Structure 84%
- Largest Contentful paint 2.0s
- Total blocking time 5ms
WP Fastest Cache Results
Let's start with WP Fastest Cache, a plug-in that I've used quite a few times. And it's really good and free. And it's been optimized to work with Thrive Themes, which is good because this site is running for Thrive Themes. When you go into the settings within Thrive Themes, you can click through and install WP Fastest Cache. And it will configure it to work well with it.
And then I ran it through Google page speed. As you can see, the mobile score has actually gone down compared to having no plug-in at all.
Here's what we got:
- mobile 45
- desktop 95
When it comes to mobile, it's down to 45. The desktop score has jumped up to 95. So, not looking too good there for WP Fastest Cache. Now, let's have a look at GTmetrix metrics to see if those are any better.
Again, they've gone down a little bit:
- Score B
- Performance 82
- Structure 75%
- Largest contentful paint 2.0s
- Total blocking time 23ms
That thing I was saying about liking WP Fastest Cache and that it's okay because it's free – well, actually, you're probably better off not putting it on your site.
Wp Rocket Results
This is a plug-in that I've used a lot. I've been telling all you guys to use it because I think it's a good plug-in. And it's had a big effect on my sites in the past.
Here's what we got:
- mobile 59
- desktop 93
Looking at Google page speed, not a lot has really happened. The mobile score is the same as without any plug-ins coming in at 59. And the desktop score has actually gone down by one point to 93.
But that's fine. Scores do go up and down every time you press the button by a few points. Let's have a look at GTmetrix. I'm sure that would be better.
Here's what we got with GTmetrix:
- Score A
- Performance 94%
- Structure 84%
- Largest contentful paint 1.5s
- Total blocking time 0ms
They've gone up. Now we've got a GTmetrix rating score of A, which is better than B. We've got a performance of 94%. We got structure at 84%. The largest content for paint is down to 1.5s, and the total blocking time has been reduced to zero.
Certainly a bit of a boost on GTmetrix. If you read, the documentation that comes with WP Rocket is their preferred testing thing. And they tell people not to worry about Google page speed; it's irrelevant. I, kind of, see why now. That's WP Rocket. It starts at $49.
Quick notice: The site does feel pretty quick, even without any plug-ins. It doesn't feel slow at all. These plug-ins are just about improving the actual scores you're getting on these tools. Rather than actually making the site feel much faster. Because it feels pretty quick anyway.
Anyway, those first tests were pretty good. But the mobile score on Google page speed was still not where I want it to be. It's still around the 50-60 mark. It's still in the orange. And, you know, ideally, we want that score to be in the green – 90 at least.
NitroPack Results
Now is the time to pull out the big guns. And by big guns, I mean NitroPack. NitroPack is an optimization service that you have to subscribe to. It starts around $21 a month for a rolling monthly contract.
They have a free package available if you've got less than 5 000 page views a month on your site. It's easy to set up. You install a plug-in on your site you then connect that plug-in to the NitroPack service. And that's pretty much it.
It does all the configuration for you, but you can jump into those settings if you want. Before you rush off and buy it, I should probably show you the effect that it's had on the site. And it's pretty exciting.
The Google page speed score:
- Mobile 90
- Desktop 99
As you can see, we're in the green. We've hit 90 on the mobile. And if we take a look at the desktop, we're getting a score of 99, which is absolutely fantastic. But, of course, Google page speed isn't everything. So, let's have a look at GTmetrix.
Here's what effect has it had on those scores:
- Score A
- Performance 97%
- Structure 98%
- Largest contentful paint 1.0s
- Total blocking time 0ms
Final word
If you want to get into the green, if you want to kick the obsession with the Google page speed score, NitroPack could be the answer. You can try NitroPack out free. They've got a money-back guarantee.
So, why not? Go sign up and try it out. See what effect it has on your site. And, if it doesn't work out, you can always cancel it. No harm is done. I'd love to know what you used to speed up your site. Have you been using NitroPack? Maybe WP Rocket?
Let me know in the comments.
