PHP Minification Made Easy: A  Guide to Optimizing Website Performance

Web developers are constantly looking for ways to optimize the performance of their websites. One effective technique is to minify the code, which involves removing any unnecessary characters and spaces from the code.

 This process can significantly reduce the size of the code, resulting in faster web page loading times. In this blog post, we will discuss how to Minify PHP output and why it is important for faster web page loading times.

We will cover different methods, tools, and best practices that developers can follow to effectively Minify PHP output. 

Understanding Minification: 

Minify PHP is the process of removing any unnecessary characters and spaces from code without changing its functionality. The main objective of minification is to reduce the size of the code, which ultimately leads to faster loading times. 

The types of code that can be minified include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. In addition to reducing the size of the code, minification can also make the code more readable and easier to maintain.

In the context of Minify PHP involves removing unnecessary characters from PHP code, including whitespace, comments, and formatting. This can be done manually, but it’s typically done using an automated tool that is designed to remove unnecessary characters from the code while preserving its functionality.

One of the key benefits of Minify PHP is that it can significantly reduce the size of files, which can result in faster load times. This is especially important for websites that have a large number of files or a lot of code, as it can help reduce the amount of time it takes for a website to load.

 In addition, Minify PHP can help reduce bandwidth usage and improve the scalability of websites, which is important for sites that experience high levels of traffic.

Another benefit of minification is that it can help improve the maintainability of code. By removing unnecessary characters and formatting, the code becomes more concise and easier to read. This can make it easier to identify errors, fix bugs, and make changes to the code in the future.

However, it’s important to note that Minifying PHP can also have some downsides. One of the main challenges of minification is that it can make debugging more difficult, as the code is less readable and harder to understand. In addition, Minify PHP can sometimes cause issues with some browsers or platforms, so it’s important to test the code thoroughly before deploying it.

In summary, minification is the process of removing unnecessary characters from code without changing its functionality. It can significantly reduce the size of files, improve website performance, and make code more maintainable. However, it’s important to use reliable minification tools and follow best practices to ensure that the process is effective and reliable, and to test the code thoroughly before deploying it to production.

Check out: compressing images for the modern Web

Example of HTML Code:

Minifying PHP Output: 

PHP is a popular server-side scripting language used to create dynamic web pages. Minifying PHP output involves removing any unnecessary characters and spaces from the code generated by the server. There are several tools and techniques available to Minify PHP output.

1. Using Online Tools:

There are several online tools available that can be used to Minify PHP code. These tools are simple to use and require no installation. One of the popular online tools for Minifying PHP output is “PHP minify”. The process involves copying and pasting the code into the tool, and then the tool automatically minifies the code. The output is then downloaded and can be used in the project.

2. Using PHP Libraries:

Another way to Minify PHP output is by using PHP libraries. These libraries are integrated into the project and provide a wide range of features, including Minify PHP. The most popular PHP libraries for minification are “Minify” and “PHP minify”. These libraries can be easily installed and integrated into the project. The process involves passing the PHP code through the library, which minifies the code and returns the output.

3. Using Command-Line Tools:

Command line tools are other options for Minifying PHP output. These tools are run from the terminal and are designed to be integrated into automated workflows. The process involves passing the PHP code through the tool and then saving the output to a file.

Importance of Minimizing PHP Output:

Minimizing PHP output is important for several reasons:

1. Faster Loading Times:

By removing unnecessary characters, whitespace, and formatting from the code, the resulting minified PHP output is smaller in size and loads faster, leading to better website performance.

2. Improved User Experience:

Slow loading times can negatively impact the user experience, leading to frustration and a higher bounce rate. Minifying PHP output can help ensure that web pages load quickly and smoothly, providing a better user experience.

3. Reduced Bandwidth Usage:

Minified PHP output requires less bandwidth to transfer over the network, which can be especially important for users with limited data plans or slow internet connections.

4. Better Search Engine Optimization:

Faster loading times can also improve a website’s search engine ranking, as search engines consider page speed as a factor in their ranking algorithm.

Overall, Minifying PHP output is a simple and effective way to optimize website performance, improve user experience, and reduce bandwidth usage. 

In addition to Minifying PHP output, it is also important to minify HTML and CSS files to further reduce the size of the files and improve website performance.

HTML and CSS files can also benefit from Minifying PHP in a similar way to PHP code. Minification of HTML involves removing unnecessary white spaces comments and other elements that do not affect the appearance or functionality of the page.

By minifying HTML and CSS files, you can reduce the size of all files and make the website load faster. This can have a significant impact on the user experience, as faster loading times can result in a higher engagement rate and lower bounce rates, in addition, minifying HTML and CSS files can also reduce bandwidth usage and improve the scalability of the website.

Check out: Minify HTML code for PHP

Tips for Testing Minimized PHP Output:

1. Use a Browser Extension: 

One of the easiest to test your minimized PHP output is to use a browser extension like a web developer. These tools allow you to view the source code of your website and compare the minimized version to the original version. 

This will help you identify any issues with the minimized PHP code.

2. Use a Code Editor:

Most code editors have built-in tools that allow you to compare two files side by side. You can use this feature to compare the original PHP file with the minimized version. 

This will help you identify any changes that have been made to the code during the minimization process.

3. Use a Syntax Checker: 

Another way to test your minimized PHP output is to use a syntax checker. This type of tool will scan your PHP code for any syntax errors and provide you with a report of any issues that need to be addressed. 

By using a syntax checker, you can ensure that your minimized PHP code is error-free and optimized for performance.

4. Use a Website Speed Testing Tool: 

There are many website speed testing tools available that can help you test the performance of your website, including its load times. 

These tools can help you identify any issues with your minimized PHP output that may be impacting website performance.

By using these tips, you can ensure that your minimized PHP output is error-free and optimized for performance. Testing is an important part of the development process, and it’s important to ensure that your minimized PHP code is working as expected before deploying it to your website

Best Practices for Minifying PHP: 

Minifying code can be a simple process, but there are some best practices that developers should follow to ensure that the code is minified correctly.

1. Backup Original Code:

Before minifying any code, it is important to make a backup copy of the original code. This ensures that the original code is still available in case any issues arise.

2. Avoid Minifying Code in Development 

It is important to avoid minifying code that is still being developed, as this can make it difficult to debug any issues. Wait until the code is stable before minifying.

3. Avoid Minifying Code Being Shared with Others:

It is important to avoid minifying code that is being shared with others, as it can make it difficult for others to read and understand the code.

4. Avoid Manual Changes to Minified Code:

To maintain minified code, it is important to avoid making any manual changes to the code. This can break the minification process and make it difficult to maintain the code.

5. Keep the Minify PHP Tool Up To Date:

It is also important to keep the Minify PHP tool up to date, as newer versions may have additional features or bug fixes.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, Minifying PHP output is an effective way to optimize the performance of web pages. By reducing the size of the code, minifying can significantly improve the loading times of web pages. There are several methods and tools available to Minify PHP output, including online tools, PHP libraries, and command line tools. To ensure that can code is minified correctly, developers should follow best practices, such as backing up the original code, avoiding minification in development, and keeping the Minify PHP tool up to date, with these best practices in mind, developers can efficiently Minify PHP output and create faster and more optimized web pages 

A Guide to Resource Loading and its Importance in Web Development

Resource Loading is a crucial aspect of web development that plays a significant role in the user experience, search engine optimizations, and cross-device compatibility of a website. It refers to the process of fetching and downloading the various elements and resources of a website, such as images, videos, stylesheets, and scripts, from a server to the user’s browser. 

In this blog post, we will delve into the world of Resource Loading and its significance in web development. From explaining what Resource Loading is and how it works to exploring the importance of Resource Loading for user experience, SEO, and cross-device compatibility, this post will provide you with an overview of everything you need to know about Resource Loading. Additionally, we will cover best practices for Resource Loading, common challenges, and solutions to ensure that your website is optimized and runs smoothly.

What is Resource Loading? 

Resource Loading refers to the process of fetching and downloading resources from a server to the user’s browser. The resources loaded on a website can include images, videos, stylesheets, and scripts, among others. These resources are then used to render the website for the user. 

There are two types of resources that can be loaded on a website: blocking and Non-blocking resources. Blocking resources are resources that must be loaded before the page can be displayed, such as stylesheets. Non-blocking resources are resources that can be loaded asynchronously, in parallel with the main page, such as images and scripts. 

The loading process begins when the user requests a page by entering its URL in the browser. The browser then sends a request to the server, which sends back the HTML file, along with any other resources that the HTML file calls for. The browser then parses the HTML file and requests any additional resources that the HTML file calls for, such as images, stylesheets, and scripts. 

Once the resources are fetched and loaded, the browser can display the complete webpage to the user. The loading process can take anywhere from a few milliseconds to several seconds, depending on the style and complexity of the website, as well as the user’s internet connection speed. 

Importance of Resource Loading: 

Resource Loading is an important aspect of web development for several reasons, including: 

1. User Experience and Page Speed: 

The speed at which a website load is crucial for user experience. If a website takes too long to load, users may become frustrated and leave the site, leading to a high bounce rate. This can negatively impact the website’s search engine rankings and overall user engagement.

2. Search Engine Optimization: 

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). One of the factors that search engines use to rank websites is page speed, and this includes the speed at which resources load, a fast-loading website is more likely to rank higher in SERPs than a slow-loading website.

3. Responsive Web Designs and Cross-Device Compatibility: 

In today’s world, it is important for websites to be accessible on a variety of devices, including desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones. Resource Loading plays a crucial role in responsive web design and cross-device compatibility, as the resources must be loaded quickly and efficiently, regardless of the device or connection speed being used.

4. Performance and Scalability: 

Optimizing Resource Loading can also improve the overall performance and scalability of a website. A slow-loading website can result in high bounce rates, low engagement, and poor user experience, which can have a negative impact on the performance and scalability of the site. 

On the other hand, a fast and efficiently loaded site can ensure that the site is able to handle increasing traffic and provide a positive experience for users.

Resource Loading is an essential aspect of web development that plays a key role in the user experience, SEO, cross-device compatibility, and performance and scalability of a website. By optimizing Resource Loading, you can ensure that your website provides a fast and seamless experience for users and that it is able to perform well and scale as your traffic grows.

Measuring Resource Loading: 

Resource Loading can be measured in several ways: 

1. Page Load Time: 

Page load time is one of the most common metrics used to measure Resource Loading. This metric measures the time it takes for a page to fully load, including all of its resources, such as images, stylesheets, scripts, and fonts. 

Page load time is an important metric as it provides a direct measure of the user experience, as users expect pages to load quickly and efficiently.

2. Time to First Byte(TTFB): 

Time to first byte (TTFB) is another metric that measures Resource Loading. TTFB measures the time it takes for the first byte of data to be received from the server after a request has been made. 

This metric provides insight into the performance of the server and the efficiency of the resource-loading process.

3. Page Weight: 

Page weight is a metric that measures the total size of a page, including all of its resources. Page weight is an important metric as it directly affects the page load time, with larger pages taking longer to load.

 By optimizing the page weight, you can reduce the page load time and improve the user experience.

4. Resource Load Time:

Resource load time is a metric that measures the time it takes for individual resources to load. This metric provides insight into the performance of specific resources that help identify any resource that may be slowing down the page.

5. Performance Tools:

There are various performance tools available, such as google page speed insights, google lighthouse and GTmetrix, that can be used to measure Resource Loading. These tools provide a comprehensive analysis of Resource Loading, including metrics such as page load time, TTFB, page weight, and resource load time, as well as recommendations for optimizing Resource Loading.

Resource Loading can be measured in several ways, including page load time, TTFB, page weight, resource load time, and using performance tools. By measuring Resource Loading, you can gain insight into the performance of your website and identity any areas that need optimization to improve the user experience.

FAQs:

What is a Good Resource Loading Time?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to what constitutes a “good” Resource Loading score, as this can depend on a variety of factors, including the type of website, its content, and the target audience. 

However, here are some general guidelines to consider when evaluating Resource Loading performance for each of the optimization methods:

Page load time: a page load time of 2-3 seconds is a considered fast 

The number of requests: a lower number of requests can lead to faster page load times.

Page size: a good Resource Loading score would be to keep the page size under 2 MB 

Core web vitals: in addition to the above metric you should also monitor your websites performance against the core web vitals which are the 

First Input Delay 

Cumulative Layout Shift 

Largest Contentful Paint

Best practices for Resource Loading:

To ensure that your website is optimized for Resource Loading, it is important to follow best practices. Some of the best practices include:

1. Minimizing HTTP Requests:

One of the most effective ways to optimize Resource Loading is to minimize the number of HTTP requests that are made. Each HTTP request adds to the loading time of a page, so reducing the number of requests can significantly improve page speed. To minimize HTTP requests, you can use CSS sprites, combine multiple stylesheets into one, and optimize images by reducing their size and using the appropriate format.

2. Compression and Minification:

Compression and minification are techniques used to reduce the size of resources, such as stylesheets and scripts, which can result in faster loading times. Compression involves reducing the size of files by removing redundant information, while minification involves removing unnecessary whitespace, comments, and other elements from the code.

3. Caching and Preloading:

Caching involves storing frequently used resources on the user’s device so that they do not have to be reloaded every time the page is visited. Preloading involves loading resources in the background before they are actually needed so that they are available instantly when required. Both caching and preloading can significantly improve the speed of Resource Loading.

4. Async and Defer Attributes:

The async and defer attributes can be used to control the loading of resources on a page. The async attribute specifies that a resource should be loaded asynchronously, allowing the browser to continue rendering the page while the resources are being loaded. The defer attribute specifies that a resource should be loaded only after the page has finished parsing, ensuring that the resource does not block the rendering of the page. 

5. Lazy Loading:

Lazy loading is a technique in which resources are loaded only when they are needed, rather than loading all resources at once. This can significantly improve the loading speed of a page, especially for large and complex websites. Lazy loading can be implemented using JavaScript, allowing resources to be loaded only when they come into view, or as they are requested by the user.

6. Image Optimization:

Image optimization is another important aspect of Resource Loading. Large and unoptimized images can significantly slow down the loading speed of a page, so it is important to optimize images by reducing their size, using the appropriate format for example JPEG for photos, PNG for graphics, and compressing them if necessary.

Check out: Defer Loading jQuery in WordPress

Implementing best practices for Resource Loading is essential for optimizing the performance of your website and providing a better user experience. By reducing the number of requests, reducing the number of requests, minification, compression, etc.

While these optimizations can be done manually, they can be time-consuming and challenging to implement and maintain. Fortunately, there are tools like RabbitLoader available that can automate many of these optimizations for you, saving you time and effort while ensuring that your website is optimized for performance and provides the best possible user experience.

FAQs:

What are async and defer?

Async and defer are attributes that can be added to script tags in HTML to control the loading and execution of JavaScript files.

Async allows the script to be loaded and executed asynchronously, meaning that it does not block the loading of other resources or the rendering of the page. This can result in faster load times.

Defer is similar to async in that it allows the script to be loaded and executed asynchronously however unlike async, the defer attribute guarantees that the scripts marked as defer will be executed in the order in which they appear in the HTML.

Common Challenges and Solutions:

Despite following best practices for Resource Loading, there are still some common challenges that can arise, some of these challenges include:

1. High HTTP Request Count:

One of the most common challenges in Resource Loading is having a high number of HTTP requests. This can result in a slow-loading website and poor user experience, so it is important to minimize the number of requests by combining resources and optimizing images.

2. Blocking Resources:

Blocking resources, such as stylesheets, can slow down the loading of a page, as they must be loaded before the page can be displayed, to avoid this, it is important to optimize blocking resources by compressing and minifying them, as well as using the async or defer attributes to control their loading.

3. Large Resource Size:

Large resource sizes can also slow down the loading speed of a page, so it is important to optimize resources by compressing and minifying them, as well as using lazy loading and image optimization techniques.

Conclusion: 

In conclusion, Resource Loading is a crucial aspect of web development that plays a significant role in the user experience, SEO., and cross-device compatibility of a website. By following best practices for Resource Loading, and optimizing images, you can ensure that your website is optimized for fast and efficient Resource Loading. Additionally, by being aware of common challenges and solutions, you can troubleshoot any issues that may arise and ensure that your website runs smoothly and efficiently.

What is Cumulative Layout Shift and the Effective Ways to Optimize it to Improve the PageSpeed Score? 

Google developed the Cumulative Layout Shift metric to measure a webpage’s visual stability. In order to optimize your website’s CLS performance, you can implement strategies such as specifying the image size and optimize the web fonts. 

You can do this using your coding skills, or for an effortless and non-coding solution,you can use RabbitLoader. 

Have you ever tried to click a button upon loading a website only to see the elements on the page shift around and you end up clicking the wrong button?   

This is caused by a layout shift & this issue seriously harms the user experience of your website. Prioritizing user experience Google developed CLS, a metric to analyze the total layout shift occurring during loading the page and express it in terms of a numeric value.

You can gauge the importance of CLS based on its recognition as one of the 3 pillars of Core Web Vitals. Therefore to achieve a good PageSpeed score, you must optimize your CLS performance.

What is Cumulative Layout Shift?

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) is one of the pillar core web vitals metrics that Google developed to measure a web page’s visual stability during the web page rendering. This CLS metric is used to calculate how the visible elements move within the visible area. 

Imagine this scenario: You want to buy a dress from an online store. You visit the product page of your favorite fashion retailer, and the page begins loading. When you are going to click the buy button, an ad is loaded on the top of the page, and the buy button shifts down. Therefore, you end up clicking the wrong button. This issue is known as an unexpected layout shift, and CLS measures this unexpected layout shift. 

How To Measure Cumulative Layout Shift?

Cumulative Layout Shift is calculated the movement of the unshifted elements based on two factors:

What Is Impact Fraction?

Impact fraction calculates how an unstable element impacts the above-the-fold area between two frames. Basically, by calculating the impact fraction you can determine how much area the content occupies above the fold before and after the shifting.  

You can easily calculate the impact fraction by dividing the total viewport area by the area of the layout shift. 

What Is Distance Fraction? 

On the other hand, the distance fraction quantifies the distance the unstable element moved relative to the above the fold. It can be calculated by dividing the dimension of the view-port area by how an unstable element moves in the vertical or horizontal distance. 

By multiplying these two factors: impact fraction and distance fraction you can easily get the Cumulative Layout Shift. 

Let’s understand with an example. If the impact fraction of a web page is 0.60 and the distance fraction of the web page is 0.30, then the Cumulative Shift Layout of that web page is 0.18 (0.60 * 0.30). 

Also, you can measure the CLS in any online pageSpeed analyzing tools like  Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and others. 

What is an ideal CLS score?

According to Google, if the CLS score is less than 0.1, it is categorized as a good CLS score. However, if the score is between 0.1 to 0.25, it is considered a moderate CLS score and Google PageSpeed Insights suggests you improve the score for better PageSpeed.

Finally, a score of more than 0.25 indicates that your website fails the PageSpeed performance test. 

What are the effective strategies to improve CLS score?

Optimizing Cumulative Layout Shift requires a lot of technical effort. If you want to avoid tiring an expert to do the optimization, the best way to optimize your website for CLS would be to install RabbitLoader.

Let’s see how you can optimize your CLS performance without using any plugins. 

Specify The Size Attribute Of The Images

The best practice is to specify the size attributes for your images, like height and width, of the images so that the modern browser can reserve space before loading them. By doing this, you can prevent the image shifting during the page loading time.    

You can specify the height and width attribute of the image file in the <img> tag in the HTML file. Below is an example,

Syntax:

<img src= “product.jpeg” width=”400”  height=”550”>

Optimize Web Fonts

In order to improve the visual appearance, we add customized fonts to our website, but  it usually harms your website’s PageSpeed performance. You can optimize your web fonts in more than one way. 

1. You can add a <link rel=preload> attribute in your HTML file. To learn the details about it, go through our previous blog on link preload.

2. Web-safe fonts are usually pre-installed in the modern browser. Therefore, you can use web-safe fonts to prevent the layout shifting problem in your website. To learn about web-safe fonts, visit our best Google fonts blog. 

Reserve AD Space

Adding ads and promotions to your website can be one of the reasons behind your poor CLS performance. Just like images, you need to specify the height and width to reserve space for the ads.

For this, you need to add the size and width in the CSS stylesheets. Here’s an example,

Syntax:

<div id="ad-slot" style="min-width: 300px; min-height: 250px;"></div>

Optimize Your CLS Performance With RabbitLoader

As you can see, optimizing CLS manually requires a little bit of technical knowledge. If you are not from a coding background, it can be tough on you. 

RabbitLoader is able to improve the CLS score by reducing impact fraction and distance fraction,, that too without any coding. 

When you optimize your CLS with RabbitLoader, your page will be visually stable. Let’s look at an example.

An e-commerce website, thestudio.com, was struggling with a poor CLS score, which harmed the Google PageSpeed Insights score. After optimizing the website with RabbitLoader, the CLS score became 0 from 0.07 for the mobile version and 0.002 from 0.205 for the desktop version. Optimizing CLS along with other performance metrics improved the PageSpeed score for both versions. For detailed information, please check our case study on thestudio.com.

If you are also trying to optimize your CLS score to improve your PageSpeed & Core Web Vitals, you must install RabbitLoader plugin on your WordPress website. RabbitLoader will not only improve the CLS performance but it would boost other performance metrics and enhance your user PageSpeed & pass the Core Web Vitals. 

What Is The First Input Delay And 3 Ways To Optimize It To Pass The Core Web Vitals Assessment?

First Input delay (FID) is an essential performance metric that Google uses to measure a website’s PageSpeed performance. 

When it comes to a website’s success, delivering a fast-loading website is crucial. But how do you determine if your website’s PageSpeed performance is fast or not? Here’s the First Input Delay that comes into the picture along with the other performance metrics. 

Let’s understand about the First Input Delay (FID) metric and explore the powerful strategies to optimize the FID in order to improve the Google PageSpeed score. 

Note: Google developed and launched a new metric Interaction to Next Paint (INP) to replace the FID metric in March 2024.  

What Is The First Input Delay?

Google developed the First Input Delay to measure a web page’s responsiveness. In simple words, the First Input Delay (FID) calculates the span of time from when a visitor first interacts with the web page to when the web page starts giving the response. This is also known as input latency.

Let’s understand with an example. Assume you click on a link after opening a web page. FID measures the time between clicking that link and the time when the browser starts responding to it. This First Input Delay is measured in milliseconds (ms).  

The Difference Between FID And INP

To better understand PageSpeed performance, Google replaced the First input Delay with a new metric: Interaction to Next paint (INP). But how does INP differ from the FID?

Let’s explore how the First Input Delay (FID) differs from the Interaction to Next Paint (INP). 

The Top Helpful Tools To Measure The First Input Delay

Here, we will see the most helpful tools to measure the First Input Delay (FID) of your website.

• Google PageSpeed Insights

Google developed an online tool, Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze the performance of core web vitals and provide a PageSpeed score based on a few key performance metrics.

To measure the First input Delay (FID), you need to enter your website’s URL and click on the analyze button and you would see the FID along with various other important metrics.

Along with your FID score, PageSpeed insight would also suggest improvements to get your websites a good FID value & pass the Core Web Vitals.

• GTmetrix

GTmetrix is the best alternative tool to measure the performance of the core web vitals. This online tool allows you to customize your test location ,device, network connection, and browser.

What Is A Good FID Time?

Google sets threshold values for each performance metric to categorize performance. Let’s examine the threshold values of FID metrics. 

• If the FID value is less than 100 ms, Google considers this a good FID time and marks it in green.

• A FID time between 100 ms and 300 ms indicates that it needs to be reduced to pass the core web vitals test. Google marks it in orange.
• If the FID time exceeds 300 ms, your website failed the core web vitals assessment, and Google will mark it in red. 

How To Improve FID Performance?

At this point, you are aware of a good FID time. If your website’s FID time is more than 100 ms, you need to optimize your First Input Delay to achieve a good PageSpeed score and enhance the user experience by improving your website’s performance.  

Let’s see how you can improve the FID performance using your technical skills only, it might take a little time & needs some technical skills. We will also see how you can do this within a few minutes just by installing RabbitLoader.

Minimize main thread work /Break up the long tasks

Breaking up the JavaScript code is one of the most effective ways to improve your website’s FID time. In such cases, you need to identify the long tasks that increase the FID time by blocking the main thread. Then you must split them into smaller tasks. It can minimize your main thread also. 

By allowing multi-threading, which means that if the main thread is busy with critical tasks, some non critical tasks could be moved to the web workers. This would need a very specialized set of skills to be able to implement it on your website.

Check more: Minimize main thread work

Whereas, RabbitLoader implements multi-threading and optimizes your website for the perfect FID value without needing you to write a single line of code.

Compressing and minifying CSS and JavaScript files

The loading speed of a website can also depend on the page size. In your CSS and JavaScript file, many characters such as line breaks, and comments are present which unnecessarily increases the page size for the browser, slowing down the loading speed.

Compression and minification are the best ways to mitigate this issue. Manually removing these unnecessary characters from your CSS and JavaScript file might need a lot of time and effort especially if the website has a lot of CSS codes.

When using RabbitLoader, you don’t need to put any extra for this. Along with the other optimization techniques, RabbitLoader also takes care of this. For more details on resource minification, please checkout our Minify Resources blog. 

Defer the JavaScript functions 

During the page rendering, in general, the browser loads every resource. This would increase the loading time. You can improve the loading time by deferring the JavaScript functions which are not required for the initial loading time. This can be achieved by adding a syntax like the below example,

Syntax: <script src="https://www.domain.com/file.js" defer></script>  

If you are technically sound, you can easily defer your non-critical JavaScript functions, but if you are not from a technical background, the best way to optimize FID is to install RabbitLoader.

Final Thoughts  

Even though Google replaced this FID with INP, Google PageSpeed still shows the FID metric on its tests. When you work on improving FID, your INP time will also be improved. So, if you are struggling with a poor FID score, you need to implement the above strategies. 

Whether you do it manually or using an optimization tool like RabbitLoader it is up to you.If you want an effortless solution, optimize your FID performance with RabbitLoader. 

5 Remarkably simple reasons why your WordPress website is slow

WordPress is simply software that you use to construct your own website or blog and post it on the web. It is also called Content Management System or CMS which was created in 2003 and since then it has become one of the most popular website publishing programs in the world. WordPress powers 30% of the internet.

The magnificence of WordPress is that you’re ready to browse eleven thousand unique subjects which just format designs that decide the look and style of your site. One can tweak all of the text including font and font sizes. Also one can create buttons or you can upload images and videos and much more. One can choose from over 55,000 plugins and widgets to help optimize the functionality of your website.

What is Google PageSpeed?

A website’s performance can be evaluated with Google PageSpeed, a set of tools by Google Inc. PageSpeed Insights (PSI) provides information about how a page performs on various mobile and desktop devices and what can be done to improve it.

A page’s PSI includes lab and field data. Because it is collected in a controlled environment, lab data is useful for troubleshooting performance issues. Real-world bottlenecks may not be captured by lab data. Field data can be used to capture actual, real-world user experience, but it is limited in terms of metrics.

Why is Google PageSpeed Important?

A fast WordPress site provides a much better user experience because, well, it’s more efficient. Over a quarter of users will click away and choose a different search result if a page takes more than 3 seconds to load, according to a recent Kissmetrics infographic. The same is true for mobile users. The survey also found that 73% of users reported having difficulty with site speed.

The WordPress site speed also has an impact on conversion rates. Google has added Page Experience to its ranking signals to emphasize the importance of user experience. In-Page Experience signals, real users’ experiences are analyzed to judge the quality of web pages. It also measures your WordPress site’s core web vital.

Are you worried about your slow WordPress speed? Peek to this article to find out your cause and read till the end for the bonus solution.

Maintain The Size of The Images:

Cause:

There is a certain maximum pixel size for the images respective of your chosen WordPress theme for your website. If it exceeds then it will take more time to load and can cause your slow WordPress website and reduce site performance. Sometimes the pictures taken from mobiles are larger than the maximum size, which increases loading time.

Solution:

• Use the exact dimension of the images as per your WordPress theme.
• Compress the images manually before uploading.
• Resize your images using photo editing tools before uploading the images.
• Use JPEG instead of PNG.
• It will be best if you use WebP.

Rabbit loader has all of the image optimization stack included.

Use a Content Delivery Network:

Cause:

It is one of the best methods of providing a uniform user experience to users wherever they are located around the globe using a Content Delivery Network (CDN). Visiting a WordPress website means they must download all of the website data. This process does not affect the WordPress speed if the people are from the same region. But it increases concerning the distance from the source of the website despite the speed of the internet.

Solution:

If you use Content Delivery Network it will store your website’s assets in different data centers around the globe. So, it doesn’t affect your WordPress speed of image loading time or WordPress site speed and all the data can be downloaded faster from whichever global data center is nearest to them.

There are several plugins available for this purpose like W3 Total Cache, WP rocket. However, with W3 Total Cache, you have to buy the CDN services separately and configure them with your account.

If you choose to use RabbitLoader, you get an integrated premium CDN with 300+ points of presence, more than any other WP plugins available in this category. 

Enable a Fast-Hosting Platform:

Cause:

If all those ways to increase your website loading speed in WordPress websites are done but your website is still suffering from slow loading speed, then there is a major problem which is slow WordPress hosting. All the above methods are just band-aids for your problem but if the performance of the hosting provider is not up to the mark, then your wound will never heal. It can be the main reason for your slow WordPress site.

Solution:

• Choose a premium high-quality WordPress hosting platform for your website.
• If you have a premium WordPress hosting provider then your website and image loading speed will be very fast. 
• If you are using free services of any WordPress hosting platform try their paid services which may give you a better experience or a faster website load time.

Use Lazy Loading for Your Website Content:

Cause:

For any website, it is common that one page contains several images and videos, especially for e-commerce websites or maybe even for blogging websites. All these images cause slowing down both your website and image loading speed. Because when one tries to open your website, then all the images will load instantly even though the visitor only needs the images on the front fold, not the images below the front fold. This will increase the load time.

Solution:

If you use lazy loading you can choose to only load visible images instead of loading all images all at once which will speed up your image loading speed. Then only the images in the front load will load instantly as the website loads. But the other images will load when the browser detects that the visitor will need those images. The process is called Lazy Load.

Use Proper Plugins:

Cause:

There are various ways that plugins can slow down your website. Poorly developed plugins, outdated plugins, and surplus or duplicate plugins can all pose a problem in terms of making a website load slowly. Sometimes the caching plugin is most responsible.

Usually, speed problems are not related to the number of plugins. The exception to this rule is if you have a lot of plugins that do the same thing or are not being used. In such cases, you should remove the surplus plugins. In general, plugins influence page speed due to their quality and functionality.

Solution:

• It’s smart to run a Google PageSpeed test both when introducing any plugin even for the caching plugin. This will show the effect of the plugin on your site’s speed, so you can settle on an educated choice with regards to whether the plugin’s usefulness merits any site easing back. Some plugins may take a few minutes to warm up and come to effect, so it’s advisable to check the performance after 15-30 minutes of plugin installation.
• You can likewise check how your website speed is impacted by your current plugins by deactivating everyone thus in the ‘plugins’ segment of your WordPress site back-end and afterward running a Google PageSpeed Insights test.
• You ought to likewise make a point to update plugins as and when new programming opens up. Updates are constantly featured on your WordPress dashboard – just check consistently and click on any update messages to activate them and always check on the caching plugin.

Conclusion:

RabbitLoader added an opt-in feature where images are optimized without site owners putting any extra effort. This feature automatically converts your website’s images to WebP. An automatic fallback to the source happens if the encoding cannot be supported by the browser.

Rabbit Loader assists with saving your server’s data transmission or CDN costs by guaranteeing that a few assets are not downloaded until the client looks to where it is required.

Rabbit Loader provides you the largest number of CDN points. Also it is one of the fastest hosting platforms among the available plugins. In one word it will completely enhance your WordPress performance and page load time.