A slow WordPress site kills conversions, hurts SEO, and frustrates users. Here's the exact optimization checklist we run on every WordPress project at Zainaster.
These optimizations typically take a WordPress site from a 30-40 PageSpeed score to 85+ on mobile. We've done this across dozens of client sites, and the impact on both bounce rate and conversions is dramatic.
Server & Hosting
Use a quality managed WordPress host (Cloudways, Kinsta, or WP Engine)
Enable PHP 8.2+ and OPcache
Set up a CDN (Cloudflare or StackPath)
Enable HTTP/2 or HTTP/3
Configure Redis or Memcached object caching
Caching
Install a page caching plugin (WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache)
Enable browser caching with proper headers
Set up database query caching
Implement fragment caching for dynamic content
Images & Media
Convert images to WebP format
Implement lazy loading for below-the-fold images
Set explicit width/height attributes
Use responsive srcset for different screen sizes
Compress images with ShortPixel or Imagify
CSS & JavaScript
Remove unused CSS (PurgeCSS or plugin-level)
Defer non-critical JavaScript
Minify CSS and JavaScript files
Remove jQuery if not needed
Inline critical CSS for above-the-fold content
Database
Clean up post revisions and auto-drafts
Remove orphaned metadata
Optimize database tables monthly
Limit post revisions in wp-config.php
Plugins & Theme
Audit plugins — remove any unused ones
Replace heavy plugins with lightweight alternatives
Use a performance-optimized theme
Avoid plugins that load scripts on every page
Bonus: Elementor-Specific Optimizations
If you're using Elementor, keep these additional tips in mind:
- → Turn on Elementor's built-in “Performance” experiments
- → Use widgets that conditionally load assets — like Nebula Forge
- → Avoid nesting too many sections (keep DOM depth shallow)
- → Replace background videos with optimized WebM or poster images
- → Use Elementor's built-in lazy loading for images and videos
The result?
Following this checklist, our WordPress builds consistently score 90+ on Google PageSpeed Insights (mobile), with LCP under 2.5s and CLS under 0.1.