Page speed is a product feature. Slow sites lose readers, ad viewability, and search visibility. A practical performance checklist beats vague „optimize everything“ goals.
Measure first with field data and lab tools. Identify the largest contentful paint element, render-blocking scripts, and oversized images. Fix the top three offenders before rewriting the whole stack.
Compress images, serve modern formats, lazy-load below-the-fold media, and cache static assets aggressively. On WordPress magazine sites, limit homepage widgets and third-party scripts that compete with content.
Fonts and analytics often add unexpected delay. Self-host critical fonts, subset them, and defer non-essential tags until after interaction where policy allows.
Re-test after each change. Performance work is iterative: a plugin update or ad script can undo last month’s gains overnight.
