WordPress website optimization is one of the most vital ranking factors for website ranking on Google Search Engine Ranked Pages (SERP). After the introduction of the Google RankBrain AI, the importance of website optimization has been reinstated once again. Nowadays, website optimization holds one of the top three positions among hundreds of ranking factors required to rank a website.
To back it up, according to a survey in 2022, website optimization has been on every SEO expert’s checklist. In fact, most people experimentally found greater benefits after optimizing their websites according to the Google RankBrain standards. And since all the benefits of WordPress website optimization cannot be understated by any standards, we are going to focus on all angles why you should optimize your WordPress website.
In fact, to further explain the reasons why you should optimize your WordPress website, I will clarify some reasons with facts and numbers that will help you understand it properly. So, let’s get down to business.
6 Vital Reasons For Optimizing Your WordPress Website
1. Speed
Do you know how long a user retains attention on your webpage? The answer is – 3 seconds. So in only 3 seconds, a user will decide whether or not to stay on your page or search for the info elsewhere. This is the condition of all internet users’ attention span.
Whereas the time spent by a user per page was around 12 seconds, nowadays, it is reduced by four times to around 3 seconds. This shows how important it is to serve your website at maximum speed.
If anything is going to create a first impression on your website, other than your content, infographics, and all, it will definitely be the speed of your website. And that is exactly where the website optimization factor comes in.
From a page speed diagnosis, you will get a detailed website health report and an overview of where you should focus on getting your site running at maximum potential. Here are some of the best page speed analyser out there:
How To Optimize Website Speed In WordPress
The entire point of optimizing your website’s speed is to retain your customer’s attention. If you have just 3 seconds to hold their attention, it becomes important for you to select what message you are using to communicate with them.
And so, speed should be on top to save you time on the technical end and help you to focus on your business end. Here are some tips that will help:
Choose a reputed hosting provider
Use the latest version of PHP
Delete unused plugins
Minify your JavaScript and CSS files
Optimize your images
Compress files with GZip
Install reputed plugins with no conflict issues
Use a lightweight theme
Organize your WP database
Host videos and images on other servers
Avoid doing redirects
Turn off third-party plugins that do pingbacks and trackbacks
Split long posts into smaller ones
Paginate your posts
Paginate your comments
Use lazy loading for your contents
Use a CDN
Limit post revision
Simplify your website and landing page design
Update everything
2. User Experience
The ability to present something in a plain, easily digestible manner while also making it look appealing is what we call user experience. It is what creates the attraction part of a website. In fact, people are so easily mesmerized by a good-looking site that they usually return 74% of the time.
Also, according to a general survey on website usability and its user experience, 75% of people form their judgment based on the outer look or the aesthetics. To further clarify this, 90% of American internet users make their initial judgments based on the logo, scrolling experience, loading time, site interaction, content structure, infographics, etc.
Here are some more facts to make you more convinced about user experience’s importance.
How To Create Better User Experience (UX) In WordPress
To make things better, I am also giving some tips on how to improve your website’s user experience:
Choose a clean and simple design approach for your website
Make your navigation menu simpler through customization
Split up your posts into smaller chunks
Use different types of content – audio, text, video, etc.
Choose an attractive color palette for your website
Use third-party plugins to improve your website UX
3. Conversion Rate and Traffic Flow
Having traffic on your site is one thing and converting them into potential customers is another – the latter brings in money. And that is why conversion rate is so crucial for a website. There is a saying – “You are more than 293.5 times more likely to climb Mt. Everest than clicking an ad banner.”
On the web, fighting for conversion rate is a struggle of its own. This is because an average website only has a conversion rate of 2.35% and still has the potential to rake in millions of dollars even though some websites carry a 6% or more.
But nowadays, we are witnessing a change in the overall conversion rate with different kinds of ads such as – Instagram Ads, Tiktok Ads, Facebook Ads, etc. All these media have different ad conversion rates and are also greater than 2.35% which is a positive sign for all website creators out there.
However, you still have to invest more to earn more as opposed to a website that brings in organic traffic in most cases.
How To Boost Your Website Conversion Rate In WordPress
Here are some of the best tips to increase your WordPress website conversion rate:
Add a countdown timer for discount offers
Using exit popups
Add a search feature on your website
Make sure form fillup is easy
Improving the CTA ratio
Conduct user testing on the website
Add social proof (video, audio, images) to your website
Add a live chat feature or chatbots
Match your customer persona
Adjust your communication messages with the customer
Use lead generation techniques
Use popups in the right places on your webpage
Optimize your content and messages for better impact
4. Security
The biggest factor that protects your website’s reputation, uninterrupted operation, transaction, etc., is end-to-end security. Therefore, security is in the highest position among all the factors in website optimization. And yet, for some reason, we do not get to talk about it that often.
Most people take WordPress as the best CMS for hosting websites, which is true. However, there are also flaws in the best framework when you have to depend on other plugins, especially when you need to update each component from time to time.
And accordingly, there have been numerous incidents of unwanted hacking or website exploits because the website is not updated to the current standards. And that goes the same for plugins as well. All these causes are sufficient for a hacker to instantly gain access and ruin your business.
How To Improve Your Website Security In WordPress
Here are some tips you can use to secure your website and stop it from falling into the hands of an advanced hacker:
Update your WordPress version regularly
Check your plugin update every time
Change your WP-admin login credentials
Change the URL of your WP-admin login page
Use a safelist and a blocklist for your WP-admin page
Change the location of your WP database
Secure your database through proper encryption
Install an SSL certificate
Remove unused themes and plugins
Limit login attempts
Log out idle users
Turn off file editing
Limit file access permission
Restrict access to the .htaccess file
Monitor user activity on your website
Check the site for malware injection from other sources
Migrate to a secure and reputed hosting service
5. Usability
Website usability is vital for your traffic to return to your site and turn into potential customers. Over the years, usability has become such an important part of a website’s identity that it cannot be understated.
Even though most WordPress themes are well equipped with usability features, some small features tend to slip our attention.
How To Increase Usability of Website In WordPress
Knowing how to increase your website’s usability will take your website to the top of the Google SERP and increase your organic traffic tenfold. Here are some of the points that you need to consider as a business owner:
Create a well-balanced design hierarchy for your website
Arrange your content like you are telling a story
Optimize your message that is relatable to the user
Create a design aesthetic that is exclusive to your website only
Choose an eye-soothing color palette and typography
Understand the user navigation pattern on your website
Improve website speed
6. SEO
SEO is the name of the game when it comes to answering why you should optimize your WordPress website. The bottom line is – no matter what you do, it depends on how well your SEO strategy performs on the Google SERP.
So, to 10x your website’s revenue, it is important to rake in more organic traffic. And the only way to do that is through WordPress SEO. Also, since 75% of all internet users search their queries using Google, so it is better to stay on top of Google’s search list for your keywords.
How To Optimize WordPress Website For SEO
Here are some vital SEO tips on how to optimize a WordPress website for SEO:
Choose a great hosting provider
Pick a trusted WordPress theme
Use a 100% trusted WordPress SEO theme
Optimize your Permalink structure
Create your Sitemap
Design your site schema
Use headings and subheadings throughout your content
Spread your keywords naturally all over your content
Create useful internal and external links
Use a responsive theme for your website
Optimize images
Add and update your posts regularly
Create both long-form and short-form content
Focus on the evergreen content type
Does All These Tasks Seem Daunting To You? Here’s A Solution!
Keeping your eyes and ears open for all kinds of updates is not a one person job. Even if one person can do it, it takes away more time than you’d expect to spend on just optimizing and maintenance. On the other hand, you also need to be updated with the latest knowledge about site optimization to stay on top of your SEO game. Really daunting, isn’t it?
At MalwareCare, we ensure that your website is fully taken care of by all departments. Our experts will specifically help you to maintain a website with the best possible care.
With our experience, MalwareCare does all kinds of website maintenance for domestic and overseas clients. Besides, if you want to have your site modified or create a new site from scratch, that is also within their capacity.
I’ve been using their service for 3 of my sites and never looked back ever since. All three of my sites are doing well in terms of consistent traffic growth, best UX, and running at a top-notch speed.
Conclusion
Properly maintaining and optimizing your WordPress website makes a massive difference in many areas. It improves SERP rankings, drives traffic, improves user experience, and increases revenue.
For any further questions, our team is always here to help!
