Slow speed kills sales. We see the same problem every day for e-commerce store owners: customers visit their site but leave before buying.
At WPBeginner, we help online businesses optimize their websites for lightning-fast performance. We’ve seen their sales increase simply by making their websites load faster.
When your website loads quickly, customers stay longer, browse more products, and are more likely to complete a purchase.
We’ve tested every speed optimization technique you can think of. We’ll share the best strategies we’ve used to help our clients significantly reduce load times and actually increase conversions.
Why Speed Is Important for Your eCommerce Store
We know that website speed isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s a necessity for business growth. When customers click on your product page and nothing happens after a few seconds, they won’t hesitate. They’ll hit the “back” button and buy your competitor’s product instead.
Slow loading times have a much bigger impact on business than most online store owners realize. Akamai research shows that a 100 millisecond delay in website loading time can result in a 7% drop in conversion rates.
For a store that makes $100,000 a month, that means $7,000 in lost revenue just because of a tiny delay that most people won't even notice.
But the impact goes far beyond immediate sales. We’ve also seen how site speed can impact long-term growth through search engine visibility.
Google has made it clear that page speed is an important ranking factor, especially in its Core Web Vitals update. When your SEO rankings improve due to faster load times, you’ll get more organic traffic, which means more potential customers will find your store.
The bottom line is simple: a faster website makes more money and attracts more visitors.
Now let’s dive into the specific strategies we use to help eCommerce stores achieve lightning-fast loading speeds:
- Choosing a Better Ecommerce Hosting Provider
- Install a WordPress caching plugin
- Use the latest PHP version
- Use the latest versions of WordPress and WooCommerce
- Optimize product images for better performance
- Use a DNS-level website firewall
- Choose a Better WordPress Theme
- Use Better WordPress Plugins
- Reduce external HTTP requests
- Reduce database requests
- Optimizing WordPress Database
- Use a staging site to track performance issues
- Offloading e-commerce emails
- Use better conversion rate optimization tools
1. Choose a better eCommerce hosting provider
All the eCommerce performance optimizations you make to your website will have little effect if you don’t have a good eCommerce hosting provider.
Not all WordPress hosting companies are created equal. For best performance, you’ll want to choose an eCommerce hosting provider that:
- Provides a stable and up-to-date platform to host your e-commerce store.
- Optimized for WordPress, WooCommerce, or any other eCommerce plugin you might want to use.
- Their servers are optimized for speed and performance. This means built-in caching, security, and other features to improve performance.
We recommend using SiteGround . SidelinePlay is hosted here and they are one of the officially recommended WordPress hosting providers.
SiteGround servers run on the Google Cloud Platform, which is known for its high performance. They have built-in caching and even have their own optimization plugin that automatically implements many of the performance tricks we’ll recommend later in this article.
If you’re looking for alternatives, then you can check out our list of the best WooCommerce hosting providers.
After setting up your eCommerce store on a good hosting service, you can implement the following optimization tips to improve performance.
2. Install a WordPress caching plugin
WooCommerce is a dynamic e-commerce platform. This means that all your product data is stored in the database, and product pages are generated when users visit your website.
To do this, WordPress needs to run the same process every time. If more people visit your e-commerce store at the same time, WordPress will slow down or even crash.
A caching plugin can help you solve this problem.
Instead of generating the page each time, a caching plugin displays a cached version of the HTML page to the user. This frees up server resources, allowing them to run more efficiently, thus improving website loading times.
There are some great WordPress caching plugins out there. We recommend using WP Rocket . It’s the best WordPress caching plugin out there and has the most beginner-friendly settings.
We love that unlike other WordPress caching solutions, WP Rocket doesn’t wait for users to visit a page before generating a cached version. Instead, it automatically prepares your site’s cache and keeps it updated.
With the right WP Rocket setup, you can easily get near-perfect scores in speed testing tools like Pingdom, GTMetrix, Google Pagespeed Insights, and more.
For more information and instructions, see our article on how to install and setup WP Rocket in WordPress .
Top WordPress hosting companies like SiteGround and Bluehost also offer their own caching solutions.
SiteGround SG Optimizer
SiteGround allows you to easily turn on caching on your eCommerce store using its SG Optimizer plugin.
This all-in-one performance tool includes caching, performance tuning, WebP image conversion in WordPress, database optimization, CSS minification, GZIP compression, and more.
Simply install and activate the SG Optimizer plugin in WordPress. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin .
Upon activation, you can access the plugin settings by clicking on the SG Optimizer menu in the WordPress admin sidebar. Here you need to enable the ‘Dynamic Cache’ option.
Turn on caching on Bluehost
Likewise, Bluehost also allows you to optimize WooCommerce using its built-in caching system.
Simply log in to your Bluehost control panel and go to the Websites page. If you have multiple websites, select your website and switch to the Speed tab.
Here, you need to enable cache control using the toggle button. You can also choose from three different cache levels. Bluehost recommends using the “Assets Only” level for eCommerce sites.
3. Use the latest PHP version
Both WordPress and WooCommerce are primarily written in the PHP programming language.
Each new version of PHP improves performance and runs faster. It also fixes bugs and patches security issues that may affect the stability and speed of your website.
That's why you should always use the latest PHP version.
You can check your eCommerce store’s PHP version by visiting Tools » Site Health in your WordPress dashboard and switching to the ‘Info’ tab.
From here, you need to click on the “Servers” section to expand it.
You will be able to see the PHP version your server is using.
If your website is running a PHP version lower than 8.0, then you should contact your hosting provider and ask them to update it for you.
For more details, see our article on how PHP updates can affect your website.
Note: Some WordPress hosting companies (such as SiteGround ) have built their own Ultrafast PHP to improve overall server response time. Others use PHP FastCGI to help customers improve e-commerce speed.
4. Use the latest versions of WordPress and WooCommerce
WordPress and WooCommerce developers spend a lot of time improving performance during every development cycle. This makes both applications run more efficiently and consume less server-side resources.
Each new version also fixes bugs and enhances security, which is crucial for e-commerce businesses.
As a store owner, it is your responsibility to make sure you are using the latest versions of WordPress, WooCommerce, other plugins, and WordPress themes.
Simply go to Dashboard » Updates page to install all available updates.
**Related: See **our guide on the pros and cons of using WordPress for eCommerce .
5. Optimize product images for better performance
Product images are one of the most important visual elements of your online store. High-quality product images can attract potential customers and help increase sales conversion rates.
That’s why adding high-quality product images is so important. However, you need to make sure that your large image file sizes are properly optimized.
There are two ways to optimize your product images for the web without losing quality.
First, you can optimize each product image on your computer before uploading it to your website. This requires using image editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, Affinity, or GIMP.
Most image repositories offer the option to export your images to the web. You can also adjust the image quality before saving and uploading.
Alternatively, you can use an image compression plugin for WordPress. These plugins will automatically optimize the size of your product images to improve site performance.
In addition to image compression, the image file type you choose can also help. For example, we found that the JPEG format is better for images that contain many colors, while the PNG format is better for transparent images.
6. Use a DNS-level website firewall
Brute force and DDoS attacks are common cyber threats. In simple terms, hackers try to overload your server in order to break into it, steal data, or install malware.
Most hosting companies have basic security measures in place to protect your website from these types of attacks. However, one downside to these types of attacks is that they can make your website load extremely slowly.
This is when you need a website application firewall (WAF).
Today, common WordPress firewall plugins run on your own web server. This makes them less effective because they cannot intercept suspected attacks before they reach your server.
A DNS-level firewall, on the other hand, filters your website traffic in the cloud, blocking suspected attacks before they even reach your website.
We recommend using Sucuri . It is the best WordPress firewall plugin and has a comprehensive security suite.
Sucuri also comes with a powerful CDN (Content Delivery Network). CDN delivers your website's static content (images, style sheets, JavaScript) through a network of servers around the world. This further reduces server load and improves the overall loading time of your website.
If you’re looking for a free option, Cloudflare Free CDN can provide you with a basic level of DNS Firewall protection. We currently use it at WPBeginner.
7. Choose a better WordPress theme
WordPress themes control the look and feel of your eCommerce store. However, not all themes are optimized for performance and often come with too much clutter that can slow down your site.
When choosing a WordPress theme for your eCommerce store, you need to find a balance between functionality and speed. Theme features like sliders, carousels, web fonts, and icon fonts can slow down your site.
We recommend choosing a simple theme and then using plugins to add the functionality you need. This gives you more control over the performance and appearance of your online store.
WordPress themes from StudioPress , Elegant Themes , and Astra are optimized for performance. For more personalized theme recommendations, see our picks for the best WordPress themes .
8. Use better WordPress plugins
One of the most common questions asked by WordPress beginners is how many plugins they can use on their store without affecting performance.
The answer is, as many as you want. We have 62 plugins installed on WPBeginner and the site still loads in less than half a second.
The total number of plugins does not affect the performance of your online store. What affects performance is the quality of the code.
A poorly coded WordPress plugin may load too many scripts or stylesheets, thus affecting page loading speed.
On the other hand, a well-coded plugin will use standard best practices to minimize performance impact. We recommend testing the performance impact of your plugin before and after installing it.
For example, the SeedProd drag-and-drop landing page builder helps you build blazingly fast eCommerce landing pages without writing a single line of code.
For more information on this topic, see our guide on how to choose the best WordPress plugins . It walks you through step-by-step instructions on how to evaluate WordPress plugins and choose the right ones for your online store.
9. Reduce external HTTP requests
A typical e-commerce page consists of multiple components. For example, it contains images, CSS and JavaScript files, video embeds, and so on.
The user's browser loads each component individually by sending an HTTP request to the server. The more HTTP requests, the longer the page will take to load.
Your server may also fetch data from third-party tools and services, such as Google Analytics , social media retargeting, and other services. These are called external HTTP requests. During a typical web page load, these requests may take longer to complete.
It’s okay to have these scripts on your WordPress site, but if they’re affecting your site’s performance, then you need to consider reducing them.
You can view external HTTP requests by visiting your website and opening the Inspect tool in your browser. From here, switch to Sources » Pages tab to view all external HTTP requests.
10. Reduce database requests
WordPress and WooCommerce use a database to store a lot of content and settings. Your WordPress theme and plugins also query the database to get this information and display it on the screen.
Database queries are extremely fast, and your website can run hundreds of queries in just milliseconds. However, if your website experiences a surge in traffic, these queries can slow down your page load times.
You can use a plugin like Query Monitor in WordPress to check your database calls. Upon activation, the plugin will add a Query Monitor menu to your WordPress admin bar.
However, minimizing these requests may not be easy for beginners. For example, you may need to modify your WordPress theme to reduce database calls.
If you are comfortable editing WordPress theme files or debugging the code, then you can look for database calls that can be avoided.
Other users can try to find better WordPress themes and alternative plugins to reduce database calls if necessary.
11. Optimize your WordPress database
After a while, your WordPress database may become bloated with information that you no longer need.
This clutter can degrade database queries, backup processes, and the overall performance of WordPress. Therefore, it is crucial to regularly optimize your WordPress database and clean it of unnecessary information.
Simply install and activate the WP Sweep plugin. Once activated, simply go to Tools » Sweep to clean your WordPress database.
For more information on this topic, see our article on how to optimize your WordPress database for speed and performance.
12. Use a staging site to track performance issues
Making changes to an already live eCommerce store can cause problems. For example, customers could lose their orders, or your site could go down during a promotion.
A staging site helps you easily try out performance optimization techniques, new plugins, or themes without affecting your live store.
Basically, a staging site is a clone of your live site that is used to test changes before publishing them live.
Many popular WordPress hosting companies offer one-click staging site setup. Once you have it setup, you can try out changes and track page load speed and performance.
Once you’re ready to implement those changes, you can simply deploy your staging site to the live version.
13. Offload e-commerce emails
Emails play a very important role in e-commerce stores. They are used to send order confirmations, invoices, password reset emails, sales and marketing information, and much more.
However, many beginners don’t realize this and use their hosting provider’s limited email capabilities to send eCommerce emails.
Most hosting companies do not support the default email feature of WordPress. Some even disable it to prevent spam and abuse.
That’s why you need to use a dedicated SMTP email service provider along with the WP Mail SMTP plugin . These companies specialize in sending bulk emails and ensure a higher deliverability rate, which means your emails won’t end up in spam folders.
We recommend using SendLayer as they are one of the best SMTP service providers for transactional emails .
SendLayer is easy to set up and is compatible with WooCommerce and all popular WordPress contact form plugins. They also offer a 30-day free trial for up to 50,000 emails.
If you want to look at others then you can check out SMTP.com, Brevo (formerly Sendinblue), or Mailgun .
14. Use better conversion rate optimization tools
For e-commerce websites, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is crucial to increase sales.
A typical online store has many dynamic elements to increase conversions, such as a free shipping bar on the homepage, a Black Friday sale countdown timer in the website header, exit-intent popups on the checkout page, and even a spin wheel gamification on the mobile site to reduce cart abandonment.
Store owners and retailers often use a combination of tools and plugins to add these dynamic elements. But the challenge is that not all of them are properly optimized for speed.
That’s why it’s important to choose a conversion optimization tool that offers a suite of features on one platform so that you don’t have to load multiple external scripts.
Here is a list of popular conversion optimization tools we use on e-commerce websites:
- OptinMonster – The most powerful conversion optimization toolkit that allows you to create personalized popups, gamification campaigns, floating bars, and more.
- LiveChat.com – The best live chat software. They also offer ChatBot automation software for WooCommerce and Shopify.
- TrustPulse – The best social proof software on the market, optimized for speed. You can use it to display real-time user activity without slowing down your site.
When it comes to analytics and A/B testing tools, we recommend only using the tools you absolutely need.
For example, if you are launching a new landing page or website design, it is important to run a heatmap analysis. However, after a short analysis, we recommend that you disable heatmaps to avoid slowing down your site.
Likewise, with A/B testing tools, you don’t need to run these scripts on every page of your website. You can selectively load the A/B testing script on specific pages, and don’t forget to remove the script when the test is complete.
We hope this article helped you to speed up your eCommerce website. You can also refer to our WordPress security guide .
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