If you have filled in your first Optimization request and want to know what will happen with your website, continue reading this article. If you haven’t done that, you can start an Optimization request as shown here.
Is my site being backed up?
Before starting the optimization process, our team will create a full website backup of your website.
Please avoid working on your website while the optimization process is ongoing. You may lose some work and it will be twice harder for our experts to do their work properly.
If you are unhappy with the results of changes made, we can fully restore your website to its original state.
Optimization process
Our optimization team will then optimize your website in the following ways:
- Installing a cache plugin and setting it up correctly to work with the WPX platform and our custom CDN, thereby (usually) improving performance scores on tools like GT Metrix, Pingdom Tools, and Google Page Speed Insights as much as possible;
- Page Optimization – minify/combine CSS/JS. Very important for page scope improvement, but it may not be possible to implement it on every website. Our experts will do their best to successfully do the minification process for your page.
- Optimization for all images used on the website by reducing image file sizes with minimal loss of quality. This normally improves the loading speed, and test grades and lowers bandwidth consumption;
- Database optimization (removing unnecessary/old tables from the database, to reduce the size and for faster operation). Before the optimization, our team will create a full database backup to ensure that we will return your website fully operational;
- Detailed plugin audit (our team will review all of your plugins and identify those that are delaying and/or preventing the site from working faster). We will make sure to point out every plugin that consumes too many resources.;
- Run new GTmetrix tests on the website before and after optimization, with a list of all the changes that our Security & Optimization team has done;
- Full backups ( files and database/s) before and after optimization, in case you are not satisfied with our optimization.
- You will receive a full report on what has been done to your website when the Optimization team completes their work.
Optimization Goals
Generally speaking, these are the targets we are aiming for:
- TTFB (Time To First Byte) – under 250ms in the state where it’s hosted, under 400ms internationally.
- FCP (First Contentful Paint) – under 2 seconds.
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) – under 4.5 seconds.
- Load Time (document complete) – under 2.5 seconds.
Keep in mind that not every website may be able to reach the targets above as site configuration can affect the optimization result.
For example, sites running WooComerce, e-commerce, LMS, Podcasts, E-Learning, and Multilanguage are much heavier sites and it is almost impossible to reach these targets for them.
Mobile Optimizations
The Optimization Team primarily focuses on improving the desktop version of your website. However, some changes made during this process may also enhance the mobile score. It’s important to note that we do not specialize strictly in mobile optimizations. These improvements often depend on factors such as the theme, the site builder, and the structure of the site itself. While we can offer advice on mobile optimization, it is not the primary focus of our work.
For those interested in mobile-specific strategies, consider adopting a mobile-first design approach. This method prioritizes the mobile user experience by beginning the design process with smaller screens in mind and then scaling up for larger devices. By focusing on mobile users first, you can ensure that all content and features are accessible and functional on smaller screens.
How long will the optimization take?
The period in which optimization is completed is 72 hours – 3 working days, the requests are not being processed during the weekend. Optimization requests sent during the weekend will be started on Monday.
At WPX, your first site speed optimization is free for any website hosted with us BUT if extra speed optimizations are requested on the same site that we have previously already optimized, there is a $139 charge for that work.
If our Optimization Team is unable to optimize your website for some reason, you will receive a full refund.
If you get stuck with anything discussed on this page, please get in touch with the WPX Support Team via live chat (use the bottom right-hand widget) and they will respond and help within 30 seconds or less.