[SPEED] Elementor Slow - WordPress Site Speed

[SPEED] Elementor Slow - WordPress Site Speed

3 New Tips to Improve your Performance as a Web Developer Reading [SPEED] Elementor Slow - WordPress Site Speed 3 minutes Next Happy Birthday, WordPress!

Does Elementor Slow Down Your Site? 80% of my clients would respond with Yes.

TL;DR – This is not a tutorial about how to speed Elementor.

Does Elementor Slow Down Your Site?

Yes, at least 80% of the people who request WordPress speed optimization service from me have used Elementor (combined with other themes).

Since the most recent Google Core Web Vitals update, from June 2021, I get countless number of WordPress speed optimization requests from potential clients, each day. The most common “element” between these potential clients is they are using Elementor. And not only they are using a heavy plugin, but most of them are using unoptimized content (images over 1MB, for example) and, in some cases, really bad hosting (huge TTFB and Load Time).

Guys! Stop making your sites looks like a disco and expecting 90+ speed scores, by using an $0.99’s shared hosting. It is impossible.

  • Elementor says one of the reasons your site is slow is the bad/cheap server where you host your website. It is true!
  • Elementor says your Media is not optimized, so your website gets slow. Again, true!
  • But Elementor don’t mention anything about the bloated code it adds and how these pieces of scripts affects the site speed.

So, in the rush of the Get the best speed score you can, many people starting to look out for alternatives. They are trying a lot of combinations between different themes and Elementor. For example, a good combination could be Astra (or GeneratePress, or Kadence, or Genesis, etc) + Elementor, but it’s seems not to be enough. Others are moving their sites from Elementor to Oxygen (another builder, lighter than Elementor, but less popular). Others move from Elementor to Gutenberg – Not really a bad idea, because Gutenberg is a part of WordPress CMS.

This is not another “Increase speed” article (you already have one here). It’s a fact (observed, at least, on the people who contacted me in the last weeks). In the vast majority of them, they are using Elementor. No, this is not something against Elementor: They are doing a good job with their product, but on the “site speed” side, they…have more work to invest.

Well, Even If You’re Using Elementor, Oxygen, Gutenberg Or Other Builder, Don’t Forget:

  1. Cheap hosting = Bad hosting. No matter what. Also, avoid EIG companies (Google it). If you have a good number of visitors (not saying big, or huge), upgrade from the shared package.
  2. Optimize your media files: Don’t upload 5MB 5000X5000 size pictures. Adjust and compress them.
  3. Cache&CDN=Love. Use them without fear.
  4. Don’t use a ton of plugins. And update them, and the theme and the WordPress CMS. BEFORE ANY UPDATE, DO A BACKUP! The idea is to use only what you really want. Also, avoid those Share plugins. If anyone finds your content interesting, he or she will share it anyway.

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