If your website is experiencing an unusually slow loading time, you can check the performance of your website at http://www.webpagetest.org/
When the results of the test are complete, you will be able to see the load time. If load time is slower than usual, here are some steps you can take to diagnose and address the issue:
- You can diagnose the reason for a slow load time by running a traceroute. This will show you all the network hops between you and the server hosting the website, including the speeds to reach each. To run a traceroute, open your computer's command prompt and type in tracert example.com (Windows) or traceroute example.com (Mac). If a timeout occurs right away, check your local network or router. If the timeout occurs later down the line, then you can contact your internet service provider.
- Large images can significantly slow down a website. Make sure to optimise your images to the web by compressing them without compromising too much on quality.
- Enabling browser caching will allow frequent accessed resources to be stored on the user's device, reducing the need to re-download them each time. Configure your server to set appropriate caching headers.
- Ensure you are monitoring plugins and scripts. Excessive or poorly coded plugins can slow down your website. Remove any unnecessary plugins and ensure that the ones you're using are up-to-date and optimised.
