Optimizing the CSS in WordPress is important to improve the performance of your WordPress website and reduce page load time. Here are some tips for optimizing the CSS on your WordPress site:
- Minifying CSS Files: Minifying CSS files involves removing unnecessary whitespace, comments, and code from your CSS files. This can reduce the size of your CSS files and improve load times. You can use a plugin like Autoptimize to automatically minify your CSS files.
- Combine CSS files: Combine multiple CSS files into one to reduce the number of requests to the server and save load time. This is one of the WordPress CSS optimization techniques incorporated into WordPress optimization plugins.
- Defer or load CSS asynchronously: Defer or load CSS asynchronously can help speed up the rendering of your web pages. By deferring or asynchronously loading your CSS files, your website's HTML will load first and your CSS will load second, reducing first-paint time.
- Online Critical CSS – Online Critical CSS can help improve the perceived speed of your website. By embedding critical CSS, you can ensure that the CSS required to render content at the top of the page loads and renders quickly.
- Remove Unused CSS – Unused CSS can slow down your website and affect its performance. You can use a plugin to automatically remove unused CSS from your website.
- Use audit tools: Use audit tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to get insights on how to optimize your CSS and improve the speed of your WordPress website.
- Use a CDN: Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) service like Cloudflare or MaxCDN to load your CSS files from a server closer to the user and reduce load time.
By optimizing your CSS in WordPress, you can improve the loading speed and performance of your website and provide a better user experience for your visitors.
I want to optimize WordPress
If you want a more specific guide to optimize a WordPress website, fill out our Contact Form. In less than 72 hours we will send you the results of a preliminary SEO audit and an action plan that includes times and costs. Don't forget to include the URL of the WordPress website you want to optimize and an email to send you the results.
Advantages and disadvantages of using plugins to optimize CSS WordPress
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of optimizing the CSS of your WordPress website using plugins compared to doing it manually or without using plugins:
Advantages of using plugins to optimize WordPress CSS:
- Easy to use and configure – Plugins usually have a friendly user interface that makes it easy to set optimization options.
- Time saving – Plugins can automate many optimization tasks, which can save time and effort.
- Accessibility – Many plugins are free or affordable, making them accessible to most users.
Disadvantages of using plugins to optimize WordPress CSS:
- Incompatibility – Some plugins may be incompatible with other WordPress plugins or themes, which may cause performance issues on your WordPress website.
- Performance: Some plugins can affect the performance of your WordPress website, especially if they have too many options enabled or are poorly programmed.
- Dependency – Using plugins can make your WordPress website dependent on them, which can be a problem if the plugin stops updating or if you decide to uninstall it in the future.
Advantages of optimizing WordPress CSS manually or without using plugins:
- Full control: By doing it manually, you have full control over the optimization options and can customize them to your specific needs.
- Better performance: Optimizing CSS manually can be more efficient in terms of performance than using plugins.
- Less dependency: By doing it manually, your WordPress website does not depend on any plugin, which reduces the risk of compatibility or performance issues.
Disadvantages of optimizing WordPress CSS manually or without using plugins:
- Requires technical knowledge: To optimize CSS manually, you need to have technical knowledge about HTML, CSS and WordPress.
- Time consuming – Manual optimization can be a very time consuming process, especially if your WordPress website has a lot of content or you are not familiar with optimization tools.
- Risk of errors: By doing it manually, there is a higher risk of making mistakes or introducing problems to the WordPress website.
In general, using plugins to optimize the CSS of your WordPress WordPress website is a good option if you do not have technical knowledge and if you want to save time and effort. However, if you are an advanced user or if you prefer more control over optimization, doing it manually or without using plugins may be a better option.
Optimize WordPress CSS without plugins step by step
Here is a step-by-step guide to optimizing the CSS of your WordPress website without using plugins:
Step 1: Combine CSS files
CSS file merging is a technique that involves combining all CSS files into one to reduce the number of HTTP requests and speed up the load time of your WordPress website. To do this without a plugin, follow these steps:
- Open your header.php file in your WordPress theme folder.
- Find the link tag that references your CSS file.
- Copy the reference and paste it into a text editor.
- Repeat this process for all the CSS files you want to combine.
- Copy all the CSS code and paste them into a single CSS file.
- Save the file with a different name, preferably in a new folder called "CSS."
Step 2: Minify the CSS file
CSS minification is a technique that involves removing all whitespace, comments, and other unnecessary characters in the CSS file to reduce its size and speed up the loading time of your WordPress website. To do this without a plugin, follow these steps:
- Open the CSS file that you created in the previous step in a text editor.
- Copy all of the CSS code and paste it into an online CSS minification tool, such as CSS Minifier or CSS Compressor.
- Click “Minify” or “Compress”.
- Copy the minified code and paste it into the original CSS file.
- Save the file.
Step 3: Add the "defer" attribute to the link tag
Adding the "defer" attribute to the link tag in your header.php file allows the CSS file to load after all page content has loaded, which can improve the performance of your WordPress website. To do this without a plugin, follow these steps:
- Open your header.php file in your WordPress theme folder.
- Find the link tag that references your CSS file.
- Add the "defer" attribute after the "rel" property. For example:
- Save the file.
With these steps, you should have successfully optimized the CSS of your WordPress website without using plugins. Remember to back up your files before making any major changes.
List of the most popular plugins to optimize CSS WordPress
Here is a list of the most popular plugins to optimize CSS in WordPress:
- Autoptimize: This plugin optimizes and combines CSS and JavaScript files to speed up the load time of your WordPress website. It also includes minification and file merging options.
- WP Rocket: This caching and optimization plugin includes a CSS optimization feature that combines and minifies your WordPress website's CSS files to improve its performance.
- Fast Velocity Minify: This plugin combines, minifies and optimizes the CSS and JavaScript files of your WordPress website to improve its performance and reduce loading time.
- W3 Total Cache: This caching and optimization plugin includes a CSS minification and merging feature to reduce the number of HTTP requests and speed up the load time of your WordPress website.
- CSSHero: This plugin allows you to customize the CSS of your WordPress website without the need to edit the code. It also includes a CSS optimization feature that combines and minifies your WordPress website's CSS files to improve its performance.
- Hummingbird: This plugin includes a CSS optimization feature that combines and minifies the CSS files of your WordPress website to improve its performance. It also includes tools to optimize the cache and overall performance of your WordPress website.
- OptimizePress: This page builder plugin includes a CSS optimization feature that combines and minifies the CSS files of your WordPress website to improve its performance.
These are just some of the most popular plugins for optimizing CSS in WordPress. It is important to remember that you should always backup your WordPress website before making any major changes.
List of most popular CDNs to optimize CSS WordPress
Here is a list of some of the most popular CDNs that you can use to optimize the CSS of your WordPress website:
- Cloudflare – A free CDN that offers a wide variety of optimization features, including minification and CSS file merging, as well as file caching and compression.
- MaxCDN – A CDN that focuses on the delivery of multimedia content and offers a wide variety of configuration options for CSS optimization.
- Amazon CloudFront – An Amazon Web Services CDN that offers a wide variety of optimization features, including file compression, file caching, and content delivery optimization.
- KeyCDN – A CDN that focuses on high-speed content delivery and offers a wide variety of optimization features, including compression and file caching.
- Akamai – A CDN that focuses on enterprise-level content delivery and offers a wide variety of optimization features, including compression and file caching, as well as optimization of content delivery on mobile devices.
These are just some of the CDN options available to optimize the CSS of your WordPress website. It is important to research and evaluate the different options to choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.
Optimize WordPress CSS when using HTTP/2
HTTP/2 is a communication protocol used for data transfer on the web that is characterized by its speed and efficiency. When using HTTP/2, there are certain considerations to take into account when optimizing the CSS of your WordPress website. Here are some recommendations for optimizing the CSS of your WordPress website when using HTTP/2:
Minimize the number of CSS files
Although HTTP/2 allows multiple HTTP requests in parallel, it is still more efficient to minimize the number of CSS files that are loaded on a page. To do this, combine all the CSS files into one or several large files.
Use the lazy loading technique
Lazy loading, also known as lazy loading, is a technique that involves loading a page's CSS only when required, rather than loading it all at once. This can significantly improve the performance of your WordPress website over HTTP/2.
Prioritize the loading of critical CSS
Critical CSS is the CSS that is needed to render the page properly. To optimize the loading of critical CSS, you can use lazy loading technique for non-critical CSS and load critical CSS immediately and inline.
Use the browser cache
HTTP/2 supports browser caching, which means you can cache CSS files in the user's browser for faster loading on subsequent visits. Be sure to set your browser cache appropriately to take full advantage of this functionality.
Use a server optimized for HTTP/2
To get the most out of HTTP/2, it is important to use a web server that is optimized for this protocol. Be sure to choose a web host that supports HTTP/2 and is optimized for this protocol.
With these recommendations, you should be able to successfully optimize the CSS of your WordPress website when using HTTP/2. It is important to remember that you should always backup your WordPress website before making any major changes.
Pagespeed Insights Recommendations for Optimizing CSS WordPress
Google PageSpeed Insights is a website performance analysis tool that provides recommendations to improve the speed and efficiency of your WordPress website. Here are some specific PageSpeed Insights recommendations for optimizing CSS in WordPress:
- Reduce CSS file size: PageSpeed Insights suggests reducing the size of your CSS file to improve the load time of your WordPress website. You can do this by removing unnecessary CSS code or by minifying the CSS.
- Using a CSS minification tool: PageSpeed Insights suggests using CSS minification tools to reduce the size of the CSS file, such as WP Minify, W3 Total Cache, or any other CSS optimization tool available.
- Remove Unused CSS: PageSpeed Insights suggests removing unused CSS code on your WordPress website to reduce CSS file size and improve page load speed.
- Leverage Browser Cache – PageSpeed Insights suggests leveraging browser cache to reduce the number of requests for CSS files and speed up WordPress website load time.
- Use asynchronous CSS loading: PageSpeed Insights suggests using asynchronous CSS loading to improve WordPress website load time, which means that the CSS file is loaded in the background while the page content is displayed to the user.
- Optimize CSS Delivery: PageSpeed Insights suggests optimizing CSS file delivery by using CDNs, file compression, and using efficient file transfer protocols.
By following these recommendations from PageSpeed Insights, you can optimize the CSS of your WordPress website.
I want to optimize WordPress
If you want a more specific guide to optimize a WordPress website, fill out our Contact Form. In less than 72 hours we will send you the results of a preliminary SEO audit and an action plan that includes times and costs. Don't forget to include the URL of the WordPress website you want to optimize and an email to send you the results.
