WordPress Speed Optimization: How To Rank Higher In Google

This lesson is going to be a quick and dirty update to my VPS Series. What we’re going to cover is how to perform WordPress speed optimization after moving from basic hosting to a virtual private server. We’ll discuss a couple of free WordPress plugin I used and the Udemy WordPress training I followed for this how to lesson.

Part #4 – Optimizing WordPress

It’s been 7 months now since VMinstall has been running on CloudWays with a DigitalOcean VPS.

And at this time (knock on wood), I’m comfortable saying my WordPress is optimized.

But a lot has happened since the VPS case study I posted in November, and I want my readers to know about my experiences (good or bad).

You see, it just wasn’t the dream I thought it was going to be after moving VMinstall off shared hosting to a VPS,

I admit I was very frustrated with my previous hosting provider – but after a couple of frustrating moments with my new VPS, I was ready for Namecheap hosting. 🙂

Insane, right?

It’s all good now, and in a moment I’m going to save you hours of research time when I share how I was able to successfully speed optimize my WordPress in minutes once AJ showed me what to do.

WordPress Speed Optimization: DigitalOcean VPS

WARNING: What I’m about to share isn’t for everyone so please consult your webmaster for assistance!

There’s a lot that goes on behind the scene to manage a VPS, which by the way, you don’t deal with on shared hosting.

So after the migration off shared hosting to a VPS, I went all out and installed TotalCache and set up Cloudflare hoping to squeeze more juice out of my DigitalOcean VPS.

I hunted down every tutorial I could find on TotalCache, but to my dismay, not much was available for setting up TotalCache on a Cloudways provisioned DigitalOcean VPS.

Eventually, I uninstalled TotalCache and CloudFlare because WordPress just wasn’t as snappy as I thought it should be. I also thought the administration was becoming far too complex.

At this point in the migration, my WordPress was OK, but  I wasn’t done turning knobs and tuning for more performance. I knew there had to be something else!

Now let’s jump to the really good stuff…

Perseverance paid off:

I kept researching and found “The WpFASTER WordPress Speed Optimization Master Course” on Udemy. (BTW, now I buy Udemy courses all the time for everything!)

Here are all the benefits I got from AJ’s Udemy Course:

• The most comprehensive, in-depth WordPress speed optimization course in all of its existence.
• 43 Relevant HD Videos by an instructor who wants to see me succeed in my mission.
• Ways to get greater user engagement, longer on-site times, and better search engine positioning.
• Includes basic, intermediate, and advanced techniques and configurations, without having to learn ANY code.
• Troubleshooting steps to solve optimization issues as they happen.

Sample Lesson:

>> click here to watch more previews <<

SWEET, right!

I purchased the course and went step by step with AJ McKay.

And yes, AJ even covered tuning TotalCache and a few other cool WP Plugins.

Just to be upfront about this, I noticed AJ was using Shared Hosting for his examples, but no problem because I was able to adapt the lesson for my DigitalOcean VPS.

Here’s how I ended up speed optimizing my WordPress:

• Installed and configure Autoptimize per AJ’s course (with modifications).
• Installed and configured TotalCache per AJ’s course (with modifications).
• Setup the CDN Hack per AJ’s course.
• Tuned my WP installation per AJ’s course.

Cdn hack

I’m sure there’s more I could play around with such as re-configuring Cloudflare, but for now, I’m fine where things are.

In conclusion, I recommend if you’re having speed issues with WordPress that you take a few minutes,  click here to check out Udemy and watch the WpFASTER WordPress Speed Optimization Intro.  Good Luck!

Thanks for reading! Please share your thought and feedback below. Also, if you’re a business owner here’s a link if you and want to see a guide about setting up a small business website.