iPage slow load times are a headache for everyone. If your website takes too long to load, this guide will teach you how to fix slow load time problems.
We will show you 20 full-proof working methods to optimize your websites on iPage. It works on web hosting as well as WordPress hosting.
To make your work easier, we have listed the methods starting from the best. So, you will start seeing a faster loading speed as you implement these tweaks.
Let’s start the guide.
How to fix iPage slow load times
We will now see the steps you can take to improve your iPage loading speed.
Before getting started, take a backup of your website and database before implementing these steps to avoid any issues.
1. Optimize your images
Images consume the maximum amount of your data. It takes more time to load images. So, the best way to fix the slow load times is to compress and resize the images.
If you want to add a thumbnail on a post, WordPress or any other script will first store the primary image of full size and then create a new image of a smaller size. So you can remove unwanted images.
WordPress users can try the Smush plugin. There are multiple plugins you can use. However, Smush works excellently. We will even use Smush in the following steps. So, it’s good to install it.
In Dashboard, you can compress the images.
It also has the option to resize the images automatically as you upload them.
Other script users can do it manually. You can also use online sites to compress the images.
2. Minimize HTTP requests
When a user visits your website, it will first send HTTP requests to all the files necessary for the homepage. So, if you have CSS files and multiple Javascript files, it will send an HTTP request to all these files.
Therefore, one way to minimize HTTP requests is to combine CSS and JS files. You can do it manually and integrate everything in a minimum number of files if you are a developer.
However, if you are using WordPress or another CMS, the cache plugin will do the job.
You can use WP Rocket for this. After installation, you can head over to “File Optimization” from the plugin menu and enable the combination of JS and CSS from there.
The option will only show when you enable the “Minify CSS files” option.
You can then apply the same process for JS.
3. Delete unused plugins
You can delete unused plugins from your website. Usused plugins take up a lot of space on your website.
Therefore, you can delete unused plugins or use a better-optimized plugin.
To do it, you can simply head over to Plugins and click on “Deactivate”; thereafter, you can “Delete” them. Deactivating the plugin generally works. However, if you don’t use them, we recommend deleting them.
Also, you can install plugins that work in the cloud. For instance, WordFence uses local resources, whereas Sucuri uses the cloud. You can try similar plugins wherever possible.
4. Use a content delivery network (CDN)
You can use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to distribute your website’s content globally. A CDN will create a cache of your website and store it in different locations.
Whenever a user visits your website, the CDN will serve it from the nearest location. Cloudflare is an excellent CDN you can try.
- Head over to Cloudflare and register your account.
- You will get an option to add your website. This is where you can add your domain name.
- You can select the free plan, no need to pay.
- They will ask you for more info about the website and will ask you to verify your website. You can take help from iPage support if you don’t have the necessary details.
- Once you do it, you will receive nameservers from Cloudflare.
- Head over to your domain registrar and replace the nameservers.
- Save the changes, and you are all set.
5. Minify and compress files
You can compress files that are too big. For instance, if you have a video on the homepage, you can either embed it to a third-party site or compress it. In the same way, you can manually minify big files.
Removing characters or decreasing size usually helps.
Even cache plugins have the option, as seen in the above method. WP Rocket has easy options for these. You can scroll down in the file optimization section and find most options.
If, for some reason, you don’t want to use a cache plugin, you can use a standalone plugin for it called “Merge + Minify + Refresh”. Activate the plugin, and you are good to go.
6. Optimize your database
When you delete a plugin, the plugin data is still stored in your database. Your database contains many useless files. These are drafts of your posts, thrashed images and posts, deleted comments, pingbacks, and many others.
You don’t require these things. So, we recommend deleting thrash posts/pages, removing users, removing pingbacks, deleting drafts posts if you don’t need them, etc.
For intermediate users, you can even use a database optimizer. Install WP-Optimize and head over to WP-Optimize from the WordPress menu. Select optimization and run the operation.
Advanced users can manually delete useless table entries and even tables by running database queries such as:
OPTIMIZE TABLE ‘wp_posts;
You can do the same for posts, users, comments, pages, etc.
7. Choose a lightweight theme or template
You can use a lightweight theme or template to optimize your website. Premium theme consumes a lot of space due to their UI. You can choose a lightweight theme.
It’s usually given in the theme’s title or the features section. You can also check the file size manually. If you have more graphics, it will surely take up more space.
Even page builder plays a crucial role in loading speed. So, make sure you are using a reputed page builder.
8. Monitor and optimize plugins
As mentioned above, you can delete the plugins you no longer need.
This step is quite similar. You can monitor the plugins and optimize them as you move. For instance, if the social icon plugin takes too long to load, you can replace the plugin with another one.
You should also try finding a single plugin for multiple uses. As mentioned, you can use a cache plugin for minifying javascript, caching, etc. So, you can prefer such plugins instead of using individual ones.
Also, try to look for the latest version with recent updates and tested for your WordPress version.
9. Check for external resource issues
If you are using third-party scripts, it’s time to review it. Some third-party apps or widgets cause issues and slow your website. You can try disabling them for a while and see if it makes a difference.
The same goes for WordPress plugins. At first, you can see if the plugin is from a reputed developer (whether it has enough positive reviews or not). After that, you can disable it and see if it speeds up your website. Keep ads or analytics code to a minimum.
Lastly, you can fix external resource issues using the following method.
10. Disable unnecessary WordPress features
The reason for iPage slow load times is also because of the unnecessary features in your WordPress. As it’s a CMS, there are multiple features that you might not require.
Asset CleanUp is the best plugin to remove all unnecessary WordPress features.
- Install the plugin and head over to Asset CleanUp in the WordPress menu.
- You can enable test mode and make the changes to avoid messing up. The test option is available in the settings tab of the plugin.
- You can disable the features from the home page, plugin page, etc.
- You will find the options to change all settings.
11. Implement Lazy loading
Lazy loading automatically loads images and content as users scroll down the page. You can use the Smush plugin here to enable lazy loading.
When you enable lazy loading, the images will load after loading the page. So, the page is loaded first, and then the images are loaded. This makes users think that the site is speedy.
The Smush plugin has Lazy loading features. So, you just need to enable it during the setup. By default, it’s enabled. So, you can just keep it as it is and continue.
12. Enable GZIP compression
You can enable GZIP compression. It compresses the data and delivers it to the visitors. After enabling it, you will see slight speed changes.
You can turn it on by changing the settings of cache plugins. As we have talked about W3 Total Cache, we will continue the steps for the same.
- Head over to W3 Total Cache > General settings.
- Scroll down and look for “Browser cache”.
- Enable it by checking the box.
- Save the changes.
If you are using WP Rocket, GZIP compression is automatically done for you without making any changes.
13. Use the Optimal PHP version
Enabling the latest PHP version is of utmost importance to fix slow load times for iPage. iPage usually uses the latest PHP version. However, you can still try to check the same.
Go to “Scripting Configuration” from the left panel and look for “Manage PHP Scripting”.
Thereafter, you can click on “Manage PHP version”.
After that, you just need to select the latest version from the drop-down. Don’t forget to check the features of your website after making the changes.
Some features might not work if you change the version. So, if you have any script running on the front end, you must test it before moving on to the next step. If something goes wrong, you can always revert to the original version.
14. Enable asynchronous loading
It’s recommended only if you are using a custom plugin or script. If you use a CMS, this is automatically done by the CMS system or the plugin.
By default, a webpage loads the first asset and then the rest. Asynchronous loading allows you to enable the loading of all the scripts altogether.
With this, most elements of the web page are displayed as they are loaded, resulting in better speed.
You can use Async JavaScript plugin in WordPress if needed. However, it doesn’t make significant changes. Activate the plugin, and you can sit back and relax. You can still control the synchronization of files (you can exclude or include them).
15. Minimize redirects
When a user visits the site, the script often redirects the user to another URL. This can be as small as redirecting from HTTP to HTTPS.
You can use GTmetrix to analyze your site.
After that, you can fix the issues with the tips given there.
Further, it’s also good to minimize 301 and 302 redirects on the home page.
16. Optimize CSS and JavaScript delivery
If using a custom code, you should load CSS files in the document head and JavaScript files before the closing </body> tag. Here’s a quick reference on how to optimize the delivery.
<head>
<title>Your Page Title</title>
<link rel=”stylesheet” href=”styles.css”>
<!– Other meta tags, favicons, etc. go here –>
</head>
For people using script or CMS, you can skip this step.
17. Use a caching plugin
As mentioned in the 2nd step, you can always use a cache plugin. The free plugin is W3 Total Cache; if you want to go with premium, you can use WP Rocket. We have already mentioned a lot about W3. So, we will focus on WP Rocket here.
The setup wizard takes you through all the necessary settings. After that, click “WP Rocket” in the menu. You will find the quick summary in the dashboard and more options in the “Cache” tab. Make sure you enable mobile caching.
18. Optimize your website’s code
The next step is again for the advanced users or if you have done any custom code. If you have any specific custom code on your iPage hosting, that might be the reason for the slow load times.
So, fixing this by optimizing the website’s code is recommended.
You can review HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code if it’s custom. It also applies if you have hired a developer to make the changes. You can ask them to optimize it for speed.
19. Avoid hosting multiple websites on your iPage account
iPage is one of the cheapest hosting services out there. So, there are very limited server resources for each hosting user account. Therefore, you shouldn’t host multiple websites on a single account.
If you use shared hosting, the resources are shared with many users. You can either upgrade your plan or head over to the next step.
20. Switch to a better hosting provider
The last step to fix iPage load times is to switch to a better hosting provider. There are multiple good hosting providers you can switch to. If you are looking for cheap hosting, you can switch to DreamHost.
The next alternative is SiteGround. It will cost you a bit more. However, you will get a fantastic performance here.
Conclusion
To summarize, there are a few things you can keep in mind. To begin with, you can start with a concrete cache plugin such as WP Rocket that will do most work, including cache, minifying, lazy loading, and much more.
It’s important to note that not all the techniques will work for you. Depending on your site environment, you must skip some methods, or the steps may vary.
You can gradually implement these steps and monitor performance after each step to get the maximum out of this guide.
The last alternative is to switch to a better hosting such as DreamHost or SiteGround.
How was your experience in fixing slow iPage load times using this tutorial? Did you enjoy it? Let us know in the comments below. Don’t forget to share this article with your audience and fellow hosting mates.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
How to fix iPage email slow?
You can check the spam filters and DNS settings. If it doesn’t work, you can try to contact iPage support.
How to fix iPage database slow?
You can optimize the database by heading over to database management and clicking on management. There will be an option to “Optimize table” at the bottom of the table. This will remove unnecessary data from the table.
How to fix why is iPage domain slow?
The iPage domain slow issue is because of the limited capacity of the server. Reducing HTTP requests, optimizing all your assets (images, CSS, JS), caching your site, etc. usually helps speed up your site.
How to fix why is iPage ftp slow?
iPage FTP mainly depends on the server. So, it’s better to switch to a different hosting provider.
