6 Easy Steps to Make Your Site Speed Soar

Happy New Year, everyone. I hope you had a blast. 

As for me and my dogs, we spent New Year’s Day hiding underneath our dining table.

My dog Kuya was trembling from the fireworks. So, I wrapped a blanket around him and held him close to help him feel safe. Meanwhile, my other dog, Bunso, sat beside me, acting “brave” but still keeping close. 

Now that the festivities are over, let’s get to work.

After Christmas, I treated myself to an SEO course to help me and my clients.

One of the first steps mentioned in the course? Improving your website’s site speed—a crucial factor for user experience and search rankings. 

This 2025, my mission is to focus on publishing content on my website, and use LinkedIn and YouTube as my chosen platform for content distribution.

But this mission will not be possible if my site speed is getting in the way. 

​​A slow website can frustrate visitors, hurt search rankings, and derail even the best-laid content plans. 

I didn’t want technical issues interfering with this mission, so I decided to tackle my site speed head-on and to make sure my website was ready for the year ahead.

Affiliate Disclaimer: Pet Content Solutions is a proud partner of the Amazon Services LLC Associates and other pet businesses. Therefore, this blog post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission for qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Funds go to chimken, veggies, and toys for my dogs Kuya and Bunso. Please read the disclaimer for more info.

Why Site Speed Matters

Site speed isn’t just a technical detail—it can make or break your online presence. Here’s why it’s so important:

1. Drive Traffic

A fast website ranks better on search engines like Google. In the pet care industry, where competition is fierce, even a one-second delay can push you lower in search results and reduce your visibility.

2. Build Credibility

Imagine landing on a pet care website that takes forever to load. Would you trust it? A fast website shows professionalism and reliability, keeping your visitors engaged and confident in your business.

3. Foster Engagement

Pet parents and pet businesses want quick answers and smooth experiences. If your site takes too long to load, visitors may leave before they even see your content.

A faster site keeps them on the page, exploring your offerings and building trust.

Learn more: Link Building for Pet Businesses: How to be the Buzz in the Pet Community

How I Improved My Website’s Site Speed: Step by Step

Here’s exactly what I did to turbocharge my site speed and ensure my website was ready for the year ahead:

Step 1: Test Your Current Site Speed

Before making changes, I needed to know where I stand. 

I used free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights and WebPageTest.org to analyze my site. 

Turns out, my initial load time was 5.6 seconds—far from the recommended 3 seconds or less. 

These tools also provided suggestions for improvement, which I used as a guide.

Step 2: Declutter Your Media

Unused images and videos were taking up unnecessary space, so I cleared them out:

Go to Dashboard > Media > Library, click Bulk Select, choose the files to delete, and click OK to confirm.

Learn more: Google Analytics Tutorial for Pet Business Owners: 3 Ways to See Who’s Visiting Your Website and What They Are Doing

Step 3: Delete Post and Page Drafts

Old drafts were also cluttering my WordPress site, so I removed them.

For posts: Navigate to Dashboard > Posts > All Posts > Drafts, then use Bulk Actions > Move to Trash > Apply. Finally, go to Trash > Bulk Actions > Delete Permanently.

For pages: Follow the same steps, but under Dashboard > Pages > All Pages.

Note: I reviewed each draft first, saving any that I might use later to Google Drive.

Step 4: Delete Unused Plugins

Plugins I no longer used were slowing my site down, so I cleaned them out:

Go to Dashboard > Plugins, select the plugin, then click Deactivate > Delete.

Learn More: Local SEO for Pet Businesses: 5 Easy Tips for Easy Wins

Step 5: Optimize Images with ShortPixel

Large image files were another culprit behind my slow site speed. I installed the free ShortPixel Image Optimizer plugin to automatically compress images without losing quality. 

This was a game-changer for load times!

Step 6: Clean Up with WP-Optimize

To finish off, I installed the free WP-Optimize: Clean, Compress, Cache plugin. This tool helped me:

• Remove autosaves
• Clear leftover files from deleted plugins
• Eliminate other unnecessary data

⚠️ Important: Before using this tool, I backed up my site and reviewed everything carefully to avoid deleting something important.

The Results: A Faster, Smoother Website

After following these steps, my website’s load time improved dramatically, from 5.6 seconds, it went down to 2.5 seconds.

Which means, my website was faster than it has ever been.

Final Thoughts

There you have it, 6 easy steps in improving your site speed.

Remember, a faster site not only creates a better experience for visitors but also boosts your search rankings and keeps you ahead of the competition.

For me, tackling my site speed was about more than just numbers—it was about setting up my website, Pet Content Solutions, for success this year.

With a faster site, I can focus on publishing valuable content and helping pet care businesses thrive without worrying about technical roadblocks.

If your website is slowing you down, start with these steps and see how much of a difference they can make.

What’s your biggest site speed challenge?

Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your story.