If your WordPress website is slow, you’re not alone. Many Irish business websites hosted on shared hosting in Ireland load in 4–6 seconds—but visitors leave after just 2 seconds. A slow WordPress site means lost leads, bad SEO, and fewer sales.
Why Website Speed Matters in Ireland
- Google ranks faster .ie websites higher
- Visitors stay longer on fast WordPress sites
- Mobile users on rural Irish networks load faster
- Fast pages = more enquiries and online sales
Step 1: Test Your WordPress Speed
Before improving speed, check your current performance.
| Tool | Purpose | Link |
|---|---|---|
| PageSpeed Insights | Google SEO score | https://pagespeed.web.dev |
| GTmetrix (London) | Load time analysis | https://gtmetrix.com |
| Pingdom (Europe) | Basic speed test | https://tools.pingdom.com |
Goal: Load time under 2.5 seconds
Step 2: Choose Fast WordPress Hosting in Ireland
| Hosting Type | Speed | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Shared Hosting | Slow | Starter sites |
| Managed WP Hosting | Fast | Small businesses |
| VPS / Cloud | Very Fast | Growing Irish websites |
Tip: Choose Irish or EU servers for better speed across Ireland.
Step 3: Use a Fast WordPress Theme
- Astra
- GeneratePress
- Kadence
- Blocksy
Avoid heavy themes like Avada and Divi if possible.
Step 4: Install a Caching Plugin
- LiteSpeed Cache (best + free)
- WP Rocket (premium)
- WP Super Cache
Step 5: Optimise Your Images
- ShortPixel (best for WebP)
- Smush
- Imagify
Image size guide:
- Hero images: 1600px
- Blog images: 1200px
- Logo: smaller then 200px
Step 6: Add a CDN (Faster in Ireland + UK)
- Cloudflare (free)
- Bunny.net (great for SMEs)
Step 7: Clean Up Plugins
- Keep SEO, caching, and security plugins
- Remove duplicates and unused plugins