Ultimate Guide to Optimising Your Website for Divi, Elementor, and Standard WordPress

Introduction

Website speed is crucial for SEO rankings, user experience, and conversion rates. Whether you’re using Divi, Elementor, or standard WordPress, optimising your website ensures faster load times, reduced bounce rates, and improved performance. In this guide, we’ll cover proven strategies to maximise speed and efficiency.

1. Add Your Website to Cloudflare & Optimise Settings

Why Use Cloudflare?

Cloudflare is a CDN (Content Delivery Network) that speeds up your site by caching content, reducing server requests, and providing DDoS protection.

Steps to Set Up Cloudflare for Speed Optimisation:

1. Sign Up for Cloudflare – Go to Cloudflare and add your website.
2. Change Your DNS Settings – Update your domain’s nameservers to point to Cloudflare.
3. Enable SSL & Add a Private Key
   • Set SSL/TLS Mode to Full (Strict) for maximum security.
   • Upload your private key and SSL certificate to your hosting provider.
4. Optimise Cloudflare Page Rules & Caching
   • Add a page rule to force Always Use HTTPS.
   • Enable Brotli compression under Speed settings.
   • Set Cache Level → Cache Everything for static assets.
   • Enable Auto Minify for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

3. Optimise Elementor for Speed

Elementor Performance Settings:

1. Go to Elementor → Settings → Advanced → Performance.
2. Enable the following:  Optimise Google Fonts  Load Font Awesome locally  Optimise DOM Output  Remove unused CSS & JavaScript
3. Use Lightweight Themes with Elementor:
   • Consider using Hello Elementor or Astra for lightweight, fast performance.

4. Install FlyingPress Speed Plugin

Why FlyingPress?

FlyingPress is an all-in-one speed optimisation plugin that significantly improves website load times.

FlyingPress Recommended Settings:

1. Enable Page Caching 
2. Enable Lazy Load for Images & Iframes 
3. Minify CSS, JS, and HTML 
4. Enable Preloading for Fonts and Links 
5. Use Built-in Database Optimisation 

5. Code Header & Footer in PHP Instead of Divi/Elementor

Using Divi or Elementor to create headers and footers can slow down your site due to excessive DOM elements and JavaScript dependencies. Instead, create a custom header and footer using PHP.

Steps to Code Your Header & Footer in PHP:

1. Edit Your Theme’s header.php & footer.php Files:
   • Go to Appearance → Theme Editor.
   • Open header.php and insert the following:

   <header>
       <nav>
           <?php wp_nav_menu(array('theme_location' => 'main-menu')); ?>
       </nav>
   </header>

   • Open footer.php and insert:

   <footer>
       <p>&copy; <?php echo date('Y'); ?> Your Website Name. All rights reserved.</p>
   </footer>

2. Assign Custom Header & Footer in WordPress:
   • Go to Appearance → Menus and set up navigation.

6. Optimise Images & Use Lazy Loading

Image Optimisation Strategies:

1. Use WebP Format Instead of PNG/JPG
   • Install Imagify or ShortPixel to automatically convert images.
2. Enable Lazy Loading & Lazy Rendering
   • Lazy loading ensures images only load when visible on screen.
   • Enable lazy rendering for offscreen elements to reduce initial page load time.
3. Compress Images Without Losing Quality
   • Use TinyPNG or WP Smush for bulk image compression.

7. Additional Speed Optimisation Strategies

 Reduce External Scripts & Third-Party Requests

• Remove unnecessary Google Fonts, YouTube embeds, and tracking scripts.

 Use a Lightweight Theme

• Avoid bloated themes. Use Astra, GeneratePress, or Kadence if Divi/Elementor isn’t required.

 Disable Unused WordPress Features

• Go to Perfmatters or WP Disable to remove unnecessary bloat.

 Use a High-Performance Hosting Provider

• Consider Cloudways, Kinsta, or SiteGround for faster loading speeds.

Final Thoughts

By implementing these proven optimisation techniques, you can ensure your website loads faster than 2 seconds, improving both SEO rankings and user experience. Whether you use Divi, Elementor, or standard WordPress, speed should always be a top priority!

 Ready to supercharge your website? Start optimising today!
If you need help call us on (08) 9350 9392
See our website page for details
https://www.webwizards.com.au/wordpress-and-divi-page-speed-optimisation/