How to Optimize Magento 2 Website Speed?

Do you have issues like poor Magento 2 website speed? Or you are aiming to optimize Magento 2 website speed?

Every other firm, after all, is dealing with this.

Several eCommerce businesses worldwide rely upon the Magento 2 platform. This is because it has a wide range of features and customization options.

 

It’s a secure, SEO-friendly, and adaptable platform with all the resources you’ll need to create a high-quality, award-winning business website.

 

But, everything has advantages and disadvantages, and Magento 2’s drawbacks include a poor website or page loading time. 

 

Sometimes, businesses focus on website designing, marketing activities, sales, and so on. But don’t worry about the loading time. Low website loading speed has a direct effect on website visitors, resulting in lower sales and revenue.

 

As a result, remember that website speed is crucial for making a good first impression, and it’s something hard to change.

 

Furthermore, in 2021, the need for Magento 2 speed optimization has become more important and immediate than ever. This is because many firms have already completed Magento 2 Migration, and the competition has grown significantly.

 

Ultimately, the online store owners need to explore the measures to improve the Magento 2 website’s speed.

 

We’ve put together this article to show you how to improve the speed of your Magento 2 website or how employing Magento eCommerce development services can benefit you. 

 

Want to improve the speed of your Magento 2 eCommerce Store? Contact us today!

Ways to Optimize Magento 2 Website Speed

#1. Optimize TTFB (Time to First Byte)

Optimize TTFB

The first and most important step in improving the website speed on the Magento 2 platform is to reduce the Time to First Byte.

TTFB refers to the time a website takes for the visitor’s browser to load its HTML. Many clients experience a blank screen at this time.

In addition, the website’s backend is producing HTML and transmitting it to the user’s browser while TTFB. Several more files, including JavaScript, graphics, and CSS, are loaded after that. 

Increasing Magento 2 site speed by handling the TTFB may appear to be a simple fix. However, each customization version adds to the code. This implies that the site could take time to load. 

Also, Google says that the TTFB should not be less than 200ms or it will be considered as a bad TTFB. Furthermore, according to Google, the TTFB load time should not be below 200ms otherwise it will be regarded as a bad TTFB.

Hence, you’ll need to study the Magento codebase to understand the issues and optimize the TTFB accordingly. 

Also, you can use the online monitoring tools to troubleshoot the TTFB if you do not know programming languages.

#2. Incorporate Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Incorporate-Content-Delivery-Network-(CDN)

A content Delivery Network is a service or an online program that is responsible for storing the pages or files online. 

Additionally, it uses geographic servers to deliver static content such as HTML Pages and JS/CSS files. 

Together, the CDN and the servers collaborate to significantly improve website loading speed and content delivery over the internet.

What are your thoughts on having servers all over the world, especially if you have a global clientele?

Of course, regardless of the customer’s location, this will enable quick content delivery.

Furthermore, Magento supports CDN and requires no third-party extensions or plugins. Simply follow these steps to configure CDN for Magento 2 site:

  • Click on the Magento Admin Panel and go to Stores.
  • Now, click on Settings and then Configuration.
  • Next, tap Web under the General tab.
  • Now, expand the Base URLs choice and set the URL parameters.

 

#3. Utilize ElasticSearch to Optimize Magento 2 Website Speed

utilize elastic search

Do you know what ElasticSearch is?

It is a search engine that is designed for simplifying searches. 

It is a search engine developed to simplify product searches. ElasticSearch appears as the in-built extension for all business Magento websites in the latest Magento versions.

Visitors who find it simple to look for products on the website are more likely to become loyal customers. 

Apart from being a quick product search engine, ElasticSearch can also manage the following:

 

  • Search Support: It supports synonyms and punctuation. This search engine also performs autofill and provides product suggestions. As a result, website users can find the goods they’re seeking even before they’ve completed their quest.

 

  • Multiple Language Support: ElasticSearch understands a variety of languages, allowing websites to engage with users both locally and globally.

 

  • Simplifies Indexing: The ElasticSearch search engine offers results based on the most recently created index whenever a customer searches. If a new index is created when a client is searching for anything, the index will not impact the customer’s search outcomes.

 

#4. Configure Varnish Cache

Configure Varnish Cache

Varnish is a content caching application that is also known as the HTTP accelerator. However, what differentiates the Varnish from others is it can keep data and file fragments in memory.

This also reduces the time for the website to load. 

The biggest benefit of all that Varnish has to offer is flexibility. You can quickly evaluate the coding and tailor the caching policies to the Varnish’s language. Afterwards, the language is converted and compiled into C code, resulting in a speedy website. 

Furthermore, this works best both for small and large-scale servers. Isn’t it great!!

Steps to Enable Magento 2 Website Varnish Cache:

 

  • Under the Magento Admin Panel, click on System>Tools, then select Cache Management.
  • Select all the fields and press the submit button. 

 

Hire our Magento developer to build your eCommerce store.

 

#5. Consider Your Hosting Options

Consider Your Hosting Options

Remember Magento won’t work on any low-cost hosting plan. 

Furthermore, sharing plans do not work well with Magento because of the limited amount of space. Also, Magento necessitates a larger amount of space to meet the website’s requirements.

 

While running the site on a low-cost hosting plan will already slow down the site’s loading time, the loading time will continue to slow as traffic increases.

 

Therefore, it is always preferable to purchase a premium hosting plan.

Besides this, it is also beneficial to pick the hosting in a VPS network.

 

Thinking of why?

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is simply the dedicated server space with more room for storage than any cloud hosting service. Altogether, VPS allows business owners a little more flexibility over their website maintenance.

 

#6. CSS Performance Optimization

CSS Performance Optimization

Of course, when it comes to building the Magento website, CSS is essential.

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is the programming language that dictates how a website will appear.

You want your site to load faster and attract more visitors. In this instance, CSS implementation and optimization are critical for your site’s success.

 

Follow the steps outlined below to achieve this and properly optimise the CSS.

 

Put your above-the-fold information at the highest point of your HTML page. The browser will then be able to simply choose and render the content that has been placed.

After that, position all CSS resources to the bottom of the page. This content needs not to be displayed until the user moves down. 

 

#7. JavaScript or CSS

Javascript or css for magento 2 speed optimizaton

Of course, you or the developers will come across CSS or JS while designing or maintaining the Magento website. Hence, for speeding these two factors, you need to:

 

  1. Merge JS/CSS files.
  2. Minify both the files.

Or

You can perform both from the website’s backend. 

 

For Merging and Minifying JS:

  1. Under the Magento Admin Panel, select configuration from Stores>Settings.
  2. Select Developer from the Advanced menu.
  3. Now, expand the JavScript Settings choice.
  4. Enable both the Minify JS files and Merge JS files.

 

For Merging and Minifying CSS:

  1. Under the Magento Admin Panel, select configuration from Stores>Settings.
  2. Select Developer from the Advanced menu.
  3. Now, expand the CSS Settings choice.
  4. Enable both the Minify JS files and Merge JS files.

 

#8. Image Optimization is Critical

Image optimization for magento 2 speed

Several product photos will undoubtedly be available on your website. Large image files will take a long time to load, thus slowing down the website’s overall speed and performance. 

Hence, it becomes vital to optimize images properly. Here, compressing the images can help in increasing the Magento 2 store’s speed. 

Also, you can utilize the image optimization tool to lower the size of your images before uploading them to your site.

 

#9. Extension Audit by Third-Party

extension audit for magento 2 speed optimization

Magento websites take a long time to load most of the time because:

  • There are enormous third-party extensions installed on the website.  
  • The extensions or plugins by third-party are poorly coded.

Remember when your site includes extensions, not only the content but also the extensions must load properly. Also, the too many extensions on the website hamper the loading speed. 

when your site includes extensions, not only the content but also the extensions must load properly.

Hence, the best practice to deal with them could be making the audit of all the extensions that you utilize. If your website is operating slow, pick the large extensions, evaluate them, and find if you need them for your website. 

Once you are done with determining the priority extensions, begin deleting the rest of or least required extensions and check if the website speed has increased. 

However, always benchmark the speed every time you install or uninstall the extensions. 

Some people may find it simple to implement all of these principles, while others may find it difficult to keep up with all of them. 

Here, business owners can hire a Magento eCommerce development company to help them through each step or take care of everything from website design to site speed optimization.

Get the best magento 2 migration services at Affordable price

 

Wrapping Up

Of course, it does not make any sense for the retailers to have an online store if it is unable to sell the goods. 

Undoubtedly, speed is a critical and dominant factor of all when it comes to a website’s performance. A fast Magento website will be able to respond to customer queries quickly, convert visitors into potential customers, and achieve customer satisfaction. This will eventually lead to an increase in ROI and better sales. 

On the contrary, the slow Magento website can impact the business in several aspects, especially the poor customer experience, hitting the business ROI. 

Therefore, these are the reasons why businesses need to explore the measure for improving their Magento site for speed. 

At Magentofx, we shape the Magento website in the way that it offers the customers or the end-users an exceptional shopping experience. Also, our highly talented and skilled Magento pros possess detailed knowledge of Magento versions and build practical yet effective solutions.