How to Fix a Slow WordPress Site on Hostinger?

If you’re running your sites on Hostinger and experiencing slow loading pages or WordPress admin panel, this guide is for you.

1. Improve Hostinger’s TTFB

The slow Hostinger site can be fixed by improving its TTFB. The ideal TTFB should be below 800 ms, as suggested by Google.

Go to KeyCDN TTFB checker, input your site URL. If your TTFB is less than 800ms on most locations, then straightaway, get started with implementing the below speed optimization techniques. If your TTFB is higher, then it’s time to move your hosting service from Hostinger.

At Hostingstep, we test multiple hosting companies by getting an account as a user, installing a test site, and measuring the performance. Based on the last 12 months data, We found Hostinger TTFB is decent (375 ms) but not the best.

The following Hostinger alternative hosting services offer a better TTFB. It includes GreenGeeks (332 ms), A2 Hosting (336 ms), and FastComet (364 ms)

2. Use the Hostinger Cache Manager

Make sure the Hostinger’s server side caching is Turned ON. Log in to Hostinger hPanel and head to the Advanced menu. In Cache Manager, enable the “Automatic Cache” option.

Hostinger uses the LiteSpeed server, so installing the WordPress LiteSpeed Cache plugin would be wise. Click the WordPress menu in the left sidebar and click “Dashboard.” Enable the “LiteSpeed” option.

3. Uninstall Unwanted & Slow Load Plugins

Sometimes, we leave unnecessary plugins on our WordPress dashboard even if we don’t use them. Such plugins can add to the overall size of the website and affect its performance.

Besides, some plugins may be helpful yet bad from a performance perspective. It’s essential to address both issues in time. You can start by closely examining your WordPress plugins section and determining which plugins are useless for your site.

After you decide on this, you can remove the unnecessary plugins immediately, improving your site speed to a certain extent.

To find the slow-loading WordPress plugins, you must scan your site with Gtmetrix, and you can do it for free.

After Gtmetrix finishes scanning your site, check the Waterfall tab and see which files are taking a long time to load. Most probably, the files should belong to a certain plugin. If you find any slow loading plugin, replace it with a suitable alternative.

After making the changes, scan your site again with Gtmetrix to see if the plugin loads faster than the previous one.

4. Remove Unused CSS & JS

Your Hostinger WordPress site can be slow due to unused CSS and JS. Hence, it’s essential to ensure these scripts load only when needed.

For example, a plugin like Contact Form 7 loads its CSS and JS scripts on all pages, including the Homepage, even when you use the plugin only on the Contact Us page.

This is where a plugin like PerfMatters comes in handy. PerfMatters gives you the option to remove the unwanted scripts one each page.

After installing the plugin, you will get a Script Manager for each individual page. In the above screenshot, you might note that the Table Of Contents Plus plugin is used, and its corresponding CSS and JS files are loading.

This is my homepage script manager, and I absolutely don’t need to load Table of Content plugin files to get loaded. I simply turn OFF the script using the Perfmatters option. Likewise, you can turn OFF all the unwanted scripts and see your Hostinger site load faster than ever.

5. Delay JavaScript Execution

Technically, all the scripts don’t need to load when the page is viewed, and that’s where “Delay JavaScript Execution” comes into play. Some scripts, such as live chat widgets, Analytics scripts, or Facebook pixels, can be delayed and prevented from loading initially.

That will help your site content load faster, and the scripts will be loaded as visitors reach certain sections of the page. Delayed JavaScript Execution can immensely also enhance the Largest Contentful Paint score.

6. Use Prefetch DNS Requests

It’s time to familiarize you with another advanced performance optimization technique called Prefetch DNS Requests.

When you use Prefetch DNS Requests, it gets your site’s external files to load faster. It’s especially ideal for mobile networks. Most premium caching plugins have this feature.

You can add Google Analytics, fonts, and other external requests to Prefetch DNS Requests.

7. Improve Site Speed with NitroPack

NitroPack is an all-in-one speed optimization tool for WordPress. This plugin simply speeds up your site without doing any kind of manual optimization.

It combines the power of Cloudflare Enterprise CDN with its proprietary cloud caching mechanism to optimize all the pages on the go.

I don’t usually recommend it for individual bloggers, but as a small business or agency owner, this plugin is vital in speeding up your bulk of sites in no time and saves a lot of money. There is a free plan available to test NitroPack.