Let’s be real—Elementor makes WordPress design easy and fun. But have you ever finished a page, admired how good it looked, and then found out it loads like it’s stuck in 2008 dial-up land? You’re not alone. One of the biggest concerns I hear is: “Why is my Elementor site so slow?”
So, if you’ve ever wondered how to speed up WordPress performance on a site built with Elementor, this guide’s for you. Whether you’re building for yourself or a client, these 21 steps can save you from slow load times, lost visitors, and frustrated users.
Pull up a chair—we’re about to fix that sluggish site of yours.
🧠 1. Choose a Lightweight Theme That Loves Elementor
Don’t start off on the wrong foot. A heavy theme will slow you down before you even begin.
👉 Best choices: Hello Theme (from Elementor itself), Astra, GeneratePress. They’re built for speed and Elementor-friendly.
✅ Tip: Avoid themes loaded with built-in sliders, pop-ups, and page builders. You don’t need the clutter.
🔌 2. Limit Addons to What You Actually Use
Elementor addons are cool until you stack up six of them and your site starts crawling.
✅ Stick with one or two well-coded packs (like Essential Addons or Happy Addons) and disable unused widgets from each addon’s settings.
🎯 Think quality, not quantity.
🔨 3. Build with Containers Instead of Sections/Columns
Elementor’s new Flexbox Containers are lighter and cleaner than the old section-column method.
✅ Use them for better performance and cleaner code.
🤓 Real Talk: It may take a bit to learn, but it pays off with a faster site.
📷 4. Compress and Resize Your Images Before Uploading
Uploading full-size photos from your phone? That’s like putting a brick in your backpack and wondering why you’re slow.
✅ Use tools like TinyPNG, ShortPixel, or Imagify to compress before upload.
👀 Keep images under 200kb when possible.
🚀 5. Install a Caching Plugin (Don’t Skip This One)
Caching is a game-changer. It saves a version of your page so the server doesn’t have to build it from scratch every time.
✅ Top picks: LiteSpeed Cache, WP Rocket, or W3 Total Cache.
🌍 6. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN serves your content from servers closer to your visitors—speeding things up dramatically.
✅ Free option: Cloudflare. Premium pick: BunnyCDN.
🎯 7. Disable Unused Elementor Widgets
Did you know every widget—even if you don’t use it—can affect your site’s speed?
✅ Go to Elementor → Settings → Experiments or use your addon’s settings to toggle off unused ones.
🔍 8. Minify and Combine CSS & JavaScript
Elementor creates a lot of CSS/JS files. If they’re not minified, you’re loading more than you need.
✅ Use your caching plugin to do this or try Autoptimize.
📦 9. Lazy Load Your Images and Videos
Don’t load everything at once! Lazy loading delays loading images/videos until they’re needed.
✅ Most caching plugins support this. Enable it.
🎥 Pro tip: Replace YouTube embeds with preview images to speed things up.
🧼 10. Clean Your Database Regularly
Every save, revision, or spam comment adds junk to your database.
✅ Use WP-Optimize or Advanced Database Cleaner.
🧹 A clean database = faster queries = faster site.
📂 11. Don’t Use Too Many Fonts
Each font (and its variations like bold or italic) adds load time.
✅ Stick to 1 or 2 fonts, preload them, or self-host using the OMGF plugin.
🛠️ 12. Don’t Overuse Carousels, Sliders, and Animations
They look nice but eat performance.
✅ Use static images or simple transitions instead. Keep animations subtle and necessary.
📱 Especially on mobile—they hurt page speed and usability.
🔁 13. Reduce Plugin Overload
Too many plugins = more conflicts, more scripts, more problems.
✅ Audit your plugin list. Remove what you don’t absolutely need.
💡 Focus on lean, multi-use plugins.
🔐 14. Enable GZIP Compression
This compresses your website’s files before sending them to users.
✅ Most caching or hosting services offer this. Check with your host or plugin settings.
⚙️ 15. Use Hosting That’s Actually Fast
Your hosting is the engine. You can’t run a Ferrari on lawnmower fuel.
✅ Look into hosts like Cloudways, SiteGround, or Rocket.net for Elementor-ready speed.
🧱 16. Preload Key Requests
This tells the browser, “Hey, grab this first!”—great for fonts, icons, or key images.
✅ Use Perfmatters or WP Rocket to preload resources that matter.
🧭 17. Optimize Above-the-Fold Content with Critical CSS
This lets users see your site faster while the rest finishes loading in the background.
✅ Again, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, or FlyingPress can handle this.
🕓 18. Limit Third-Party Scripts
Google Maps, live chats, or embedded reviews can delay load time.
✅ Load them only on the pages that actually use them—or defer loading.
🔁 19. Turn Off WordPress Heartbeat Where It’s Not Needed
This feature constantly pings your server. Handy? Yes. But performance-heavy.
✅ Use the Heartbeat Control plugin to tone it down.
🛒 20. Optimize WooCommerce Scripts (If You Use It)
WooCommerce loads a ton of scripts—even on non-product pages.
✅ Use Asset CleanUp or Perfmatters to prevent unnecessary scripts from loading sitewide.
💡 21. Test, Then Tweak
No two sites are the same. Use tools like:
- GTmetrix
- PageSpeed Insights
- Pingdom
✅ Test after each major change to see what’s helping or hurting.
Wrapping It All Up (Friend to Friend)
If your Elementor-built WordPress site feels like it’s dragging its feet, don’t panic. You don’t need to rebuild everything. You just need to be intentional.
Think of your website like a backpack—you want it filled with only what you need for the trip. Toss the rest.
These 21 steps are your essentials. Start with five, get into a groove, and then keep going. Performance isn’t just a one-time thing—it’s an ongoing habit.
So next time someone asks you how to speed up WordPress performance, send them this post—and share what worked for you.
Got any tips or questions? Drop a comment. Let’s help each other out. We’re all in this WordPress game together.
Cheers to a faster, smoother site!
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