PrestaShop is a widely-used e-commerce platform, and while it offers many benefits, website speed can sometimes be a problem. A slow-loading website can not only cause potential customers to abandon their carts and move on to a competitor but also negatively impact your search engine rankings. Therefore, it is essential to optimize your PrestaShop website’s speed to improve user experience and reduce bounce rates.
This blog post shares eight practical ways to speed up your PrestaShop website and enhance your online business performance.
8 Ways to Improve Your PrestaShop Website’s Speed
1) Minimize HTTPS Requests
HTTPS requests are essentially the number of times a website has to connect to the server to load all of its assets. These can include images, stylesheets, scripts, and more. The more HTTPS requests your website has to make, the slower it will load for your visitors.
To minimize these requests, start by looking at the number of assets you have on each page and try to optimize them. You can accomplish this by combining multiple CSS and JavaScript files into a single file and reducing the number of images used on the website.
Another way to reduce HTTPS requests is to make use of CSS Sprites, which allows you to combine multiple images into one file. This reduces the number of server requests needed and can speed up your site significantly.
2) Upgrade to the Latest Version of PrestaShop
Upgrading to the latest version of PrestaShop is one of the most effective ways to speed up your website. Not only does it improve the website’s speed and performance, but it also enhances its security and stability. With each new version, PrestaShop brings new features and improvements to the platform that are crucial for the smooth running of your website.
However, upgrading to the latest version of PrestaShop is not a straightforward process and requires technical expertise. So, it’s best to hire PrestaShop developer to handle the process. They can take care of all the technical aspects, including database updates, theme customization, module upgrades and testing the website to ensure everything is working correctly.
3) Invest In a Good CDN Service
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) stores your website’s static content (such as images, videos, and other files) on multiple servers located in various locations around the world. When a visitor accesses your site, the content is delivered from the nearest server, reducing load times.
There are several good CDN service providers available in the market. Some of the popular ones include Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, Akamai, and MaxCDN.
Each of these companies offers different pricing tiers and features, so it’s important to choose one that best fits your needs.
4) Delete all the Unused Modules
PrestaShop comes with several modules to enhance your online store’s functionality, but using all of them can slow down your website’s speed.
The more modules you have, the more resources your website will need to function. Therefore, it’s essential to delete all the unused modules to boost your website’s performance.
To do this, You can go to your website’s admin panel, select “Modules and Services,” and then click “Modules.” From there, you can deactivate or delete the unused modules.
Remember to keep only the essential modules that are required for your website’s smooth operation. Doing this will free up resources and help your website load faster.
5) Use PrestaShop Image Optimization Modules
Images play a significant role in attracting customers and keeping them engaged on your website. However, large-sized high-quality images can significantly impact the loading speed of your website. That’s where image optimization modules come into play.
PrestaShop offers several image optimization modules, like Re-smush and TinyPNG. These modules compress images without compromising their quality, thereby improving your website’s speed.
Additionally, you can enable lazy loading to improve website speed. With lazy loading, the images are loaded as the user scrolls down the page, reducing the initial load time of the page.
6) Use the latest version of PHP
One of the easiest and most effective ways to speed up your PrestaShop website is to use the latest version of PHP. This is because newer versions of PHP have improved performance and efficiency, which can significantly reduce page load times and improve overall site speed.
Upgrading to the latest version of PHP is relatively easy and can be done through your hosting provider or website developer. Some of the benefits of using the latest version of PHP include faster processing of database queries, reduced server load, improved security, and increased stability.
So, if you’re serious about speeding up your PrestaShop website, make sure you’re using the latest version of PHP.
7) Choose a Cache Module
Caching is the process of storing frequently accessed data in temporary storage, so that it can be quickly retrieved when needed.
When a visitor comes to your website, the cache serves up a previously stored version of the page rather than building it from scratch, which speeds up the process significantly.
Choosing the right cache module for your PrestaShop website can make all the difference in page load time. There are several cache modules available, each with its own set of features. Some popular options include Page Cache Pro Module, Super Speed, and JPresta Page Cache.
Research each one of them to see which best suits your website’s needs and invest in it to optimize your website’s performance.
8) Combine, Compress, and Cache – Three C’s
CCC is a built-in feature that allows you to combine and compress CSS, HTML and JavaScript files, as well as cache them, resulting in faster load times for your website.
To implement CCC in PrestaShop, simply navigate to the “Advanced Parameters” section and click on the “Performance” tab. From there, you can enable CCC and choose the settings that work best for your website.
Once you’ve enabled CCC, PrestaShop will automatically combine and compress your CSS and JavaScript files, as well as cache them to ensure they load quickly for your visitors. This simple optimization technique can make a significant difference in your website’s performance.
Tools to Monitor Speed of your Prestashop Website
You should check your PrestaShop store’s speed regularly to make sure it’s performing as expected. Luckily, there are a few great tools available to help you measure the performance of your site. Here are the most popular speed testing tools for your Prestashop website.
Google PageSpeed Insight
Google PageSpeed Insight is a tool provided by Google to help webmasters and developers optimize their websites for performance and speed. It analyzes the website’s content and provides a score based on several factors, including page load time, page size, and number of requests.
In addition to the score, PageSpeed Insight also provides recommendations for improvement. This tool is free to use and accessible to anyone, regardless of their technical knowledge.
To use PageSpeed Insight, simply enter your website’s URL, and the tool will generate a report in a matter of seconds. This report will show your website’s score on both mobile and desktop devices, as well as any opportunities for improvement.
GTMetrix (free and paid)
GTMetrix is another popular tool to test the speed and performance of your Prestashop website. With GTMetrix, you get detailed reports that include both PageSpeed and YSlow scores. It also provides suggestions to improve your website’s performance.
GTMetrix offers both free and paid plans, but the free plan only allows you to test your website’s speed from one location. The paid plans offer more features, including multiple location testing and daily monitoring.
One unique feature of GTMetrix is that it allows you to compare your website’s performance with other websites in your industry. This is useful to see how your website stacks up against the competition.
Pingdom (free and paid)
Pingdom is a web performance monitoring tool that provides valuable insights into the speed of your website. With Pingdom, you can easily test your Prestashop website’s loading time from different locations worldwide and get a comprehensive performance report.
The free version of Pingdom allows you to test your website speed once per minute, which is ideal for monitoring your website’s performance. The paid version offers more advanced features such as real-time monitoring, alerts, and multi-step transactions, making it a valuable tool for businesses that rely heavily on their website’s performance.
With Pingdom, you can identify and fix issues that slow down your Prestashop website and improve user experience for your customers.
WebPageTest
WebPageTest is another powerful speed testing tool that provides detailed insights into the performance of your Prestashop website. With this tool, you can test the speed of your website from different locations across the world, including major cities in Europe, North America, and Asia.
WebPageTest offers a range of advanced features, including the ability to analyze the loading speed of individual website elements such as CSS and JavaScript files. It also allows you to set up custom metrics and monitor your website’s performance over time.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Increasing your PrestaShop website’s speed is crucial for improving user experience, conversion rates, and ultimately driving revenue growth. With the tips outlined in this article, you can optimize your website for faster loading times and better performance.
However, if you’re still struggling to improve your website speed, consider seeking the help of a Prestashop Development Company. Their expertise and experience can help you identify and resolve any technical issues, allowing you to take your website to the next level.
Don’t wait, start implementing these tips today and see the difference they make to your website’s speed and performance!