JavaScript and CSS are responsible for the functionality and look of your site, respectively. You probably have a dozen or more of each – depending on how many features or plugins you’ve added to your site – and all of these files are loading before your site can display. The catch is that the majority of these files aren’t needed to display your site.
Recommendations:
- Remove unnecessary functionality and plugins from your site.
You don’t have to know how much each item impacts speed, just know that every little piece of content on your site impacts performance, so treat your site with respect and be thoughtful about what you feed it. 🙂
Common Fixes
- Combine the contents of all files into just one or two.
- Load content later when it isn’t immediately needed.
Related Plugins
- Autoptimize (free plugin)
- WP Rocket (requires a paid subscription)
- LiteSpeed Cache (provided by some web hosts)