Optimizing Elementor with WP Rocket
Elementor is one of the most popular WordPress page builders, empowering users to create beautiful, professional websites. However, complex Elementor pages can impact site performance. This is where the powerful WP Rocket caching plugin comes in.
Properly configuring WP Rocket can significantly improve Elementor website speeds, leading to better user experience, higher conversions, and increased organic traffic.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover key optimization techniques, WP Rocket settings, advanced strategies, performance testing tools, and real-world examples to help you enhance your Elementor website.
Why You Should Optimize Elementor Websites
Before jumping into the optimization steps, let’s briefly go over why Elementor and WordPress performance optimization matters:
- Faster load times lead to higher visitor engagement and lower bounce rates.
- Improved user experience increases conversions and sales.
- Better performance scores on PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix lead to higher search engine rankings.
- Reduced hosting costs by serving cached pages instead of rendering the full Elementor page each time.
Simply put, an optimized Elementor site provides significant user experience, SEO, and cost benefits.
Essential Elementor Optimization Techniques
WP Rocket accelerates Elementor performance using smart caching solutions. However, it also relies on additional optimization techniques like image compression, JavaScript deferring, and more.
Enabling Caching
Caching stores rendered web pages so they can be served faster on repeat visits instead of processing the full page each time.
WP Rocket’s advanced caching engine uses multiple cache layers for unmatched WordPress performance:
- Disk enhanced cache – Cache files stored on server
- Memory cache – Faster caching directly in system RAM
- Redis cache (optional) – Lightning fast remote database caching
Compressing Images
Large, unoptimized images slow down site loading. WP Rocket compresses images and serves them in next-gen formats like WebP.
For best results, also optimize images before uploading them into Elementor:
- Use image editing tools to reduce file sizes.
- Compress JPG images with TinyPNG.
- Export images in WebP format.
Deferred JavaScript Loading
JS files blocking the initial page load is a common cause of poor performance.
WP Rocket defers non-essential JS for faster rendering. For optimal speeds, defer external JS calls in Elementor settings.
Minifying CSS and JS Files
Minification removes extra spacing and syntax in CSS and JS files to reduce their size.
WP Rocket minifies CSS/JS automatically. You can further optimize files manually or by using plugins like Autoptimize.
Configuring WP Rocket Settings for Elementor
WP Rocket has over 80 settings allowing deep customization and control over your caching experience.
While most defaults work fine, optimizing these key settings can improve Elementor performance:
Cache Lifespan
Determines how long cache files are saved before updating. Set to higher values like days or weeks for static Elementor pages. For dynamic sites, use lower times.
Cache Mobile
Enabled by default. Disable to exclude mobile cache if using server-side device detection.
Minify CSS
Combines all Elementor CSS files into groups before minifying them. Significantly cuts down rendering time. Keep enabled.
Deferred JS File Extensions
Add JS extensions like .jsx that should be deferred. Useful when using JSX/React in Elementor.
For the full settings list, see the WP Rocket configuration guide.
Advanced Elementor Optimization Strategies
Additionally, developers can utilize advanced features like lazy loading, critical CSS, CDNs, and code optimization to further speed up Elementor:
Lazy Loading
Lazy load delays non-critical resources like images/videos until user scrolls to them. Drastically cuts initial load times.
Enable native WordPress lazy loading or use Eleslider’s smart lazy loading for Elementor.
Generating Critical CSS
Critical CSS loads above-the-fold styles first before external CSS. Dramatic speed boost – learn how to create critical CSS.
Integrating a CDN
A content delivery network (CDN) serves cached static files across edge locations globally. Integrate platforms like KeyCDN with Elementor for lightning performance.
Code Optimization
Ask your developers to optimize custom code added in Elementor for best results:
- Update external plugin code causing bloat or conflicts.
- Load third-party code asynchronously.
- Remove unused JavaScript/CSS calls.
Following coding best practices ensures WP Rocket can do its job effectively.
Performance Testing Tools
Run your optimized Elementor website through testing tools to catch issues before visitors:
PageSpeed Insights
Google’s PageSpeed Insights measures performance on mobile and desktop. Target scores above 90 for both environments.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix evaluates site speed and grades optimization metrics like caching, minification, and compression.
Continuously run tests during development to track progress. Quickly address low scores before launch.
Optimizing Elementor in Action
So you’ve configured WP Rocket, deferred loading, optimized images, and achieved a 99 PageSpeed score. How much faster is your actual site?
Let’s look at two examples that saw incredible speed boosts when optimizing Elementor pages with WP Rocket:
Muse Vibe Conference Site
This multi-page site uses Elementor for its event and speaker content. After tuning on-page optimizations and activating WP Rocket caching:
- Page load times reduced from 12s to under 1.2s
- Google PageSpeed Insights score jumped from 22/100 to 97/100 on mobile
- GTmetrix F to A grade
- Support calls about “”slow site”” eliminated
Dramatically faster performance led to a 10% jump in conversions in just 2 weeks!
Cryptocurrency Blog
A popular crypto blog using heavy custom Elementor themes saw great gains:
- Initial page load time over 6s
- Activated WP Rocket caching bringing load times down to 1.3s
- Integrated Cloudflare CDN improving speeds 20% further!
- Much happier visitors and engaged mailing list audience
Fantastic results with minimal effort for the site owners here.
These kinds of performance boosts are achievable on any kind of Elementor site by following the guidance in this article.
Conclusion
Optimizing your Elementor website with the incredibly powerful WP Rocket plugin provides unmatched WordPress performance.
Properly configuring caching settings, implementing front-end optimizations, reducing image sizes, deferring JavaScript, and integrating CDNs can lead to exponentially faster site speeds.
Faster websites directly lead to better user engagement, higher conversions, reduced bounce rates, lower hosting costs, and improved search engine rankings.
By following the comprehensive optimization guidance in this article, you too can take your Elementor website to lightning speeds! Feel free to reach out to us if you need any assistance speeding up your site.
Resources
- WP Rocket Cron Job: Clear and Preload Cache at Scheduled Time
- Understanding XSS Vulnerability in WordPress 5
FAQ
How much can properly configuring WP Rocket speed up my Elementor website?
Most website owners see 2-4x speed improvements. But acceleration of 10x or more is possible with additional front-end optimizations.
What’s the best way to learn exactly how my site performs?
Continuously run PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix tests during development. Quickly catch errors before they impact real visitors.
Are there any specific Elementor widgets I should optimize?
Yes – limit usage of “”heavy”” Elementor widgets like dynamic galleries, filtering, and flipping cards if you experience speed issues. Optimize with lazy loading instead.
Do I still need other performance plugins if I have WP Rocket?
WP Rocket handles a lot of optimization automatically. But advanced users may benefit from additional tools like Autoptimize or Hummingbird for things like critical CSS generation, advanced code minification etc.