We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: website performance is key for a successful business.
With users expecting faster and faster load times, and search engines now taking website performance scores into effect, performance is more important than ever. That’s why, working with our partners Jetpack, we’ve helped launch Boost, a unique performance enhancement tool that can help launch your website to new heights.
What Is Jetpack Boost?
Jetpack Boost is a standalone plugin for WordPress sites that can help users improve website performance without doing massive amounts of heavy technical lifting. Simply install the plugin onto your WordPress site, configure it (we’ll learn more about that soon), and go! It’s really that simple.
How Does Jetpack Boost Work?
Jetpack Boost breaks down your website and looks at three separate performance modules. Each module can be turned on or off depending on which area you would like to focus on.
Local Critical CSS
This module helps optimize styles for your website, like on the homepage, internal pages, and posts. By optimizing these styles, site owners can make their site seem to load faster when a user arrives, also known as ‘perceived performance.’
Defer Non-Essential Javascript
A large portion of Javascript on server-side rendered web pages blocks rendering in very specific circumstances. Deferring those scripts has a huge impact on Largest Contentful Paint and First Contentful Paint scores increase, helping Google Core Web Vitals scores.
Lazy Image Loading
Instead of optimizing images, this module allows for lazy loading of images, which means that images themselves won’t visually load until a user scrolls to them on a page.
Once the plugin is installed, users can generate performance scores on their site to see what ‘grade’ they’re getting performance-wise. Users can then turn on individual (or all) modules and see the effects in real time, making meaningful performance enhancements a breeze.
“…XWP.co and WordPress VIP were [heavily] involved in product development. We relied heavily on their expertise with high-end sites to distill the most effective, bulletproof optimizations for free for regular folks. It’s very hard to make performance optimization simple, but I really think we got the formula right. And much more to come!”
Dan Walmsley, Technical Lead, Automattic
Our team worked hand-in-hand with the folks at Jetpack and WordPress VIP to nail down the three areas that could have the greatest impact on website performance. Once those areas were determined, we set out to engineer performance fixes that users manage on their own, while making an impact across the whole of their site.
While these three modules do give major improvements, there’s plenty more to come. Our teams are working hard to find new, accessible ways to help improve website performance and make a better web one website at a time. Stay tuned for more information on Jetpack Boost, and to see what new features will be added in the future.
