CMS Performance Optimization Techniques - Best Practices

Have you ever wondered how to boost your CMS performance optimization? Ever doubted that you need to regularly monitor your CMS performance? Read on…

Imagine the scenario … a user lands on your website but it takes longer than one second to load… your customer is agitated and starts to jab at their phone … they sigh, and, in a blink of an eye, they’re gone. And, chances are, they’re now shopping on your competitor’s site.

Where was your website performance optimization? Not surprisingly, slow-loading sites see poor results: high bounce rates, low user satisfaction and dismal SEO performance to name a few. Optimize CMS performance with this handy guide.

CMS performance optimization techniques fine-tune your website so it’s speedy, more efficient and user-friendly. We’ll tell you everything you need to know about optimizing your CMS performance to improve your website and the experience for your users. 

CMS Performance Optimization Techniques: Your Current Performance Metrics

You’ll never fully understand where and what optimization improvements are needed if you don’t have benchmarks in place. Use performance metrics to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of your site and areas that enhance to improve user experience and your SEO results.

Key Tools for Analysis

Use these tools to boost to optimize CMS performance:

• GTmetrix: Provides a breakdown of your site’s loading times, key statistics and loading times.
• Pingdom Tools: Prepares various reports showing page size, loading times and request numbers.
• WebPageTest: Real-world load times tests with results taken from different locations and browsers.
• Google PageSpeed Insights: Gives the lowdown on your mobile and desktop performance.

Rather than use just one of the above tools, you can use a combination of these CMS performance optimization techniques and tools to give a big-picture analysis of your site.

What Metrics Should You Monitor?

The following metrics will give you a holistic understanding of your site and where you need to employ CMS performance optimization techniques:

• First Contentful Paint (FCP): How long it takes to display the first piece of content.
• Time to Interactive (TTI): How long it takes until the page is fully interactive.
• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): How long it takes to load the largest visible content.
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): How visually stable the page is.
• Overall Page Load Time: How long it takes to fully load the page.
• Requests Per Second (RPS): How many server requests it can handle per second.

By regularly assessing these metrics, you can see issues and improvements, which will improve CMS speed and optimize CMS performance.

Choosing the Right CMS Platform

Site performance and your CMS platform go hand in hand. No two CMS platforms are made equally. There’s great variety when it comes to their scalability, adaptability and the tools they offer. 

When choosing your CMS, you need to focus on your site’s needs. Will it need to handle high traffic? Do you have complex content or, do you intend to scale up?

WordPress, for example, is known for its adaptability because it comes with countless plugins. However, the drawback to this is that using too many plugins can seriously impact your CMS performance. 

Joomla meanwhile compromises with fewer customizations but has great usability. 

Likewise, Drupal is a heavy lifter when it comes to complex high-traffic sites. Finally, let’s not forget Core dna which shines by delivering integration and CMS performance optimization features. 

At the end of the day, the right CMS for you needs to meet your current and future goals without multiple plug-ins, add-ons and more. 

Server and Hosting Environment Optimization

Your website is only as good as the place that you host it. With every good intention and intervention, if you have a substandard server your CMS performance will head south.

However, a reliable hosting framework means speedy loading times, improved uptime and a better experience all round – just what your users and your SEO wants and needs!

Why Quality Hosting Matters

It all comes down to performance. You need a hosting service that is not only optimized but carries out maintenance and security and tweaks your site’s performance when it’s lacklustre. 

But what if your CMS can do all this for you? Core dna offers a one-stop shop for both CMS performance and hosting. 

Core dna’s integrated system means that your site performance and hosting needs run smoothly and with little tech support making it ideal if you’re focused on your site security and scalability.

Why Optimize your Server Settings?

If there’s one thing you need to remember, it’s that optimization has flow-on effects. The next step you’ll want to look at is how to maximise your server configurations. 

As well as the other existing features mentioned above, Core dna’s CMS comes pre-optimized making it an out-of-the-box solution. 

However, if you’re using an alternative CMS, you’ll want to enable HTTP/2. Doing so means your server can handle multiple requests at the same time, thereby improving data transfer speed.

You’ll also want to install server-side caching (opcode or object caching). Doing this will reduce the load on the server by saving regularly used data rather than generating it each time. 

Ideally, you’ll couple this with a trusty Content Delivery Network (CDN) to increase your load times and speed. 

What are Efficient CMS Caching Techniques?

Want to improve your CMS performance? Look at your CMS caching techniques. Strategic caching to save files and data removes the need to continuously repeat processes. This has a positive knock-on effect of reducing load times and pressure on your server. 

Efficient Server-side CMS Caching Techniques

Speed up any repeated requests by utilising server-side caching of static files like CMS-generated pages. CMS caching techniques to put in place include page caching, object caching and opcode caching.

CMS platform Core dna has thought through this process. It can do all the above caching to save full static pages, frequent queries and precompiled scripts so that you can be satisfied that your site is fully optimized and without any unnecessary strain or pressure.

Efficient Client Side-Caching

If you haven’t cottoned on by now, needless caching can be a big drain on your load times with a flow-on effect on user satisfaction. Strategic side-caching is therefore a fantastic tool for the timely storing of static images, CSS files and Java Script data.

Strategic Content Delivery Networks (CDNs)

You’ve probably heard of Cloudflare and Amazon CloudFront? Using a CDN ensures you have the best loading times. This is key, especially if your content has a global audience. Using a CDN greatly reduces the load times of dynamic and static content.

Database Optimization for CMS

CMS performance optimization techniques also include using an optimized database. Any inefficiencies with your database will lead to slower loading which results in a less than perfect user experience. When managed and maintained correctly, your data will be updated without impacting speed.

Are you Carrying Out Regular Maintenance?

Just like your home heating or, your car, your database needs regular maintenance. Keep an eye and keep it clean to prevent lag.

• Dump Unused Data: Spring clean your database by removing any historic revisions, spam and users who are inactive or incomplete. 
• Tidy your Tables: While you’re doing your database spring clean it also pays to look at your tables. Doing so will reduce any speed issues as well as fragmentation. 

Ensure Query Optimization

Fast database interactions rely on query optimization. Queries need to be simple and indexed. Do this by:

• Breaking down any complex queries and avoiding all unnecessary JOINS.
• Speed up data retrieval by indexing the most popular queries. Always allow for write performance to balance optimization.

Employ Advanced CMS Performance Optimization Techniques

Partitioning, cache query results and dedicated database servers are your CMS’s friends. CMS performance best practices involve paying attention to these areas to ensure that you’re reducing scanning queries, offering quick access to frequent queries and dedicating storage of your database to its own server.

By implementing these optimization techniques, you will maintain your desired speed and feel confident in handling any database growth.

Managing Images and Media for Optimization

You know that you get better engagement rates if you use images and media. However, they can impact load times and create the opposite effect. Through CMS image optimization, you can improve CMS speed and load times without impacting SEO or the quality of experience that your site offers.

Why Compress Images?

Some people worry that compressing images affects the quality. We’re pleased to say this is not the case and that compressing images will improve CMS speed.

If you use tools like ImageOptim or OptiPNG you can maintain image quality while TinyPNG and JPEGmin use lossy compression. Lossy allows you to use small image sizes and removes minor details. You can also achieve minimal quality loss through next-gen formats such as WebP and AVIF.

Is Using Lazy Loading Being Lazy?

When it comes to CMS performance best practices, it pays to be lazy. By only loading images when they enter the viewport you can both reduce initial load time and save bandwidth. Use either JavaScript libraries or native loading code to implement.

Want more CMS Performance Optimization Techniques?

A few more techniques to add to your toolbox...

Optimize CMS Performance Through Coding

For super-fast load times and performance look at your coding. Reducing CSS, JavaScript and HTML will improve CMS speed and the user experience.

Minification

Another quick and easy way to speed up your site is by removing any superfluous characters, line breaks and comments. Use tools like CleanCSS or CSSNano. If you need to minify JavaScript, try something like UglifyJS or Terser. For HTML, we recommend using HTMLMinifier which reduces file size by getting rid of unnecessary HTML.

For further efficiency, automate by using these tools with Webpack and Gulp.

Allow Compression

Compressing files before they get to the browser also speeds up data transfer. Get onto tools such as Gzip to reduce HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Meanwhile, Brotli works wonders when it comes to compressing text files.

Does Minification Matter? Is Compression a Cure-All?

Simply put, yes. By minimizing and compressing files and scripts you can supercharge your load times and bandwidth use which reduces data transfer and makes for an overall better experience for your users and for your SEO performance.

Which Plugins and Extensions Should You Use?

Plugins and extensions enhance CMS functionality by adding contact forms, analytics, and SEO tools. While these are great additions, you don’t want to pay for them through a compromise in performance or security. We suggest you ask yourself:

1.Is Your Plugin Necessary?

Plug-ins can slow down your CMS. To keep on top of your plugins and their overall benefits carry out a regular audit. Get rid of the ones that are not serving you or, not serving you well.

2.Is Your Plugin Lightweight?

If they’re not optimized or lightweight, consider dumping or replacing them. You want to use plugins that require minimal resource usage and that are compatible with the latest version of your CMS. Update your plugins regularly to make sure you’re using the latest version.

3.Does it Have Built-In Tools for Enhanced Security?

Security should be one of your key focuses. If you choose a CMS platform like Core dna you are safe in the knowledge that it comes with built-in tools, thereby minimizing reliance on third-party plugins. Being built-in means the tools are integrated and optimized enhancing performance rather than draining it. 

Why Use Responsive Design?

In today’s mobile era, we know that most of the traffic to your site will come from a mobile device. It makes sense then to make sure your site can be sized to adapt to mobile viewing and use.

How to Optimize for Mobiles

Using response design means you remove the need for separate mobile versions as your website automatically adjusts to fit images, text and navigation to different devices and sizes. 

By optimizing for mobile, you also greatly reduce load times. Using images and elements that fit a mobile enhances loading times and improves your SEO ranking as there’s nothing a search engine loves more than a mobile-friendly website. 

Add Advanced CMS Performance Techniques

Use these advanced performance techniques to enhance loading times and improve user experience.

HTTP/2 and Server Push

Content-heavy sites with lots of images, scripts, and stylesheets will appreciate the effectiveness of HTTP/2. Why? It allows multiple requests to be sent simultaneously over a single connection. Server Push goes a step further by pushing resources to the browser before they’re requested. This all helps to reduce wait times and load speed. 

Prefetching

Like ServerPush, Prefetching also predicts and serves up resources before they’re requested. Working away in the background, Prefetch will get images, scripts, and other assets ready so that when the user clicks, they get instant loading. Because Prefetch gives a great user experience it greatly reduces a site’s bounce rate. 

Don’t Snooze – Keep Up Regular Monitoring and Maintenance

You don’t optimize and then snooze. At least you don’t if you want to stay ahead of the game. Regular monitoring and maintenance ensure that your CMS remains efficient and responsive. Adopt the following tools to help you keep up your routine:

Monitoring Tools

Assess your site’s performance through tools such as New Relic and Dynatrace. You’ll see your load times, server health, and user interactions, keeping you in the loop on any issues or improvements you need to make in terms of spikes in traffic and blockages. 

Regular Performance Audits

Put regular site performance audits in your diary. Use these sessions to highlight any areas of issue or improvement. A thorough audit should include checking on your CMS setup, plugins, and database. Routine audits also allow you to carry out any version updates. 

Case Studies – The Good, The Bad and The Optimized

Optimized Era: Taylor Swift’s Website Performance Optimization

You must have been living under a rock if you didn’t know about the enormous surge of traffic when Taylor Swift announced her Eras tour.

Fortunately for Tay Tay, In Australia, the Core dna team had predicted the stampede and used a whole range of tools and upgrades to ensure peak CMS performance. Load balancing, CDNs and server-side caching were all used to ensure the site remained fast, despite an enormous volume of traffic.

Using CMS performance best practices created a smooth ride for Swifties and a headache-free day for her tech team.

What Did Team Swift Do Exactly?

Australia's Swift’s team knew the traffic to their site was going to be bigger than Ben Hur. They also knew that the traffic would spike just when they least expected it! 

They used best practice solutions such as auto-scaling, database optimization for CMS and CMS image optimization to ride the storm. 

Lazy Loading was key to helping deliver images and videos without lag to this visually driven audience.

What’s Next for CMS Performance Optimization?

Just as you’re wrapping your head around the current CMS performance best practices, there’s still more to learn. Keeping one step ahead never pays more than when it comes to your CMS performance optimization.

New and Emerging Technologies

It’s everywhere, so it’s no surprise that AI is also coming to performance tools. AI can now analyse data pinpoint optimization opportunities and predict spikes in traffic. It can also automate tasks like caching and load balancing.

Edge Computing is another area to watch. This works by reducing the distance that data needs to travel to users. This has the roll-on effect of reducing load time no matter where in the world the audience happens to be.

Be Prepared

It pays to be prepared. New and emerging tech such as HTTP/3 and Progressive Web Apps (PWAs) are changing up the ways that content is delivered and for good reason. Optimizing your CMS needs to be an ongoing pursuit to keep you competitive and secure.

Your CMS Needs the Best

Now that you’ve learned the best enterprise CMS performance optimization techniques, it’s time to put them into regular practice. Through website performance optimization, you ensure that your users are served a first-rate user experience while you see a boost in your SEO rankings.

Putting in place regular times to carry out audits ensures that you keep on top of updates and versions. Employ CMS performance best practices including the use HTTP/2, Edge Computing and even AI to put yourself one step ahead of the competition.  

Top Tips for Improved CMS Performance:

Regular Monitoring: Analyse, assess and make required changes to ensure your CMS performance is top-notch. 

Responsive Design: Meet your users’ needs by optimizing your site for mobiles. 

Adapt and Keep Up: Your CMS needs to evolve with technology. By regularly updating and adapting to best practices you ensure your site is fast and relevant. 

We hope you found this guide helpful. There’s no better time than now to put what you’ve learnt into practice…