My WordPress site on free hosting is slow — what should I do to fix it?
I’m currently running a small WordPress website on free hosting, and I’ve noticed that the site has become pretty slow, especially when loading pages with images and multiple plugins.
I initially thought the problem was simply the free hosting, but I’m wondering if there are things I can optimize before moving to paid hosting.
So far, I’m thinking about trying:
- Removing plugins that I don’t really need
- Compressing and properly sizing images
- Using a lightweight WordPress theme
- Setting up caching
- Optimizing my database
- Reducing unnecessary scripts and widgets
- Checking whether the hosting server itself is causing high response times
For those who have used free WordPress hosting, what actually made the biggest difference to your website speed?
Also, how can I tell whether the problem is caused by WordPress itself or by the limitations of the free hosting server?
I’d prefer to optimize the site first rather than immediately upgrade, since it’s still a small project. Any practical tips or tools for diagnosing the problem would be appreciated.