{"id":3237824,"date":"2021-03-30T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/?p=3237824"},"modified":"2022-01-21T16:25:15","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T15:25:15","slug":"speeding-up-astra-mobile-pagespeed-score","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-rocket.me\/blog\/speeding-up-astra-mobile-pagespeed-score\/","title":{"rendered":"Speeding up the Astra Theme and Getting a 99 Mobile PSI Score"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astra is one of the most popular and lightweight themes you can choose from on WordPress. Therefore, speeding up your site and achieving a 90+ PSI score should be feasible. Yet you\u2019ll face several challenges \u2014 for instance, you have to tackle complicated resources such as JavaScript files. <\/p>

If you ever tried to optimize your site\u2019s performance, you know how difficult it is to address PageSpeed Insights recommendations such as \u201cReduce javascript execution time<\/a>\u201d and \u201cEliminate render-blocking resources<\/a>\u201d. We feel you!<\/p>

Here\u2019s why we\u2019ll tell you the story of Rick Orford, a business owner who managed to speed up his site built with Astra<\/a>. He achieved 99 mobile PageSpeed Insights and boosted the Core Web Vitals. Sounds good, right? We all know that the mobile performance score is the most difficult to optimize.<\/p>

So, it\u2019s time to find out more about his performance challenge!<\/p>

Launching a New Website and Overlooking Something Crucial<\/h2>

Back in 2020, Rick Orford launched his website on becoming financially independent<\/a> \u2014 a comprehensive resource for those looking to save more, earn more, and pay off debt fast. As an editorial site in the first place, the most relevant content acquisition strategy has always seen SEO at the forefront.<\/p>

Zoom out:<\/em><\/strong> you probably already know how SEO is crucial for your traffic and revenue and how the <\/em>Page Experience Update<\/em><\/a> can affect your organic performance.<\/em><\/p>

After Google announced the Core Web Vitals being rolled out as part of the new ranking factor, Rick analyzed the three metrics. The Core Web Vital having the worse performance score was the Largest Contentful Paint. <\/p>

The LCP measures how long it takes for the largest element to load and become visible in the viewport. Quite often, the largest element is an image. More specifically, it\u2019s the feature image. And guess what? That was precisely the biggest issue in the terrible site\u2019s load time. <\/p>

\u201cLike many WordPress sites that are quickly put together, we didn\u2019t consider load times in the initial rollout\u201d, explains Rick. \u201cSince SEO quickly started to be a key factor for our business model, it was time to start optimizing site\u2019s performance and Core Web Vitals scores<\/a>\u201d, he adds. He was truly concerned that the site\u2019s rankings would get worse rather than improve. And he had good reasons to believe it.<\/p>

The Delay JavaScript Feature as the Turning Point<\/h2>

Rick didn\u2019t start using WP Rocket right away. At first, his team was using another caching plugin. However, \u201csupport was always a hassle\u201d, he explains. And everyone knows how expert and friendly support makes all the difference for customers<\/a>.<\/p>

So, Rick kept looking for the right solution to his needs. He wanted a high-quality performance, plus excellent customer support. Can you blame him?<\/p>

Here\u2019s when WP Rocket comes into play. \u201cWP Rocket turned out to be the right and mature solution to caching\u201d, Rick says. <\/p>

What made the difference in Rick\u2019s choice was the Delay JavaScript execution feature provided by WP Rocket<\/a>.  <\/p>

In fact, the turning point for his decision was the possibility to delay the loading of JavaScript files until user interaction easily. It\u2019s no coincidence that delaying JavaScript files helps reduce loading time and improve LCP \u2014 the Core Web Vital metric<\/a> that Rick aimed to improve in the first place.<\/p>

Zoom out<\/em><\/strong>:  Lighthouse \u2014 therefore, PageSpeed Insights \u2014 won\u2019t detect any JavaScript files that have been delayed. It means you\u2019ll get a boost for the \u201cRemove unused Javascript files<\/a>\u201d PSI recommendation, even though it’s not the first reason why you should delay JavaScript files. <\/em><\/p>

Back to Rick: \u201cWe also liked the possibility to download a configuration file of current settings<\/strong>. This way, if we make a mistake, we can always roll back to a previously saved version\u201d, he adds. An option that comes quite in handy, right?<\/p>

Last but not least, Rick decided to purchase WP Rocket thanks to the generous refund period that mitigated any risk. In case you\u2019re wondering, we provide a refund if you request it within 14 days of your purchase<\/a>. In other words, taking the chance to optimize your site\u2019s performance has never been safer and easier!<\/strong><\/p>

How to Optimize Astra\u2019s Theme with WP Rocket<\/h2>

Let\u2019s now jump into the performance optimization details. Rick shared the settings he worked on to achieve an excellent performance score with the Astra theme. His team spent around 100 hours getting all the pieces working at their best. So, he shared with us a pretty valuable piece of information \u2014 and he’s open to answering more questions if you want to get in touch with him.<\/p>

The Tools <\/h3>

Let\u2019s start with the tools. Here\u2019s what the team used:<\/p>