Here are a few steps that you can take to optimize WordPress for the Core Web Vitals:
- Optimize images: Large images can take a long time to load, which can affect the Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) and the First Input Delay (FID) of a page. To optimize images in WordPress, you can try using a plugin like Imagify or ShortPixel to automatically compress images as they are uploaded to the media library. You can also consider using responsive images to ensure that the size of the images is appropriate for the device and connection that is being used to view the page.
- Minimize the use of large plugins: Some WordPress plugins can add a lot of code to your website, which can affect the LCP and the FID of a page. To minimize the impact of plugins on performance, you can consider disabling or deleting any unnecessary plugins and only keeping the ones that are absolutely necessary. You can also consider using lightweight alternatives to some of the larger plugins.
- Use a lightweight theme: The theme that you use can also have an impact on the performance of your website. To optimize for the Core Web Vitals, you can consider using a lightweight theme that is optimized for performance. You can also consider using a theme that is built with a framework, such as the Genesis framework, which can help to minimize the amount of code that is added to your website.
- Enable Gzip compression: Gzip compression can help to reduce the size of the files that are sent from your server to the user’s browser, which can help to improve the LCP and the FID of your website. To enable Gzip compression in WordPress, you can use a plugin like Gzip Ninja Speed Compression or you can add the following code to your .htaccess file:
<ifModule mod_gzip.c>
mod_gzip_on Yes
mod_gzip_dechunk Yes
mod_gzip_item_include file .(html?|txt|css|js|php|pl)$
mod_gzip_item_include handler ^cgi-script$
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^text/.*
mod_gzip_item_include mime ^application/x-javascript.*
mod_gzip_item_exclude mime ^image/.*
mod_g