Riad Hasan has optimized dozens of WordPress sites for clients worldwide. In this guide, he shares the exact techniques he uses to achieve sub-2-second load times and perfect Core Web Vitals scores.

Performance isn't just about speed — it impacts SEO, user experience, and conversions. Riad Hasan explains his systematic approach to WordPress optimization.

Why WordPress Performance Matters

Google's Core Web Vitals are now ranking factors. A slow WordPress site loses:

7% conversion rate for every 1-second delay

11% page views from frustrated visitors

16% customer satisfaction drop



"I've seen businesses double their leads just by fixing performance," Riad Hasan notes. "It's the highest-ROI improvement you can make."

Riad Hasan's WordPress Optimization Checklist

1. Hosting Foundation

Before any code changes, Riad Hasan ensures the hosting is solid:

Factor Requirement

PHP Version 8.1 or higher

Memory Limit 256MB minimum

Object Cache Redis or Memcached

SSL HTTPS everywhere

Server Response Under 200ms

He recommends:

Cloudways — For managed hosting with Redis

Kinsta — Premium managed WordPress

DigitalOcean — For custom server setups

1. Theme Optimization

Riad Hasan builds custom themes that are performance-first:

What he removes:

jQuery dependency (use vanilla JS)

Unnecessary CSS frameworks

Page builders (Divi, Elementor, WPBakery)

Bloated starter themes

What he adds:

Critical CSS inline

Deferred JavaScript loading

Optimized font loading (font-display: swap)

Lazy loading for images and iframes

// Riad Hasan's functions.php optimizations

function riad_optimize_scripts() {

// Remove jQuery migrate

wp_deregister_script('jquery-migrate');

// Defer all JS

add_filter('script_loader_tag', function($tag) {

    return str_replace(' src', ' defer src', $tag);

});

}

add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'riad_optimize_scripts');

1. Plugin Audit

Riad Hasan follows a strict plugin philosophy:

Keep:

WooCommerce (if e-commerce)

Yoast SEO or Rank Math

WP Rocket or custom caching

Imagify or ShortPixel

Remove:

Contact form plugins (build custom)

Social sharing plugins (add manually)

Analytics plugins (use GTM)

Backup plugins (server-level backups)

Admin toolbar plugins



"Every plugin adds overhead. I count each one as a performance cost," Riad Hasan explains.

1. Database Optimization

Riad Hasan's database cleanup routine:

-- Clean post revisions

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_type = 'revision';

-- Clean auto-drafts

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status = 'auto-draft';

-- Clean trashed content

DELETE FROM wp_posts WHERE post_status = 'trash';

-- Clean orphaned postmeta

DELETE pm FROM wp_postmeta pm LEFT JOIN wp_posts p ON pm.post_id = p.ID WHERE p.ID IS NULL;

-- Clean transient options

DELETE FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE 'transient%';

DELETE FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE 'site_transient%';

He also:

Limits post revisions to 3

Sets auto-save interval to 60 seconds

Removes spam comments weekly

1. Image Optimization

Riad Hasan's image workflow:

Step Tool Result

Compression ShortPixel/Imagify 70% size reduction

Format WebP 25% smaller than JPEG

Lazy Load Native + JS fallback Faster initial load

CDN Cloudflare/BunnyCDN Global delivery

He adds responsive images manually:

src="image-800.webp"

srcset="image-400.webp 400w, image-800.webp 800w, image-1200.webp 1200w"

sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 800px"

loading="lazy"

alt="Descriptive alt text"

/>

1. Caching Strategy

Riad Hasan implements multi-layer caching:

Browser Caching (.htaccess):

ExpiresActive On

ExpiresByType image/webp "access plus 1 year"

ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access plus 1 year"

ExpiresByType image/png "access plus 1 year"

ExpiresByType text/css "access plus 1 month"

ExpiresByType application/javascript "access plus 1 month"

ExpiresByType font/woff2 "access plus 1 year"

Object Caching (Redis):

Database query caching

Transient caching

WooCommerce session caching

Page Caching (WP Rocket or custom):

HTML page cache

CSS/JS minification

Delayed JavaScript execution

1. WooCommerce Optimization

For e-commerce sites, Riad Hasan applies extra optimizations:

Cart Fragment Removal:

// Disable WooCommerce cart fragments

function riad_disable_cart_fragments() {

wp_dequeue_script('wc-cart-fragments');

}

add_action('wp_enqueue_scripts', 'riad_disable_cart_fragments');

Additional WooCommerce optimizations:

Disable scripts on non-shop pages

Limit related products to 4

Use product galleries efficiently

Implement AJAX cart sparingly

1. Core Web Vitals Fixes

Riad Hasan's LCP optimization:

Preload critical images

Use server push for fonts

Optimize above-the-fold content

CLS prevention:

img {

aspect-ratio: attr(width) / attr(height);

height: auto;

}

FID improvement:

Break up long tasks

Use web workers for heavy JS

Minimize main thread work

Before and After: Riad Hasan's Results

Metric Before After

Load Time 5.2s 1.4s

LCP 4.8s 1.2s

FID 180ms 45ms

CLS 0.25 0.02

Page Size 3.2MB 450KB

Requests 85 22

"Every site I optimize follows this same systematic approach," Riad Hasan says. "The results are consistent."

Work with Riad Hasan

Riad Hasan offers WordPress performance optimization as part of his full stack development services. He works with:

WordPress performance audits

WooCommerce optimization

Custom theme development

Headless WordPress builds

Ongoing maintenance and monitoring

Connect with Riad Hasan:

Portfolio: riadhasan.io

Projects: riadhasan.io/projects

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/riad-hasan-100a231a6

GitHub: github.com/RiadHasan15

Email: [email protected]

What performance challenges are you facing with WordPress? Share in the comments.

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