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Website Maintenance

Common WordPress Speed Issues and What Fixes Them for Canadian Businesses?

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Common WordPress Speed Issues

Most slow WordPress sites do not break overnight. They slow down little by little. A few heavy plugins. A bad theme. Large images. No caching. Two years later the site takes six seconds to load, and business owners in Mississauga wonder why calls dropped.

My team and I fix these problems every week. So this guide breaks down the most common WordPress speed issues, the real fixes that work, and the signs you should watch for.

Heavy Plugins and High CPU Usage

Many speed issues come from plugin overload. Some themes add 15 to 20 extra plugins you never use. Some plugins fight with each other. Some spike the CPU.

Reddit users often point to problem themes like WoodMart or older builder themes. It would be a good idea to check if you are on that theme.

IssueWhy It HappensFix
High CPU usageOld theme, too many plugins, bad codeRemove heavy plugins, replace theme, use cleaner builder
Slow dashboardPlugins using too many hooksDisable non-essentials, test one by one
Random speed dropsPlugin updates causing conflictUse a staging site, test updates first

A site should be stable on good hosting. If CPU hits the roof often, something is wrong.

No Caching or Weak Hosting

Many small businesses use shared hosting. It works for day one. The moment traffic grows, the site crawls.

My advice is simple:
“I optimize images and set up basic caching to improve loading times.”

FixImpact
Server-level cachingFastest improvement, OP Cache enabled on our server helps websites hosted on our hosting immensely.
CDNLighter load on server. We use Quic CDN for our clients.
Better hostingBig jump for busy sites. 
Page cache pluginGood for low-traffic sites, we rely on Lite speed Cache 

If your site loads in 4–8 seconds, caching and hosting upgrades usually fix 60% of the problem.

Large Images and Unoptimized Media

Big heavy images are the biggest reason pages load slow.

Fixes include:

  • Compress images

  • Convert to WebP. It aches me to see that still archaic JPEGs and PNGs are rampant.

  • Use correct image sizes

  • Lazy load below-the-fold images

A local Mississauga bakery we support had a homepage at 19 MB. After compressing and resizing, it dropped to 2.1 MB. Their load time went from 7.9 seconds to under 2 seconds.

Theme and Plugin Conflicts

My 2 Cents-

Never update directly on production. Always read the changelog and recent reviews first.

Old themes break. Deprecated builders break even more.

Fixes include:

  • Update on staging

  • Replace old themes with modern ones

  • Remove plugins that are not maintained

  • Use PHP 8+ compatible themes

If your theme throws warnings in the error log, replace it, do not repair it.

 

Email Errors That Slow Down the Site

WordPress 6.9 changed how emails send. This caused delays and failures.

Fix:

  • Switch to SMTP. Our experience has been great with Brevo, we are a proud partner as well.

  • Update email plugins

  • Test forms often

If email fails, checkout pages and lead forms slow down or freeze.

Slow Database and No Clean-Up

Over time the database collects junk.

Fixes:

  • Clean post revisions

  • Delete transients

  • Remove unused tables

  • Optimize database monthly

Poor or No Website Maintenance Schedule

Slow sites often share the same pattern:

  • No backups

  • No staging site

  • No form testing

  • No plugin review

  • No security scanning

When these basics fail, speed drops and errors pile up.

At Clickworthy, our $299/month maintenance plan keeps WordPress fast, backed up, secure, and updated. One hour of dev time is included for fixes or edits.

Frequently Asked Questions on Common WordPress Speed Issues and What Fixes Them

Why is my WordPress site slow?
Usually heavy plugins, weak hosting, big images, or a bad theme.

How do I speed it up fast?
Compress images, turn on caching, remove heavy plugins, and move to better hosting.

Should I use a staging site?
Yes. Always test updates there.

Can a theme slow down a site?
Yes. Old themes cause errors, slow pages, and high CPU.

Does Clickworthy fix WordPress speed?
Yes. We fix speed issues as part of our $299/month plan.

From the Author: Kumar Vaibhav Tanwar

Hi, I’m Kumar Vaibhav Tanwar, founder of Clickworthy Digital Marketing.

I wrote this guide because almost every slow WordPress site I see has the same story. The business owner paid for a good build, added a few plugins over time, skipped updates, and one day the site turned slow. Forms take long to load. Pages freeze. Customers click away.

For most small businesses, WordPress speed is not a “tech issue.” It is a real money issue. A slow site kills leads. It hurts rankings. It makes ads expensive. You do not need 20 tools or a developer on staff. You need simple steps that keep your site fast, clean, and working.

My team and I do this work every week for real clients in Mississauga and across Canada. We see what slows sites down, what fixes them fast, and what problems come back when maintenance is ignored. That is why this guide shows real speed issues, the fixes that work, and what you should look for before things break.

If you understand these basics now, you can stop guessing, keep your website fast, and protect the leads your business depends on.

Message from the Clickworthy Website Maintenance Team:

As a team, we work with Canadian businesses every day. Plumbers, clinics, therapists, landscapers, real estate teams, and more. Almost all of them come to us with the same pattern. A slow site. No caching. No backups. Old plugins. And no clear owner for the technical side.

That is why we built this guide. We wanted one simple breakdown of the most common WordPress speed problems, why they happen, and what actually fixes them without wasting money.

We see the same issues again and again. Large images that make pages heavy. Plugin conflicts that spike the CPU. Themes that are no longer supported. Forms that freeze. Homepages that look fine on desktop but are slow on mobile. When these things break, even the best design or ads cannot save results.

At Clickworthy, we treat speed as a steady job, not a one-time fix. Our focus is clear. Keep the site fast. Keep it clean. Keep it updated. Check forms. Test speed. Remove things that slow it down. If you are planning to improve your WordPress speed, this guide will help you know what to check, what to fix, and how to keep your site strong month after month.

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