{"id":3311,"date":"2026-10-01T07:29:14","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T07:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siteharbour.com\/blog\/?p=3311"},"modified":"2026-10-01T07:29:14","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T07:29:14","slug":"speed-up-wordpress-shared-hosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siteharbour.com\/blog\/speed-up-wordpress-shared-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Speed Up WordPress on Shared Hosting in 5 Easy Steps"},"content":{"rendered":"

To speed up WordPress on shared hosting, do five things in this order: make a backup, update PHP in cPanel, turn on the LiteSpeed Cache plugin, shrink your images, and remove plugins you no longer use. Together these fix the most common causes of a slow site. None of them needs coding, and each takes a few minutes.<\/p>\n

The steps are written for cPanel hosting on LiteSpeed servers, which is what SiteHarbour shared hosting uses. If your site is still slow afterwards, our guide on why your WordPress site is slow<\/a> shows how to find the exact cause.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Make a backup first<\/h2>\n

Every change below is safe, but a backup lets you undo anything in minutes. In cPanel, open Backup Wizard<\/strong>, choose Back Up<\/strong>, then Full Backup<\/strong> (or Home Directory<\/strong> and MySQL Databases<\/strong> separately), and download the files to your computer.<\/p>\n

\n

Warning.<\/strong> Do not skip the backup. A new PHP version or plugin can occasionally clash with an old theme. With a backup that is a five-minute fix, and without one it can mean a lost site.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Step 2: Update your PHP version<\/h2>\n

PHP is the engine that builds every WordPress page. Newer versions run the same code faster, and old versions stop receiving security fixes. This is often the biggest single speed gain, and it costs nothing.<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Log in to cPanel and open MultiPHP Manager<\/strong> under Software<\/strong>. If you see Select PHP Version<\/strong> instead, use that. The idea is the same.<\/li>\n
  2. Tick the box next to your domain.<\/li>\n
  3. In the PHP Version<\/strong> drop-down, pick the newest version your theme and plugins support. In most cases that is the latest 8.x release in the list.<\/li>\n
  4. Click Apply<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Now open your website and your \/wp-admin<\/code> login in a new tab. If either shows an error, go back to cPanel, choose the previous PHP version and click Apply<\/strong>. The error is almost always an outdated plugin or theme, so update or replace it before you try again.<\/p>\n

    Step 3: Turn on LiteSpeed Cache<\/h2>\n

    Without a cache, WordPress rebuilds every page for every visitor. A cache saves the finished page and serves that copy instead, which is much faster. Our servers run LiteSpeed, so the free LiteSpeed Cache plugin can work with the server directly.<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. In WordPress, go to Plugins<\/strong>, then Add New<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    2. Search for LiteSpeed Cache<\/strong> by LiteSpeed Technology, then click Install Now<\/strong> and Activate<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
    3. Open LiteSpeed Cache<\/strong>, then Cache<\/strong>, and check that Enable Cache<\/strong> is set to ON<\/strong>. That is normally the default, and for most sites it is all you need.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n

      Tip.<\/strong> Use only one caching plugin. If you already have another one (WP Super Cache, W3 Total Cache and similar), deactivate it before you activate LiteSpeed Cache, or the two will conflict.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      Leave the other settings alone for now. Switching on advanced options you do not understand is the most common way a cache plugin breaks a layout. If something looks wrong later, use Purge All<\/strong> in the plugin menu at the top of your dashboard to clear the saved pages.<\/p>\n

      Step 4: Shrink your images<\/h2>\n

      Large photos are the usual reason a page is heavy. A single phone photo can be several megabytes, while an image in a blog post only needs about 100 to 200 KB.<\/p>\n