Testing & Diagnosing Speed Problems Checklist...
YOU DIDN'T GET A GREAT RESULT? NO PROBLEM...
SITE SPEED TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE
You can visit the video tutorial here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xi4PCScE9RU and then follow the tips below.
Here's a list of things you can go through to help identify your issue.
With WordPress every site is different, every setup is different, every .htaccess security file is different ... Some plugins you may have used in the past may not have cleared their settings leaving junk instructions which are still active in your .htaccess that's causing bad results so check you are using a default .htaccess file
In our testing earlier this month we got inconsistent results with Google Page Speed Insights & GT Metrics...we are not saying these services are bad but they did not give us reliable results so for now we are recommending pingdom.
10 KNOWN PROBLEMS THAT CAUSE SITE SPEED ISSUES
1. Not removing other speed up products & running too many plugins 15+
2. Using an unreliable testing service
3. Doing your testing during peak internet activity
4. Not allowing time for the page cache to load.
5. Not optimizing your graphics
6. Not removing slow plugins or themes
7. Not enabling Developer Mode when testing under Cloudflare
8. If you disabled poor quality cache product... there is a strong possibility that those settings haven't cleared from .htaccess
9. You may have one or several videos on page delivered via a CDN like Youtube, Vimeo - these could be slowing your site down
10. You site could be making requests to other sites such as ad networks, timers. split test services & their servers could be slow during the test.
Check that your cache has started building in your Viper Cache control panel & browse the page you want to test in a browser where you are not logged in
To be certain your cache is working correctly - right click in Chrome and select “view page source”… scroll down to the bottom & you'll see this line
<!-- Cached by Viper Cache Created: 2018-XX-XX XX:XX:XX UTC. HTTPS page: Yes/No. Size: original=xxxxxx bytes. minified=xxxxx bytes. -->
HOW TO TEST & USE THE PRODUCTS ...
Firstly, testing is not quite as simple as it sounds as you have to do the right steps in order to get the best results...
1. Remove any other optimisation/cache plugins
2. Run a control speed test via
selecting the server closest to your server's location
3. Install WP Optimiser Plugin & enabled it
4. Do a bulk graphics optimisation
5. Do a database optimisation
6. Enable Lazy Load
7. Test your site works correctly or disable lazy load if your images don't load
8. FOR VIPER CACHE CUSTOMERS - Enable the plugin & if your site is SSL enable the SSL switch
9. Retest your site to make sure everything works & if it doesn't turn off all switches and re-enable one by one to isolate the problem.
10. Re-run the tests via pingdom discarding the 1st results again selecting the server closest to your server location - this allows the cache to build. Do 3 tests & take an average for best results
Remember testing over the web is not an exact science as your page request can & often does take different routes across the internet - so results will vary.
If for any reason you can't see the number of cached pages increase when you refresh your WP Viper Cache settings screen or the viper cache code does not appear at the bottom of your page source then please create a ticket at our support desk for a resolution.