Skip to main content
All website issues
Speed

Your server is slow to respond

What this means for your business

Your web server is taking a long time to start sending your page. Before a visitor sees anything at all, their browser is sitting and waiting. This often points to slow hosting or a server that is doing too much work to build each page.

How to fix it
Medium
1–4 hours

  1. 1Your server is taking too long to start sending the page. Before a visitor sees a single pixel, their browser sits waiting for your server to respond.
  2. 2Check whether you're on shared hosting with many other sites. Shared hosting slows significantly when the server is under load from other users. Upgrading to a VPS or managed WordPress host (like Kinsta, WP Engine, or Cloudways) is the most reliable fix.
  3. 3Enable server-side page caching if you haven't. A cached page is pre-built and served instantly rather than being reconstructed for each visitor.
  4. 4Install a CDN (Cloudflare is free and significantly improves response times worldwide).
  5. 5If you're on WordPress, reduce the number of active plugins — each one adds database queries that slow server response.

On WordPress

Enable page caching with WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or LiteSpeed Cache. These store a pre-built version of each page so the server doesn't have to rebuild it for every visitor. Also, connect Cloudflare (free) to reduce the distance between your server and global visitors.

On Shopify

Shopify manages its own servers, so TTFB on Shopify is usually fast by default. If you're seeing a slow TTFB, it's likely caused by heavy Liquid templates or apps running server-side code. Audit your installed apps and remove unused ones.

Pro tip: Page caching is the single biggest lever for improving TTFB on WordPress. A cached page can respond in under 100ms — the same page without cache can take 500ms–2 seconds. Enable it first, then measure.

Does your site have this problem?

SiteSprout scans your site, tells you which issues you actually have in plain English, and keeps watch so nothing breaks silently.

Scan your site free