Meeting Google standards on page speed insights is important for SEO. Google ranks slower performing websites lower than faster websites in the same niche.
Use this step-by-step guide to preload key requests on your WordPress site which will improve your SEO and increase traffic.
If you are seeing this warning after testing your website on Google Page Speed Insights, you can add some simple markup to improve load times. The times will vary, and for websites that are not optimized, it can be a significant amount. When you preload key requests, you tell your visitors browser to load necessary assets (like fonts) before loading larger or less important files. Which leads to faster load times.
This tutorial will show you how to preload key requests on WordPress. (You can use this guide if you are not using a content management system but you will need to edit the markup on every page individually)
Note: Before changing your website, always create a backup.
Step 1: Log into your WordPress Dashboard
Step 2: Navigate to “Appearance” then click on “Theme Editor”
Step 3: On the right side of your screen, click on “Theme Header”
Step 4: Copy this HTML block
<link rel="preload" href="URL FROM GOOGLE PSI" as="font" crossorigin="anonymous">Step 5: Paste it between the <head> and </head> HTML tags
Step 6: Go back to Google Page Speed Insights and copy the link to preload. You will most likely have multiple links, repeat steps 6 – 7 until you preload all links
Step 7: Go back to your theme header file and paste the link between the quotation marks “” replacing: URL FROM GOOGLE PSI (Do not replace the quotes)
Step 8: Click “Update File”
To immediately test if everything is working, you may need to clear your browser and site cache. If you are using a caching plugin, go to the settings and clear it there. Depending on your host, there may be an option on your cPanel to clear your site cache. If you cannot do either of these, wait ~24 hours for browsers to catch up with your edits.
You also need to clear your cache locally:
Chrome and Firefox: Press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Delete
Safari: Cmd + Alt + E
After you cleared your cache, go back to Google Page Speed Insights and re-test.
Now that you know how to preload key requests on WordPress, sign up for our newsletter for more weekly tips and guides.
Unlock Weekly Wisdom!
Dive deep into web development and business topics with our curated newsletter, delivered to your inbox every week.
Meeting Google standards on page speed insights is important for SEO. Google ranks slower performing websites lower than faster websites in the same niche.
Use this step-by-step guide to preload key requests on your WordPress site which will improve your SEO and increase traffic.
If you are seeing this warning after testing your website on Google Page Speed Insights, you can add some simple markup to improve load times. The times will vary, and for websites that are not optimized, it can be a significant amount. When you preload key requests, you tell your visitors browser to load necessary assets (like fonts) before loading larger or less important files. Which leads to faster load times.
This tutorial will show you how to preload key requests on WordPress. (You can use this guide if you are not using a content management system but you will need to edit the markup on every page individually)
Note: Before changing your website, always create a backup.
Step 1: Log into your WordPress Dashboard
Step 2: Navigate to “Appearance” then click on “Theme Editor”
Step 3: On the right side of your screen, click on “Theme Header”
Step 4: Copy this HTML block
<link rel="preload" href="URL FROM GOOGLE PSI" as="font" crossorigin="anonymous">Step 5: Paste it between the <head> and </head> HTML tags
Step 6: Go back to Google Page Speed Insights and copy the link to preload. You will most likely have multiple links, repeat steps 6 – 7 until you preload all links
Step 7: Go back to your theme header file and paste the link between the quotation marks “” replacing: URL FROM GOOGLE PSI (Do not replace the quotes)
Step 8: Click “Update File”
To immediately test if everything is working, you may need to clear your browser and site cache. If you are using a caching plugin, go to the settings and clear it there. Depending on your host, there may be an option on your cPanel to clear your site cache. If you cannot do either of these, wait ~24 hours for browsers to catch up with your edits.
You also need to clear your cache locally:
Chrome and Firefox: Press and hold Ctrl + Shift + Delete
Safari: Cmd + Alt + E
After you cleared your cache, go back to Google Page Speed Insights and re-test.
Now that you know how to preload key requests on WordPress, sign up for our newsletter for more weekly tips and guides.
Unlock Weekly Wisdom!
Dive deep into web development and business topics with our curated newsletter, delivered to your inbox every week.