Identifying Issues in Pagespeed Insights: Server Response Time and Long Main Thread Tasks

CMS & WordPress
1

Hello everyone!

I recently ran a Pagespeed Insights analysis ( https://pagespeed.web.dev/analysis/https-www-fotov60-com/ouhe2z45s5?hl=es&form_factor=mobile ) for my WordPress site and encountered two prominent issues that I would like to address: server response time and long main thread tasks.

  1. Server Response Time: According to the report, the initial server response time is around 0.91 seconds, which is considered slow. However, when I consulted my hosting service’s technical support, they informed me that the server response time is actually lower. They provided a link to a static file (https:// fotov60 .com/ license.txt) for verification, and indeed, the response time was faster in that case. I am using WordPress version 6.2 and the Litespeed Cache plugin, hosted on a LiteSpeed server. I would like to understand why the Pagespeed Insights report shows a higher response time and how I can improve this aspect.

  2. Long Main Thread Tasks: Pagespeed Insights also shows me a list of five long main thread tasks. I understand that these tasks can contribute to latency and affect the overall site performance. I would like to identify the specific tasks and explore how I can avoid them or improve their execution to reduce the load on the main thread.

Before we begin, here is the list of plugins I have installed on my WordPress site:

  • query-monitor/query-monitor.php
  • akismet/akismet.php
  • apcu-manager/apcu-manager.php
  • auto-image-attributes-from-filename-with-bulk-updater/iaff_image-attributes-from-filename.php
  • broken-link-checker/broken-link-checker.php
  • classic-widgets/classic-widgets.php
  • comments-cleaner/comments-cleaner.php
  • decalog/decalog.php
  • delete-expired-transients/delete-expired-transients.php
  • freesoul-deactivate-plugins/freesoul-deactivate-plugins.php
  • google-site-kit/google-site-kit.php
  • https-redirection/https-redirection.php
  • indexnow/indexnow-url-submission.php
  • jetpack-boost/jetpack-boost.php
  • jetpack-protect/jetpack-protect.php
  • jetpack/jetpack.php
  • litespeed-cache/litespeed-cache.php
  • ninjafirewall/ninjafirewall.php
  • performance-lab/load.php
  • seo-by-rank-math/rank-math.php
  • ssl-insecure-content-fixer/ssl-insecure-content-fixer.php
  • theme-check/theme-check.php
  • tinymce-advanced/tinymce-advanced.php
  • transients-manager/transients-manager.php
  • wordfence/wordfence.php
  • wp-issuu/issuu-embed.php
  • wp-sweep/wp-sweep.php
  • wp-youtube-lyte/wp-youtube-lyte.php

My questions are:

  1. Since the server response time appears to be lower when accessing static files like the one provided (https://fotov60.com/license.txt), why does the Pagespeed Insights report show a higher response time? Are there other factors that might be influencing the server response time on my WordPress site, considering I am using WordPress version 6.2, the Litespeed Cache plugin, and hosted on a LiteSpeed server?

  2. How can I identify the specific tasks on the main thread that are contributing to the latency? Are there any recommended tools or techniques for analyzing and improving the execution of these tasks?

  3. Based on the provided plugin list, are there any known plugins that could be causing these performance issues? Which plugins should I review and consider deactivating to optimize performance?

I appreciate any guidance or suggestions to address these issues and improve the performance of my WordPress site. Additionally, if there are any other aspects I should consider or any other data I should provide to get a better response, please let me know.

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

2

If you want to decrease the list of the CSS & JS that are automatically load on each page, you can use Asset CleanUp : Page Speed Booster. Asset CleanUp : Page Speed Booster is a wordpress plugin that gives you control on what is loaded on each page decreasing the loading Time of your page. It is useful if you have many CSS & JS files that are not needed especially on Home page or strategics pages

3

Thank you for your response, but I’m not sure if Asset CleanUp: Page Speed Booster would be compatible with Litespeed Cache, which not only handles caching but also minifies and combines CSS and JS files, and generates UCSS. It might potentially create conflicts, right?

Additionally, I would like to be able to identify the specific elements that are causing these bottlenecks in order to learn more about how WordPress and its environment function and what affects them. More than just finding a solution, I would like to understand which tools to use and how to go beyond the brief Insights report that only shows my domain multiple times with a duration in milliseconds. I want to see which process, plugin, script, or other factors are causing these issues and why.

4

Well, don’t worry.
I use LiteSpeedCache with Asset clean up Page speed Booster for years and It works well. I am not using minify and Combine CS with Asset Clean Up because I use Lite Speed Cache to do the job.
An other solution is Perfmatters but I didn’t try it
In my opinion it is the only way to select the CSS & JS that are essential with Wordpressfor each page.
Try it you will have better performances

5

I find it amusing that you suggest to add more plugins to increase the speed….

Even if I can’t help with WordPress, I go with the thread opener. Reduce the plugins to the really needed ones. Try to find the ones which are slowing down your page and replace them with better ones.

6

Hello,
I am currently using Litespeed plugin and rely on the image optimization feature that it offers. However, most of the converted webp files are .jpeg.webp. It might be hurting my websites pagespeed score as it is still suggesting to use next-gen image formats. I heard that you can not use other image optimization plugins with litespeed. Is there a fix regarding this that you can suggest? Thank you.