How to enable GZIP compression WordPress

Enable gzip compression in WordPress

In order to render your web pages faster from WordPress, and to score higher on Google PageSpeed Insights, especially on the Enable Compression test, you should activate Gzip compression. You can check if that's the case for your website on gidnetwork.

Quick hint : best solution is to activate gzip compression for WordPress with PHP by adding this code at the beggining of your wp-config.php file:

Best WordPress compression plugin

Many plugins promise to make it happen : Gzip ninja speed compression, W3 Total cache, but sometimes it just doesn't work.

After trying these plugins, this is the result we got - gzip compression wasn't working, either with plugins or with htaccess update.

The score on  Google PageSpeed Insights   for our website were pretty bad:

Master Website Creation: Enroll Now!

Transform your digital presence with our comprehensive Website Creation course – start your journey to becoming a web expert today!

Enroll Here

Therefore, the best solutions are to update your htaccess, or, if still not working, to add the code mentioned above, to get following results - unfortunately, external scripts can only be improved by their owners.

Enable GZIP compression WordPress htaccess

Another solution is to enable GZIP compression in WordPress htaccess. To do so, simply open the htaccess file with a text editor, and add these lines somewhere in a new line in the file, and upload it back on the webserver with these changes included to enable GZIP compression WordPress:

If your server allows compression and the mod_deflate is installed, then the GZIP compression for your WordPress site will be activated.

Frequently Asked Questions

What methods can WordPress site owners employ to enable GZIP compression, enhancing site speed and performance for visitors?

WordPress site owners can enable GZIP compression by editing the .htaccess file to include GZIP compression rules, using plugins such as W3 Total Cache or WP Super Cache that offer GZIP compression options, or by ensuring their hosting provider has GZIP enabled server-wide.