I came across the NitroPack plugin when I was searching for ways to improve the performance and speed of my WordPress website. However, the tool, although effective, raised multiple questions about its legitimacy, functions, price, and more.
NitroPack plugin significantly boosts WordPress website speed and performance, confirmed by Google PageSpeed Insights analysis, without employing black hat SEO tactics. It optimizes via CDN use, image conversion, and script minimization, enhancing site access and efficiency globally.
Today, let’s discuss how the NitroPack plugin optimizes websites and the features that make it an outstanding choice.
Is NitroPack legit?
After implementing NitroPack on various websites, ranging from image-heavy sites to online stores, I conducted a thorough analysis using the Google PageSpeed Insights Tool. The comparative results observed before and after applying NitroPack were remarkably impressive.
However, some WordPress users have expressed concerns about NitroPack possibly employing black hat SEO tactics to enhance page speed.
Ferdy’s Fundamentals – What is black hat SEO?
Black hat SEO is the process of adding illegitimate strategies and manipulating search engines to rank higher in the SERPs.
Judging from the extraordinary results, their doubts about the tool’s legitimacy are not unwarranted!
Having said that, I put on my detective glasses and started digging deep for some information. And I can confidently conclude that Nitropack is not cheating the system.
Firstly, I observed no change in my site’s visitor volume, ranking, and performance after implementing the NitroPack plugin.
Secondly, NitroPack is one of the most reliable site speed optimization plugins endorsed by Google, As seen in the photo below, in their Core Vitals Technology report, Google ranks the plugin as one of the best tools for site speed optimization.
Delving deeper into NitroPack’s collaboration with Google, it’s not just about ranking on the Core Vitals Technology report. Google actively collaborates with NitroPack, hosting webinars and insightful events aimed at enhancing page speeds and improving INP (Interactivity to Next Paint).
It’s a symbiotic relationship pushing the boundaries of site speed optimization. This partnership is a testament to NitroPack’s commitment to playing by the rules while innovating.
How does NitroPack work?
Now that I have confirmed the legitimacy of the NitroPack plugin, let’s look at how NitroPack works and the features that make it a trustworthy resource for webmasters. And that, too, without compromising the functionality of your website.
Look, NitroPack isn’t just your average site speed optimization plugin. It compresses your website and hosts it on a Content Delivery Network (CDN) so it’s quickly accessible to a global audience, regardless of their geographical location.
For instance, consider a visitor from Australia accessing your website. With NitroPack, they won’t need to establish a connection to a distant server in America. Instead, NitroPack smartly directs them to the nearest CDN server located in Australia.
This is because NitroPack has strategically distributed your website across global servers, ensuring faster and more efficient access for visitors, no matter where they are.
They use CloudFlare CDN, which, combined with NitroPack, gives your WordPress website a significant speed boost.
Ferdy’s Fundamentals – What is a CDN?
A CDN places your website on multiple servers around the world. The webpage is then delivered to the visitor from a server location closest to their physical location, thus, boosting the page load speed.
NitroPack’s site speed optimization features
Let’s not forget the other tricks up NitroPack’s sleeve. It’s a powerhouse, optimizing your website through advanced optimization techniques, including:
- Lazy loading: It loads images only when they are visible on the screen, reducing initial load time. It’s like NitroPack knows exactly when to show an image, keeping your pages light and speedy.
- Automatic PNG to WebP image conversion: The latest image format type, WebP compresses images more efficiently than the standard PNG and JPEG. NitroPack converts images to WebP automatically. It’s about getting the best quality at the smallest size – a real win-win.
- Unused CSS and Javascript removal: NitroPack’s meticulous removal of unused CSS and JavaScript is like a spring clean for your website, ensuring everything runs smoothly and swiftly.
Pro tip: Despite being an excellent tool, it is recommended that you check the functions on your website after installing the NitroPack plugin to ensure everything is working as you require.
I went through my website and rechecked all the buttons to verify there was no glitch. If you find any trouble with your website, you can change the ‘Optimization Mode’ from your WordPress admin dashboard.
The NitroPack plugin lets you choose between five Optimization Modes:
- Standard
- Medium
- Strong
- Ludicrous
- Manual
It’s crucial to remember that while Ludicrous mode is a speed demon, it might not play well with websites heavy on JavaScript. In such cases, I recommend switching to the Strong optimization mode as it’s better suited.
It’s all about finding that sweet spot where speed meets functionality. Always remember, after tweaking the settings, hit that ‘Purge Cache’ button to let NitroPack work its magic on the new configurations.
Experimenting with NitroPack’s free plan
I started out experimenting with NitroPack using their free plan.
With the free plan, I received the plugin support for:
- 3 websites
- Up to 5,000 page views
- 1 GB CDN Bandwidth
I experimented with three websites on my free plan.
Test #1: Light-weight WordPress website
The first website is my main Ferdykorpershoek.com page. Before integrating with NitroPack, my website had poor performance and a ‘laggy’ load speed.
However, the change was evident on the Google PageSpeed Insights report after I connected my website with the NitroPack plugin.
