Domains & Hosting
Top 5 Hosting Mistakes That Kill Website Performance (AU) — How to Fix Them Fast
By Dominik Kowalski · Updated 21 Aug 2025 · ~10–12 min read
Purpose: Give AU teams a fast, low‑risk playbook to remove the biggest hosting bottlenecks before spending on a redesign.
The 5 mistakes (and fixes)
| Mistake | Symptoms | Quick Fix | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1) Underpowered shared plan | TTFB > 600ms, slow at peak times | Enable server caching; upgrade to managed VPS | Dedicated resources remove noisy neighbours and CPU throttling |
| 2) No CDN for static assets | High first byte and content download for images/JS | Add a CDN with AU POPs; cache images and JS | Edge delivery reduces distance and speeds up render |
| 3) Bloated media | LCP images > 300KB; slow hero rendering | Convert to AVIF/WebP; lazy‑load below the fold | Smaller media = faster bytes to first paint and LCP |
| 4) No server‑level caching | High CPU, repeated identical queries | Turn on page/object/opcache; add reverse proxy where possible | Serve hot responses from cache; reduce PHP/DB work |
| 5) Outdated PHP/CMS stack | Security warnings; plugin conflicts; slow ops | Update PHP to current LTS; patch CMS/plugins; stage rollouts | Modern runtimes are faster and safer |
Thresholds to watch (AU): TTFB < 600ms; LCP < 2.5s; INP < 200ms; CLS < 0.1 (see Core Web Vitals).
30‑minute triage checklist
- Measure: Run a WebPageTest from Sydney; collect TTFB/LCP/INP.
- Images: Convert hero images to AVIF/WebP; set width/height; lazy‑load others.
- Caching: Enable server/page/object caching; verify cache‑hit ratio.
- CDN: Add CDN; ensure AU POP; cache static assets; set long max‑age.
- Runtime: Upgrade PHP to supported LTS; disable unused modules.
- Retest: Compare before/after; keep a simple runbook.
AU‑specific notes
- Latency: If your audience is mostly Australian, prefer AU servers or a CDN with robust AU presence.
- Support hours: A host with AU time‑zone support shortens incident duration during work hours.
- Data residency: Regulated sectors may prefer AU data centres—confirm at procurement.
Internal links — continue your fix
- Pick the right tier: Shared vs VPS vs Cloud
- AU latency factors: Hosting Location for SEO in Australia
- Launch hygiene: SEO Checklist for Website Launches
Want a second set of eyes? We can review your stack and implement quick wins without disrupting campaigns. Contact Dominik Digital Marketing for a pragmatic action plan.