Here, we’ll discuss twelve different ways you can speed up the Vivaldi browser.
1. Remove Extra Extensions
Extensions are a great way to add functionalities to your browser. But unfortunately, they also use up system resources, taking a toll on your browser’s performance. So if you’ve added too many extensions to your Vivaldi browser, they might be the reason for the slow speed.
If there are extensions that you’ve not used for a long time, uninstalling them can boost your browser performance and speed. It’s better to remove extensions before trying other methods mentioned below. To uninstall the extension, right-click its icon and choose Remove.
You can also disable the extensions if you need them occasionally and don’t want to uninstall them. To do so, go to vivaldi://extensions/ and disable it.
2. Disable Unwanted Features
Vivaldi is the browser for power users. Understandably, it has a ton of features that most people don’t need. So, it’s worth checking if you’ve enabled any features that you don’t actually use.
Here are some of the features, intended either for power users or better design, that you might not necessarily need:
Mouse Gestures: Go to the Mouse tab in the Vivaldi Settings and disable Mouse Gestures and Rocker Gestures by unchecking them. Animations: Disable Use Animations and Use Buttons in Range Controls from the Appearance tab in Settings. In the Tabs tab, scroll down to Tab Display and uncheck Use Pop-up Thumbnails, Show Tab Thumbnails, and Use Unread Indicators. In the Themes tab, disable Accent from Active Theme of your current theme.
3. Close or Hibernate Tabs
If you have a habit of opening dozens of tabs while browsing, you’ll see a drop in your browser’s speed. Each tab you open uses the system resources, so the more the tabs, the slower the browser.
It’s best to avoid opening too many tabs. But Vivaldi also allows you to hibernate the tabs or tab stacks that you don’t need immediately.
To hibernate the tab or a tab stack, right-click it and choose Hibernate Tab/Tab Stack or Hibernate Background Tabs. By doing so, you can reduce the memory usage of your browser.
Whenever you need to open the tab again, just click on it, and it’ll reload the pages. By stacking the related tabs and hibernating the entire tab stack, you can easily free up your RAM without losing the pages.
4. Clear Cache and Browsing History
If you haven’t cleared your browser cache and browsing data in a while, it’s worth doing it. Though the cache speeds up browsing overall, having a filled-up cache actually has the opposite effect.
You can clear the cache in Vivaldi by opening the Vivaldi menu from the top-right corner. Go to Tools>Delete Browsing Data. Then click the Delete button to clear up your cache and browsing data.
5. Close the Settings Page After Changes
If the Settings page is open in the background, it can also result in a slower browser. So, whenever you change the settings in the Vivaldi browser, make sure to close the settings page before you start your browsing.
6. Remove Web Panels
Web Panel is a great feature of Vivaldi that lets you view web pages simultaneously. But, web panels heavily use the system resources, hampering your browser’s performance.
By removing the web panels, you can speed up Vivaldi. Right-click the Web Panel icon and choose Remove Web Panel to disable it.
Since this great feature slows down the browser, it’s a kind of trade-off between the browser speed and browsing experience. You’ll have to decide which is more important to you.
7. Enable Lazy Load Restored Tabs and Web Panels
If you’ve set Vivaldi to restore the last session, then it’s better to enable Lazy Load Restored Tabs. When this option is enabled, Vivaldi doesn’t reload all the tabs of the last session, but only the active ones. You can enable this by going to Settings> General> Startup.
Similarly, you can enable Lazy Load Web Panels to further speed up your browser. To turn on this feature, go to Settings> Panels> Web Panels.
8. Update Browser and Extensions
Running an outdated version of Vivaldi or any extension can also cause browsing issues and errors. To get the best browsing experience, everything needs to be updated.
Although the browser and extensions get updated automatically, it’s still a good idea to check and ensure that everything is up-to-date. To update Vivaldi, go to Vivaldi Menu> Help and click Check for Updates.
Similarly, you can update extensions by opening the Extensions page and enabling Developer Mode. Here you’ll see an Update button. Click it to update your extensions manually.
9. Enable GPU Rasterization
By enabling GPU rasterization, you can make the GPU rasterize the web page elements and reduce your CPU’s workload. This feature speeds up the browser, but is only available as an experimental flag in Vivaldi.
To enable the GPU Rasterization, type vivaldi://flags/#enable-gpu-rasterization in your Vivaldi search bar and change the status from Default to Enabled.
10. Use Task Manager
Vivaldi has its own Task Manager that displays all the active processes in your browser. Using Task Manager, you can see which apps or processes are using the most resources. To open Task Manager, press Shift+Esc.
By default, it shows memory footprint, CPU usage, network, and process ID. But you can right-click the Task Manager window to view other statistics. If you spot unnecessary processes, you can select them and choose End Process to kill them.
11. Reset Settings to Default
Vivaldi offers a lot of customization features that make it a great browser. But these customizations can also increase the memory footprint of your browser, slowing it down.
Therefore, if you notice a drop in the browser’s performance, reset the settings to default. This guide by Vivaldi can help you reset your browser.
12. Reinstall Your Browser
If the issues continue after trying all these methods, you can also try uninstalling and then reinstalling your browser. Doing so ensures your browser is updated and free from any bugs. It also clears the cache completely, making Vivaldi faster.
Browse Faster With Vivaldi
Even a browser as good as Vivaldi can become annoying if it gets sluggish. With the above-mentioned methods, you can easily speed up Vivaldi.
Once your browser regains its speed, it’s worth learning the lesser-known tips and tricks to speed up your browsing, not just the browser. Fortunately, Vivaldi does offer some unique features that enhance and speed up your browsing experience.
