Website’s Speed Matters: How to Measure and Improve

The Importance of Website Speed

Page speed refers to how quickly a web page loads when visitors click on your site. A quick load time on mobile devices is crucial. 

Moreover, search engines favour sites with faster load times, which can lead to more organic traffic. Therefore, improving page speed is vital to search engine optimisation (SEO).

Why website page speed matters

Page speed’s importance has grown significantly with the advancement of the web. As users become more impatient and mobile browsing increases, page speed directly affects user engagement.

Google has highlighted the negative effect of slow page speeds on user engagement, commonly known as bounce rates. A study conducted by Google using a deep neural network provided compelling results. It showed that even reducing page load time by a few seconds can decrease users’ chances of prematurely leaving your site.

Every user who leaves your site is a potential missed opportunity for conversion. Hence, improving page speeds to keep users engaged on your site can have a substantial financial impact. So, it’s easy to see why focusing on page speed is crucial.

Does page speed matter for SEO?

Yes, page speed does matter for SEO. Search engines have been using page speed as a ranking factor for some time now. The emphasis on website performance has grown lately, especially with Google focusing more on page speed and its effect on user experience.

In 2021, Google introduced a new set of ranking factors named Core Web Vitals. 

Since page speed is a crucial part of these factors, it’s essential to consider it in your SEO strategy.

But Google’s statements aren’t the only evidence of the link between page speed and SEO performance. Academic research also supports this correlation. Therefore, quick loading times are crucial for converting site visitors and attracting them in the first place.

However, it’s important to note that many factors influence SEO. While improving page load times and Core Web Vitals can enhance your site’s organic visibility, it’s not a guaranteed method for achieving top rankings. So, a comprehensive SEO strategy should take into account multiple ranking factors.

Why Page Speed Matters and Tools to Test It

Having a fast-loading website is beneficial for both SEO and user experience. You first need reliable tools to test your page speed to improve your loading times. Let’s explore some of the best options available.

Google PageSpeed Insights

• Google PageSpeed Insights is a handy tool that helps enhance the performance of your web pages.
• It gives you a comprehensive view of how your webpage loads, detailing the resources and their respective load times.
• It also provides field data, reflecting your page’s performance over the last 28 days.

Google Lighthouse

• Google Lighthouse is an open-source tool that is part of Chrome’s DevTools.
• This tool audits the quality of any webpage, whether it’s public or requires authentication.
• It runs a battery of tests against the webpage and generates a report on various aspects, including performance, accessibility, and SEO.

Google Search Console

• The Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console is a great way to pinpoint specific issues with your web pages.
• It provides scores related to your page loading speeds, specifically, the speed at which the main content of each page loads.

CrUX Dashboard on Data Studio

• The CrUX Dashboard on Data Studio lets you create a Chrome UX report (CrUX) to monitor user experiences on a domain over time.
• It allows for tracking shifts in LCP scores across your website over time, serving as a valuable metric to gauge the effectiveness of your efforts to improve page speed.

Pingdom

• Pingdom is a premium website speed test tool.
• It measures the load time of a website and provides feedback on elements contributing to slower load times.

WebPageTest

• WebPageTest is a free, open-source tool for testing web performance.
• It enables you to test the performance of web pages and observe how they load on different browsers and devices.

19 Ways to Boost Your Website’s Loading Speed

Now that you have the necessary tools to track improvements, let’s explore how to increase your website’s loading speed.

1. Keep Your Website Design Clean and Simple

A straightforward design makes your content easy to understand and enhances user experience.

The fewer requests your browser needs to show a page, the quicker it will load, leading to happier visitors. Too many JavaScript, CSS, and image files can slow things down.

However, only scrap some images and style elements just for speed. Avoid cluttering your page with unnecessary high-resolution photos or needless code that doesn’t add value.

2. Use Browser Caching

Your website consists of various elements, some of which repeat across pages. These can include headers, footers, images like your logo, and CSS files.

When a page loads, the browser must gather each element individually. All the details can take up quite a bit of time. However, there is a way to make the process quicker. The browser can remember elements that appear over and over again.

It keeps these elements handy, so you don’t have to look for them whenever you visit a page. That’s why it’s a good idea to turn on browser caching and keep your layout consistent. It just makes everything run more smoothly.

3. Limit Redirects

Redirects send users from one web resource to another. When you make changes to a website or documentation, they often become necessary.

However, using too many redirects can increase page loading times. It’s essential to avoid chains of redirects, where one URL leads to another, then another.

Also, beware of redirect loops, where the target URL sends users back to the original URL, causing an endless loop.

4. Avoid Query Strings on Static Resources

A query string is part of a URL that assigns values to specific parameters. It separates from the main URL with a question mark. Users frequently encounter them when using a website’s internal search function or when a plugin transfers content values. To speed up page loading, avoid using query strings on static resources.

5. Avoid Incorrect Requests

Sometimes, your website pulls resources from another source, like links or images. When these resources get removed, they can trigger a loop in the browser as it tries to access the information, leading to 400 bad requests. Such an issue wastes time and can delay the loading process.

You can visit developer.mozilla.org for help identifying and solving these problems, reducing the impact of bad requests on your page load times.

6. Keep Request Size Small

Your cookie and request headers should fit within a single packet. If you need help achieving this, it’s best to consult with your web developers or get help from technical SEO specialists.

7. Deliver Static Content from a Domain Without Cookies

Static content is a fixed item that doesn’t change. It’s usually easy to transfer, but pulling it from a domain without cookies is best for faster page loading.

You might see the warning “serve static content from a cookieless domain” in page speed tools like Pingdom or Google PageSpeed Insights. The simplest way to fix this – and stop it from slowing down load times – is to use a content delivery network (CDN).

Alternatively, if you have a WordPress site, you can create a subdomain (for example, static.domain.com) to host static content. You’ll need to update the DNS record of the subdomain to point to your primary domain and direct your subdomain to your /wp-content directory by modifying your wp-config.php file.

If you need help with how to do this, consider reaching out to a digital marketing agency or your web developers.

8. Merge Scripts

Various plugins may load many JavaScript and CSS files onto your site over time. Each new file requires an additional request from the user’s browser to the server. By merging these files – ideally into one CSS and one JS file – you can significantly reduce this.

9. Compact/Minify Scripts

Scripts with unnecessary spaces and comments take longer to download than compact versions. Once combined, scripts can be ‘minified’, which could save up to 50% of their file sizes in some instances.

10. Turn On Apache Compression

Using Apache technology to decrease the server’s response file size can reduce the transferred data by over 50%. Such an action requires either mod_gzip or mod_deflate installed on the Apache server – most already have this as standard.

 Both methods work, but mod_deflate is generally easier to use, while moz_gzip offers more features. You can set up either by adding to the .htaccess file.

11. Enable Browser Caching

You can enable browser caching via .htaccess files for hosts with the mod_expires configuration allowed. Setting far-off expiry dates for frequently used elements means client PCs can download them less often.

12. Check Files and Resources

Delete any references to unused or non-existing files. It helps to avoid unnecessary server requests, saving time and enhancing the efficiency of search engine crawlers on your site.

13. Opt for a Speedier Server 

Choose a hosting service that provides solid-state drives. It significantly boosts your website’s loading speed, primarily if the server is within the UK.

14. Use Sprite Images 

Each image requires an individual server request. Using sprite images reduces file size and the number of server requests.

15. Compress Images 

Compress your images to a lower quality that won’t be noticeable to users. Large image files often slow down page speeds. Your content management system (CMS) may offer image compression, or you might use a plugin for automatic reduction. 

16. Utilise a CDN 

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) store content worldwide for quicker access by local users. Even if your server is UK-based, CDNs can still help by distributing requests across multiple servers and using load balancers.

17. Properly Insert Code into Webpages 

Avoid placing CSS in the HTML body, which can cause rendering problems. Check for misplaced code and move it to the document’s style sheet. You can also hasten generating time by moving JavaScript to the document footer.

18. Load Asynchronously 

Scripts from third parties like Universal Analytics, Facebook, and Twitter load after the page. Let non-critical content load after the page has loaded to speed up page load time without compromising usability.

19. Set Performance Budgets 

Performance budgets help manage site performance. They set limits on metrics affecting site performance and user experience. If a metric reaches its limit, it triggers a warning or error, ensuring the problem gets attention.

Balancing page load time and the features needed to showcase your brand is essential. Often, a developer needs to streamline your website’s code. The easier it is to read, the faster a browser will process it.

The Bottom Line

To sum it up, improving your website’s speed and user-friendliness is key. You can do this by keeping your website tidy – delete any files you don’t need. It also helps to use faster servers.

Another helpful tip is to use an image called ‘sprite images’ and ensure all your images are as small as possible. In doing so, this will help your website load faster.

It is also helpful to use something known as a Content Delivery Network. It can help make your website run more smoothly. Setting up performance targets can also help in making your site load quicker.

One final piece of advice is to move your JavaScript codes to the end of your document. Also, try loading less important content after the main page has loaded. These steps can help make your website show up faster.

By following these tips, you’re well on your way to having a fast, smooth-running website for your users.

How Goldmine Media Can Help

If you’d like more information on how we can assist with your marketing, please contact Goldmine Media. You can reach us by calling 0845 686 0055 or email findoutmore@goldminemedia.co.uk.