Website speed has a direct impact on customer satisfaction and your site’s ranking in search results. Where can you measure it, what should it ideally be, and how can you improve it?
In the article you will learn:
- Why is web speed important
- Where to find out how fast your website is loading
- What is the optimal web speed
- 5 tips on how to make your website load faster
3 reasons to speed up your website
Slow loading websites lead to customers losing patience, you will lose positions in search results and PPC ads being expensive and ineffective. Read on for 3 reasons why website speed should be your priority.
1. Why tackle website loading speed? One reason is SEO
Page load speed has a direct impact on your website’s position in search results. This is because it is one of the parameters of SEO (search engine optimization). And not only on a computer – since 2018, website loading speed also plays a key role in mobile search. So, in short and simple: the faster your website loads, the higher you will appear on the search results page and the more people will visit your website.
2. A slow website will deter visitors
We only have one patience – and so do all potential customers. A slow website speed will put them off, and if they must wait a few seconds for the site to load at all, they’ll prefer to go to a competitor’s site that loads faster.
A high loading speed website, on the other hand, will lead to a much better user experience and make the buying process smoother and faster. And believe me, it matters. Research even shows that when the buying process is too difficult, about 74 % of people will opt to switch brands. And you don’t want that.
Also beware that users on mobile are much more sensitive to loading speed. That’s why Google rates speed mainly by mobile.
3. Low site speed can ruin a PPC campaign
PPC ads have a higher success rate if the landing pages load quickly. This is not only confirmed by several studies, but also by our own experience. Imagine the following scenario: a customer sees an ad that catches their eye. He clicks on it – and you pay for the click. However, if the page to which the ad leads is slow to load, the customer will leave the ad again without ever looking at it. You’ll just be paying unnecessarily – the battle for conversions is lost in this case.
Where can you find out how fast your website is loading?
Measuring site speed should be an integral part of website analysis. You can measure speed using several tools. We mainly recommend these three:
Google’s PageSpeed Insights
PageSpeed Insights is a simple and intuitive tool that not only measures your site’s speed, but also adds straightforward recommendations on how to optimize it.
WebPageTest.org
In WebPageTest.org, you can further specify the speed test according to which country and search engine you are interested in speed for. The results show you are more complex and require more advanced knowledge.
What is the optimal web speed?
“Although connection speeds are quite fast these days, Google prefers sites that load in a few milliseconds,” says Dan, our web development expert.
Whether the user is accessing the site from a faster or slower internet connection plays a role in how the site loads. And if it’s from a slower connection, it’s important that the site loads fast enough on that connection as well. What does “fast enough” mean? For example, the optimal speed for FCP is 1 second, for LCP 2.5 seconds and for CLS a maximum of 100 milliseconds.
Ultimately, however, Google’s decision is based primarily on the individual user. The search engine wants the user to be satisfied. So, if a person will happily wait for any website to load and not show any sign of impatience, the search engine will also display websites that load slowly. Optimal loading speed is therefore a very subjective concept.
5 tips to speed up web page loading
A thousand different reasons can be behind slow loading pages. But most often, unoptimized media files or unnecessarily long code are to blame. Read our 5 simple tips to speed up your website:
1. Reduce image size
Images can make up a large portion of the content on your site – and slow it down considerably. In fact, the size of images, whether in company blog articles or other parts of the website, is often unnecessarily large. We have found that 800 x 530 pixels is the optimal size.
Tip: Don’t just optimize images, but also other media files like videos.
2. Merge small images into one
Do you have several small images side by side on your website? Merge them into one. This makes your web page load faster.
3. Reduce redirects
It’s okay to redirect from one URL to another. However, if a third or fourth address is added in the redirect, both the website and the users will notice. Multiple redirections have a negative impact not only on web speed, but also on user experience.
4. Try the Lazy Loading method
When a user visits your site, there’s no reason why all the images should load at once – even those that are lower on the page and not visible to the visitor. The Lazy Loading method is to load media files as soon as the user scrolls to them. This makes the initial page load much faster.
5. Remove unused code
It’s natural for a website to be modified and undergo various upgrades. However, unused code remains from old versions of the site, which, if not removed, can hinder the website. Review the code and determine which part of it you are using. Delete unnecessary characters.
Find out what is holding your website back
There can be many reasons why a website loads slowly. Find out which one is yours. We’ll analyze your site and find opportunities to make it faster. Or we’ll create a new one for you. Simply fill out the form. The consultation is free!
