Why is page load speed important for SEO?
Let's start by explaining why page speed really matters so much in terms of search engine positioning.
Site speed vs. usability and user experience (UX)
When we talk about SEO, we need to understand that search engines strive to give users the best possible experience. Page loading speed is directly related to user satisfaction. Pages that load slowly discourage users, who often give up on further browsing and leave the site. Many studies show that most users expect a page to load in less than three seconds. Every extra second of waiting can lead to increased rejection rates (bounce rate), a situation in which users leave the site as soon as they open it.
Page load speed and search engine algorithms
Google has officially confirmed that page load speed is one of the ranking factors in its search algorithm. These algorithms evaluate hundreds of factors to determine which pages should appear at the top of search results. Pages that load quickly are more likely to rank higher, which in turn leads to more visits.
Site loading time vs. mobile-first indexing
In the age of mobile devices, more and more people are browsing the Internet on smartphones and tablets. Google has introduced the concept of mobile-first indexing, which means that this The mobile version of the site is given first consideration when indexing and ranking in search results. Mobile Internet connections are often slower than desktop ones, so how fast a site loads on mobile devices is even more important. A site that looks nice and loads quickly on a computer, but has trouble loading on mobile devices, can lose positions in search results.
Indicators of user engagement
Rejection rates, time spent on page and number of pages viewed per session are all user engagement metrics that also affect SEO. Page load speed has a direct impact on these metrics. Users are more likely to interact with a site that runs smoothly and quickly. They spend more time on such a site, view more pages and are less likely to leave it. These positive signals sent to search engines can significantly improve a site's ranking.
Technical benefits and crawl budget
Page load speed also affects how search engines crawl and index sites. Search engines, such as Google, allocate a certain amount of time for each page to crawl its resources, known as a crawl budget. If a page loads quickly, search engines can crawl more pages in less time, which can lead to better and more comprehensive indexing. On the other hand, slow-loading pages can lead to incomplete indexing, meaning that not all the content on the page will be included in search results.
How to check the loading speed of a website?
Checking how fast your website loads is the first step to optimizing it. Fortunately, there are many tools that can help you carry out this process.
Website speed testing tools
There are many online tools that allow you to test your page loading speed. Here are some of the most popular:
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights is a free tool offered by Google that analyzes page loading speed on both computers and mobile devices. All you have to do is enter your site's URL and the tool will present the results along with recommendations for optimization.
GTmetrix
GTmetrix is an advanced tool that offers detailed reports on page loading speed. It allows testing from different locations and browsers, which is useful for understanding how a site performs under different conditions.
Pingdom Tools
Pingdom Tools is another popular tool that measures page loading speed and provides detailed information about the loading time of individual page elements. The tool is easy to use and offers clear reports.
WebPageTest
WebPageTest is a tool that allows you to run advanced page speed tests from different locations and on different browsers. It offers detailed reports and the ability to run tests with advanced settings.
Sample page speed test
To better understand how to conduct a page speed test, let's use the example of using Google's PageSpeed Insights tool:
- Visit Google PageSpeed Insights.: LINK
- Enter the URL of your site: Enter the full URL of the page you want to test.
- Click "Analyze": The tool will start analyzing the page.
- Analyze the results: After a few seconds, you will get a report containing scores for the mobile and desktop versions. Each score is rated on a scale from 0 to 100, where a higher value indicates better performance.
- Pay attention to the recommendations: The report also includes detailed recommendations to help improve page loading speed. These might include suggestions for optimizing images, eliminating resources that block rendering, or introducing cache.
How to interpret the results of page speed tests?
After the site speed test, you will receive a report with many indicators and recommendations. Here are the most important ones:
First Contentful Paint (FCP)
FCP measures how long it takes from the time a page starts loading until the browser displays the first DOM (Document Object Model) element. This is an important indicator because it tells you how long it will take the user to see the first elements on the page.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).
LCP measures the time it takes for the most important (largest) piece of content on a page to become visible. Google considers LCP to be one of the key user experience (UX) indicators.
Time to Interactive (TTI)
TTI measures how long it takes from the time a page starts loading until it is fully interactive. This means that the user can take full advantage of all the site's features.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
CLS measures the visual stability of a page. A high CLS rating means that elements on it shift during loading, which can be frustrating for users.
Ways to improve page load speed
Now that we know why optimizing a site for speed is important and how to run a test and read the results, it's time to learn what methods actually exist to significantly speed up our site. Below is a detailed guide to the most important optimization techniques.
Image optimization
Images often make up a large portion of downloads on a site. To reduce their size, it's a good idea to use compression tools such as TinyPNG, JPEG Optimizer or ImageOptim. Compression reduces the size of files without significant loss of quality, which reduces loading time.
Using JPEG format instead of PNG can significantly improve page loading speed, as JPEG has a smaller file size while maintaining good image quality. In addition, there are next-generation images, such as WebP and AVIF, which offer even better compression than JPEG. We especially recommend the AVIF format because of its ability to maintain high image quality at a significantly lower file size, making it extremely lightweight. For WordPress users, the plugin is also worth noting WebP Converter for Media Pro, which automatically converts images, thus ensuring faster page loading and less disk space consumption. This plug-in is an excellent tool for those who want to take advantage of the benefits of modern image formats without sacrificing quality.
You can also use so-called lazy loading. This is a technique that loads images only when the user scrolls the page to where they are visible. This makes the initial loading of the page faster. In HTML, this can be achieved by adding the loading="lazy" attribute to img tags.
Cache usage
Browser cache: The browser cache allows a page's resources to be stored on the user's computer so that when the page is revisited, it loads much faster. This can be configured using HTTP headers such as Cache-Control and Expires.
Server cache: Server caching involves storing frequently used data on the server, which reduces server load and speeds up response times. Popular server caching tools include Varnish, Memcached and Redis.
Minimize resources - minification of CSS, JavaScript and HTML.
Minification involves removing unnecessary characters, such as spaces, comments, and newlines, from CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files. This process reduces the size of the files, resulting in faster page load times. Minification does not affect the functionality of the code, but only reduces its volume. To automate this process, you can use tools such as UglifyJS, CSSNano or HTMLMinifier. With these you can easily and effectively optimize the code. With them you can easily and effectively optimize the code. We use the plugin WP Rocket, which automates the process.
Combining multiple CSS and JavaScript files into a single file is another site speed optimization technique that reduces the number of HTTP requests needed to load a page. Fewer requests mean faster loading because the browser doesn't have to repeatedly connect to the server to download individual files. File merging can be done manually or with automation tools such as Webpack or Gulp. This method is particularly effective in improving the performance of a site, especially when it contains many external resources.
Server and hosting optimization and their impact on site speed
Choosing the right hosting is of paramount importance for the speed at which your site loads. Shared hosting is the cheapest option, but it can be slower because server resources are shared among multiple users. This is good for smaller websites with low traffic, but if your site grows in popularity, it can lead to slowdowns and loading delays.
Alternatives include VPS (Virtual Private Server) and dedicated servers. VPS offers better performance because it provides dedicated resources within a virtual machine on a physical server. It is an intermediate solution between shared hosting and dedicated servers, offering better performance at a moderate cost.
Dedicated servers are the best option for sites with high traffic and demanding applications. They provide full server resources for only one user, which guarantees the highest performance and flexibility in resource management. However, it is the most expensive solution and requires more technical expertise to manage.
HTTP/2 is a newer version of the HTTP protocol that introduces a number of improvements to speed up web page loading. One of the key features of HTTP/2 is the ability to download multiple resources simultaneously over a single connection. This way, instead of making multiple individual connections to the server for each resource (as in HTTP/1.1), the browser can download them all at once, greatly speeding up page loading.
HTTP/2 also uses header compression, which reduces the amount of data transferred, and a push server, which allows the server to send resources to the client before the client requests them. Most modern servers and browsers support HTTP/2, but it is important to make sure it is enabled on the server. Enabling HTTP/2 may require a server upgrade and an SSL/TLS certificate, as HTTP/2 works best when combined with secure protocols. These advanced features not only make HTTP/2 faster, but also more efficient, resulting in a better user experience and higher site performance.
Other techniques to optimize page speed - reducing redirects
Redirects increase page load time, so it's a good idea to minimize them. Each redirect makes an additional HTTP request, which increases loading time. For example, if page A redirects to page B, and page B redirects to page C, the browser must make three HTTP requests before it loads the content of page C. By eliminating unnecessary redirects, this process can be shortened, speeding up page loading.
Reduce the number of HTTP requests
Each element on the page, such as images, styles or scripts, requires a separate HTTP request. The more queries, the longer the loading time. To reduce the number of these requests, you can:
- Combine CSS and JavaScript files into a single file.
- Use icons in SVG format instead of traditional images.
- Use technologies such as CSS sprites to combine multiple images into a single file.
Enabling compression
Compressing HTML, CSS and JavaScript files using GZIP or Brotli can significantly reduce the size of the data sent from the server to the browser. This makes pages load faster as smaller files are transferred and decompressed by the browser. Most web servers, such as Apache and Nginx, support these compression methods. Enabling compression is usually straightforward and only requires proper server configuration.
Database optimization
For sites that use databases, such as WordPress, optimizing them can significantly speed up page loading. Regularly cleaning unused tables, indexing them or optimizing SQL queries can help keep the database running smoothly. SQL query optimization involves analyzing and modifying queries to speed them up, for example, by adding indexes to frequently queried columns. Regular removal of obsolete data and defragmentation of tables also help improve performance.
Using prefetching and preloading
Prefetching and preloading are techniques that speed up page loading by predicting what resources will be needed next.
Prefetching involves downloading files that may be needed on the next page before the user actually goes to it. For example, the browser can download the contact page files in advance while the user is on the home page. As a result, when the contact page link is clicked, it will load much faster.
Preloading works on the current page, downloading files that will soon be needed before the user requests them. For example, if there is an image on the page that will appear when the user scrolls down, the browser can download that image earlier. As a result, the image will load immediately when the user scrolls down the page.
By using these techniques, the site becomes more responsive and loads faster, because the resources needed are ready before the user needs them.
See how we were able to optimize the website of one of our clients:
Does the number of plugins matter in terms of site performance?
The number of plug-ins installed on a website can affect its speed and performance, but this is not always directly related to the number of plug-ins. The key factor is the quality and optimization of the plug-ins used.
In some situations, a large number of plug-ins is not a problem if they are well optimized and properly managed. They should be updated regularly, and those that are no longer needed should be removed. Otherwise, they can introduce unnecessary load on the server, increase page load time and cause conflicts with other elements of the site.
That's why it's a good idea to consult adding plug-ins with specialists who can assess their impact on site performance. Specialists can also suggest alternative solutions or optimizations that will allow you to use multiple plug-ins without negatively affecting the speed of your site.
You can get very good results by using a number of plugins and also by using pagebuilders like Elementor. Proper configuration and optimization of these tools allows you to create powerful and functional websites that are also fast and responsive.
It is worth remembering that each plug-in should be thoroughly tested before being implemented on the site, to ensure that it does not introduce any undesirable changes and that its benefits outweigh any potential costs in terms of efficiency.
Improving website speed - summary
Optimizing your site's loading speed is not just a technical issue, but also a strategic step towards better SEO and higher conversions. Implementing the techniques described will make your site more responsive and user-friendly. A fast-loading site not only improves the experience of visitors, but also positively affects your position in search results. Remember that every second matters - invest in optimizing your site today.
Do you need a website that is perfectly optimized for loading speed? Take advantage of free quote At our agency and see how we can help you achieve online success! We also offer a comprehensive optimization service for your existing website to increase its visibility in search results and improve its overall performance.