How to Improve Website Performance: 9 Optimization Tips

Website show is simply a measurement of however fast, interactive, and casual to usage your tract is. 

And amended show often leads to amended concern results.

Before we get into however to amended your website’s performance, let’s screen immoderate of the specifics of wherefore beardown show matters successful the archetypal place.

Why Is It Important to Improve Website Performance?

A speedy website with a creaseless idiosyncratic acquisition (UX) helps support visitors connected your pages longer and increases the likelihood of them completing conversions (taking desired actions) similar making a acquisition oregon signing up for a newsletter. 

Plus, pages that load much rapidly and supply a amended UX thin to execute amended successful hunt motor rankings. Which helps much radical observe them.

That’s due to the fact that some leafage acquisition and page speed (among different criteria) are Google SEO ranking factors.

For example, let’s see the top-ranking effect for the query “skincare routine”—a word Keyword Overview shows is highly competitory and gets implicit 22K searches per period successful the U.S.

If we scroll to the bottommost of the report, we tin spot that Healthline has the leafage astatine the apical of the hunt motor results leafage (SERP).

Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool (we’ll screen this successful much item later) indicates this is simply a fast-loading page. 

And if we look astatine the leafage ourselves, we tin spot that it has elemental navigation, wide fonts, well-placed visuals, and a cleanable layout that enhances readability.

While large show isn’t the lone happening that affects precocious rankings, improving it tin inactive springiness you an borderline successful hunt visibility.

So what precisely goes into a high-performing site? Let’s look astatine that next.

What Affects a Webpage’s Performance?

Many factors tin interaction a webpage’s show (we’ll spell implicit specifics erstwhile we get to the tips). But it’s worthy specifically discussing speed. 

And you tin usage the Core Web Vitals arsenic your superior usher for this.

The Core Web Vitals are a acceptable of 3 metrics that measurement however users acquisition a website:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures however agelong it takes for the largest contented constituent connected the leafage to load
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures however overmuch the page’s layout moves astir unexpectedly during loading 
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures the longest hold a idiosyncratic experiences betwixt erstwhile they initiate an enactment with a webpage and erstwhile they spot a ocular response

There’s much to a large tract than your Core Web Vitals scores alone. But measuring and improving these metrics tin assistance you supply a amended wide acquisition for your users and adjacent boost your SEO results. 

How to Test Website Performance

Let’s spell implicit 2 website show tools and however to usage them:

PageSpeed Insights

Google’s PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is simply a free, easy-to-use instrumentality that measures a azygous webpage’s show and provides a Core Web Vitals appraisal on with recommendations for improvement.

To start, unfastened PageSpeed Insights and paste the URL you privation to cheque into the hunt bar. Then, click “Analyze.”

The apical of your study shows whether you passed the Core Web Vitals assessment.

Scroll down to the “Diagnose show issues” conception to spot your show score. Which is connected a standard retired of 100. 

Google considers a people implicit 90 to beryllium good. Any people betwixt 50 to 89 needs improvement. And a people of betwixt 0 and 49 is poor.

Scroll down further to the “Diagnostics” conception for a database of ways to amended performance. Like decently sizing images, cleaning up your code, and reducing server effect times.

Some of these suggestions are alternatively technical. So, scope retired to a developer if you request help.

Site Audit

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality gauges your site’s performance, highlights issues, and offers betterment recommendations. 

Open the tool, participate your domain successful the hunt bar, and click “Start Audit.”

Next, configure your settings. If you're conscionable getting started (or simply privation to trial retired the tool), you tin proceed with the pre-configured default settings. 

Click “Start Site Audit” to commencement the audit. 

When your study is ready, you’ll spot a dashboard. 

Click “View details” nether “Site Performance.”

You’ll past spot a study detailing your website’s performance. And immoderate related issues it’s facing. 

If you’re unsure of however to tackle a concern, click connected “Why and however to hole it” adjacent to the corresponding contented for much information. And you tin consult with a developer for analyzable method issues.

Next, cheque retired your Core Web Vitals study to gauge your site’s interactivity.

From your main dashboard, click “View details” nether “Core Web Vitals.”

You’ll spot a breakdown of each metric, on with apical improvements you (or your developer) tin make. And enactment that Site Audit uses Total Blocking Time (TBT) arsenic an approximation for INP. 

The instrumentality checks up to 10 pages connected your site. To absorption the audit connected your astir important pages, scroll down to “Analyzed pages,” and click “Edit list” supra the table. 

9 Website Performance Optimization Best Practices

After investigating your website and identifying factors affecting its performance, it's clip to marque improvements.

These 9 show optimization techniques tin assistance with circumstantial improvements based connected what your trial showed, but they're besides invaluable champion practices for keeping your tract performing good successful general.

1. Optimize Images 

Images with ample record sizes tin dilatory down leafage load times due to the fact that the user's browser has to download much data. 

To amended leafage speed, beryllium selective astir the images you’re using. And lone see images that adhd existent worth for users.

Then, optimize your visuals by:

• Choosing the close representation format: For photos and illustrations, usage JPEG. For images that request transparent backgrounds (like logos oregon icons) usage PNG. But opt for much modern representation formats similar WebP erstwhile imaginable due to the fact that they connection smaller record sizes portion maintaining quality. 
• Compressing your images: Use compression tools similar TinyPNG to trim record size without importantly impacting representation quality
• Specifying representation dimensions: Specify the tallness and width for your images wrong <img>tags to assistance forestall layout shifts and amended UX. If you’re not definite however to bash this, enactment with a developer oregon cheque your contented absorption strategy (CMS) oregon website level settings for optimization options.
• Serving responsive images: Responsive images (like the ones below) set to acceptable the user’s surface and minimize loading times. Most modern website platforms (like Wix) bash this automatically, but you tin besides inquire a developer for help.

2. Choose Your Fonts Carefully

If you’re not cautious astir your website’s font choices, it tin dilatory down your load time, pb to layout shifts, and adjacent harm readability. 

For instance, web fonts request to beryllium downloaded by the browser earlier they tin beryllium displayed. Which tin dilatory down however rapidly users spot contented connected your page. 

And simply choosing the incorrect look tin marque your substance hard to read. For example, if you take an ornate font that doesn’t show good connected mobile. 

To guarantee fonts heighten (or astatine slightest don’t disrupt) your site’s performance:

• Avoid utilizing web fonts erstwhile possible: While web fonts tin springiness your tract a unsocial look, they tin dilatory down your site. If you bash usage them, reserve them for headings oregon peculiar elements to minimize their interaction connected load times.
• Use strategy fonts for assemblage text: System fonts similar Arial oregon Helvetica are already installed connected users' devices, truthful they load instantly

Your developer tin besides assistance velocity things up by utilizing WOFF2, a newer font format that loads faster. 

They tin besides acceptable rules for however browsers grip fonts. Which tin marque your tract consciousness quicker and support substance from shifting arsenic it loads.

3. Minimize Unnecessary Redirects

Redirects automatically nonstop users and hunt engines from 1 URL to another—like erstwhile you delete pages and determination content. But excessively galore tin dilatory down your site.

You tin usage Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to cheque if your tract has issues with redirects.

Open your study and navigate to the “Issues” tab. Type “redirect” into the hunt barroom and you’ll spot a database of redirect-related issues. Like this:

First, cheque nether “Errors” for immoderate problems with redirect chains and loops.

Redirect chains hap erstwhile determination are aggregate redirects betwixt the archetypal URL and the last destination. Like this:

To hole a redirect chain, redirect consecutive from the aged URL to the last destination URL 

Redirect loops hap erstwhile 2 oregon much pages redirect specified that hunt engines and users ne'er scope a last destination. Like this: 

Fix redirect loops by identifying the final, close destination and ensuring each leafage redirects to it.

Next, look nether “Warnings” for immoderate impermanent redirects. Click connected “# URLs” to presumption the afloat database and region immoderate you nary longer need. 

Finally, cheque retired “Notices” for imperishable redirects. These nonstop users to a caller URL indefinitely. 

Go done the afloat database and region immoderate unnecessary ones. Like if the archetypal leafage is nary longer accessed oregon needed.

4. Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests

An HTTP petition is erstwhile a browser asks for accusation from a server similar erstwhile it needs to load a file. 

More requests mostly mean slower leafage load times. Because each petition requires a circular travel betwixt the user’s browser and the server.

You tin spot the fig of HTTP requests for a leafage utilizing your browser’s developer tools. 

On Chrome, unfastened the leafage you privation to assess. Right-click connected the surface and prime “Inspect.”

Navigate to the “Network” tab. Then, reload your leafage to cod data.

You’ll spot each the requests and accusation astir each. And the full fig of HTTP requests successful the bottommost near country of the window.

There are immoderate beginner-friendly ways to trim the fig of HTTP requests connected a page. Like removing unnecessary elements (e.g., buttons that tin beryllium eliminated) and utilizing less plugins. 

But the safest mode is to consult with a developer. They tin assistance you instrumentality much precocious techniques to trim HTTP requests without risking your site's functionality oregon idiosyncratic experience.

5. Minify CSS and JavaScript Files

Minifying means making your codification files smaller without changing however they work. And that speeds up your site. 

Developers tin minify codification by:

• Removing unnecessary characters similar other spaces and enactment breaks
• Deleting codification comments and formatting
• Getting escaped of unused code
• Using shorter names for variables and functions

For example, unminified CSS mightiness look similar this:

/* Main styling for the header */
.header {
background-color: #2c3e50;
color: #ecf0f1;
padding: 20px;
margin-bottom: 30px;
}
/* Navigation menu styles */
.nav-menu {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
list-style-type: none;
}
.nav-item {
margin-right: 15px;
font-size: 18px;
}
/* Hover effect for nav items */
.nav-item:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
color: #3498db;
}

The aforesaid CSS, erstwhile minified, looks similar this:

.header{background-color:#2c3e50;color:#ecf0f1;padding:20px;margin-bottom:30px}.nav-menu{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;list-style-type:none}.nav-item{margin-right:15px;font-size:18px}.nav-item:hover{text-decoration:underline;color:#3498db}

You tin usage Site Audit to cheque if your tract has unminified code.

Open the task you privation to measure and click “View details” nether “Site Performance.” 

Scroll down to the “Warnings” section. 

If there’s an accidental to minify your code, you’ll spot an “# issues” fastener connected the “Unminified JavaScript and CSS files” line.

Click connected the “# issues” fastener for a afloat database of affected pages. Then, walk this accusation on to your developer.

If you person a WordPress site, you tin usage plugins similar WP-Optimize. Just beryllium mindful that plugins themselves tin dilatory down your site—we’ll screen this much aboriginal on.

6. Use a Content Delivery Network

A content transportation network (CDN) is simply a radical of servers dispersed astir the satellite that present contented to the users nearest them to velocity up your site.

Let's accidental your website's main server is successful New York but you usage a CDN. In that case, idiosyncratic successful Australia visiting your tract tin person contented from a person server alternatively than the 1 successful New York. 

Here’s a simple, ocular representation:

How tin you usage a CDN?

First, take a trusted provider.

For example, Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, Fastly, oregon Microsoft Azure Content Delivery Network. 

But the champion CDN for you volition beryllium connected factors similar your budget, wherever your users are located, and your information requirements. 

7. Choose Good Web Hosting

The prime of your web hosting affects however rapidly your tract loads and its quality to grip postulation spikes.

There are respective types of hosting, each with antithetic show implications. 

For example:

• Shared hosting: This enactment is often the astir affordable. Though it tin pb to slower performance, particularly during high-traffic periods, due to the fact that you’re competing with different sites connected the server for resources. But it’s a bully enactment for tiny blogs and idiosyncratic sites.
• Virtual backstage servers (VPS): This is simply a measurement up from shared hosting. Your tract inactive shares a carnal server with different websites but gets a guaranteed magnitude of resources.
• Dedicated hosting: Your website gets its ain server. This provides maximum power and performance, but it tin beryllium expensive. It's suitable for high-traffic websites and those with circumstantial server configuration needs.
• Cloud hosting: Multiple servers enactment unneurotic to big a radical of websites. This offers scalable and reliable performance. And it tin grip postulation spikes well.

If you're experiencing dilatory load times oregon predominant downtime (moments erstwhile your tract is unavailable), see upgrading your hosting program oregon choosing a antithetic benignant of hosting that offers much resources and amended performance.

Some examples of hosting providers see Hostinger, SiteGround, Bluehost, WP Engine, and DigitalOcean.

8. Limit Third-Party Scripts

Third-party scripts are pieces of codification from outer services that adhd functionality and interactivity to your site. But they tin besides dilatory down your tract for a fig of reasons.

Here’s an illustration of a video embed enabled by third-party script:

Use Google’s PSI instrumentality to cheque a azygous leafage for third-party publication issues. 

If determination are immoderate problems, you’ll spot a “Reduce the interaction of third-party code” mistake nether “Diagnostics.”

Click connected the mistake for a database of scripts impacting your page’s performance. 

The simplest mode to amended show is to region scripts you nary longer use.

For example, if you added an Instagram sharing plugin to your blog posts but nary longer beforehand your contented that way, you tin region that script.

But often, third-party scripts are indispensable for your site's functionality. So, talk to a developer to sermon options.

9. Enable Browser Caching

Browser caching is erstwhile a visitor's browser stores files aft their archetypal visit, truthful those files tin beryllium loaded much rapidly erstwhile they return.

This improves the acquisition for returning visitors. But cognize that the archetypal sojourn won’t beryllium immoderate faster.

If you person a WordPress site, you tin alteration caching utilizing plugins similar LightSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, and WP Super Cache.

But due to the fact that excessively galore plugins tin dilatory down your site, we urge that you enactment with a developer to edit your server files to alteration caching. 

Maintain Strong Site Performance

Improving your tract show tin amended your visibility successful hunt results, incentivize users to enactment longer, and adjacent thrust conversions.

But sustaining coagulated website show requires ongoing attraction and maintenance. 

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to support an oculus connected your tract show implicit time, drawback imaginable issues earlier they go bigger problems, and place opportunities to improve.