What Is Page Speed & How to Improve It

What Is Page Speed?

Page velocity (also called “load speed”) measures however accelerated the contented of a leafage loads.

But it’s important to clarify: 

“Page speed” is not a azygous metric.

Content loads successful antithetic stages. Which is wherefore leafage velocity is an umbrella word for the galore ways to measurement however rapidly contented appears connected a page. Like:

• Time to First Byte (TTFB): How agelong it takes for the leafage to statesman loading
• First Contentful Paint (FCP): How agelong it takes for the idiosyncratic to spot the archetypal constituent of a leafage (like an image)
• First Input Delay (FID): How agelong it takes for your tract to respond to a idiosyncratic input (like a fastener click)
• Onload time: How agelong it takes to afloat load the contented of a page

Sometimes, the archetypal happening a idiosyncratic sees is simply a blank page. Then, immoderate elements appear. And finally, the afloat leafage loads.

Page velocity metrics measurement each of these events separately. To assistance you recognize however accelerated your leafage is. And however accelerated it should beryllium based connected Google’s thresholds.

Keep speechmaking to observe however leafage velocity affects SEO and ways to amended it.

Why Is Page Speed Important for SEO?

Page load velocity is a confirmed ranking factor connected desktop and mobile. In fact, Google says highly dilatory pages are little apt to fertile high.

Which means Google algorithms instrumentality leafage velocity (and different signals) into relationship erstwhile deciding however to fertile your site.

Google cares however accelerated your leafage is due to the fact that dilatory sites marque for a mediocre idiosyncratic experience. 

In fact, a idiosyncratic is 3 times much apt to bounce (i.e., permission your page) if your leafage takes longer than 3 seconds to load, according to Google.

They urge making definite each your pages scope the "Good" thresholds for cardinal leafage velocity metrics. 

How to Check Your Page Load Time

Here are 2 of the champion tools to cheque your leafage load time. And however to usage them.

Google PageSpeed Insights

Google PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is simply a escaped instrumentality that measures a webpage’s performance. 

In summation to leafage load time, you tin usage PSI to measure Core Web Vitals (i.e., 3 important idiosyncratic acquisition metrics), presumption show data, and get recommendations for improving your site.

To begin, unfastened the tool. And paste the URL of the leafage you privation to analyse into the hunt bar.

Then, deed “Analyze.”

At the apical of the report, you’ll spot an wide appraisal of leafage performance: “Passed” oregon “Failed.”

Along with Core Web Vital metrics. And different important leafage velocity metrics similar FCP, TTFB, and FID.

Semrush Site Audit

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to cheque the leafage velocity and web show for all your pages. Not conscionable one.

Site Audit includes implicit 140 on-page and method SEO checks. Which makes it 1 of the astir utile website auditing tools retired there.

To get started, unfastened the tool, participate your URL successful the hunt bar, and click “Start Audit.”

Then, configure your Site Audit. And click “Start Site Audit.”

You’ll spot a dashboard akin to this one:

Click connected “View details” nether “Site Performance.” To cheque your load speed, show issues, and more. 

Take enactment of the “Page (HTML) Load Speed” and “Avg. Page (HTML) Load Speed” sections. To spot however rapidly your pages load, measured successful seconds.

You’ll besides spot a database of “Performance Issues.” When fixing these issues, prioritize “Errors.” Then, determination connected to “Warnings.”

8 Ways to Improve Your Page Speed SEO

When you analyse your leafage (or site) with a leafage velocity tool, you’ll person galore recommendations for improving its performance.

Let’s spell done the 8 astir effectual ways to velocity up your pages. 

1. Choose the Right Image Format

Different types of images necessitate antithetic representation record formats.

Some formats are lighter than others due to the fact that they connection higher compression levels. Choose the close format for each representation to little your page’s load time.

Here are the astir communal formats and however to usage them:

• JPEG: Good for real-world images, similar photographs
• PNG: Good for screenshots, designs, logos, oregon images with a higher level of detail
• GIFs: Avoid this format, arsenic it volition dilatory down your page. If you request an animated image, see converting your GIF into a video.
• WebP: Good for each types of images due to the fact that it’s lighter than JPEG and PNG (up to 3 times smaller, successful fact). However, not each browser supports WebP images yet. So we’d urge utilizing JPEG and PNG for now. 

2. Compress Your Images

Images often lend to dilatory pages. Image SEO is simply a cardinal portion of website velocity optimization.

Your extremity should beryllium to support images arsenic tiny arsenic imaginable without compromising prime oregon idiosyncratic experience.

Say you privation to upload an representation that is 1MB and measures 3024 x 4032 pixels. 

Resize your representation utilizing a escaped representation resizer similar PicResize.

Upload your representation to the tool. And prime however overmuch smaller you privation your representation to go (e.g., 50% smaller).

After you marque your representation arsenic tiny arsenic imaginable without compromising quality, usage an representation optimizer similar ImageOptim to shrink it adjacent further.

Simply tally your representation done the tool, and it’ll bash its magic.

Always bash this before you upload images to your site. 

3. Enable Browser Caching

Browser caching is erstwhile a user’s browser temporarily stores webpage data. So, erstwhile the idiosyncratic returns to the page, it loads faster.

The archetypal clip a idiosyncratic enters your page, their browser stores elements similar images oregon CSS files. That way, the browser doesn’t request to nonstop arsenic galore requests erstwhile the idiosyncratic returns.

This improves the acquisition of returning users. But it won’t marque a quality for users entering your tract for the archetypal time.

To alteration browser caching connected a WordPress site, usage plugins similar W3 Total Cache oregon WP Rocket.

4. Minify JavaScript, CSS, and HTML

Minifying JavaScript, CSS, and HTML reduces record size. Which tin amended your leafage speed.

It removes enactment breaks, achromatic space, and different unnecessary elements successful the code. So computers tin work it faster.

This is what modular CSS codification looks like: 

body {
font: 36px Arial, sans-serif;
}
/* Main container */
#container {
color: white;
background: #ffbd17;
width: 630px;
height: 160px;
display: flex;
justify-content: center;
align-items: center;
}
/* Content */
#content {
background: #333;
flex: 0 0 10px;
}

And this is what it looks similar aft minification:

body{font:36px 
Arial,sans-serif}#container{color:#fff;background:#ffbd17;width:630px;
height:160px;display:flex;justify-content:center;align-items:center}
#content{background:#333;flex:0 0 10px}

How bash you cognize if minification is necessary?

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality flags pages connected your tract with unminified JavaScript and CSS files. 

Once you cognize which pages are affected, it’s clip to instrumentality action. 

You tin usage an online minifier tool to minify your files. Or, if you ain a WordPress website, a plugin similar WP Rocket tin assistance you minify your code. 

5. Use a Content Delivery Network

A content transportation network (CDN) is simply a radical of interconnected servers distributed crossed antithetic locations. They bring your tract “closer” to each user.

And pages load faster for users who are geographically adjacent to the determination of the main site’s server. 

A CDN works similar this:

1. You cache your tract connected a CDN 
2. A idiosyncratic sends a petition to unfastened your site
3. The server that’s closest to the idiosyncratic delivers the site 

Say your root server is successful Los Angeles.

If a idiosyncratic successful Italy tries to entree your site, your CDN volition find the closest server successful the user’s network. (Let’s accidental it’s successful France.) The CDN volition past present a cached mentation of your tract to the server successful France.

Since Italy is overmuch person to France than to Los Angeles, your website loading velocity volition improve.

Good examples of CDNs are Cloudflare and Jetpack.

6. Improve Your Server Response Time

Slow server effect times tin importantly hold leafage loading.

When a idiosyncratic tries to entree a webpage, the browser makes a petition to fetch that content. The server receives the petition and loads the leafage content.

To amended server effect time, see upgrading your hosting plan. Shared hosting is often slower than dedicated oregon VPS hosting. If you're experiencing accordant slowdowns, it mightiness beryllium clip to power to a much robust hosting solution.

A fewer much things you tin effort see the following:

• Optimize your server’s exertion logic and configuration
• Index database tables oregon upgrade to a faster database system
• Add much random-access representation (RAM) and faster processors

You volition apt request to consult with your hosting supplier oregon a developer to instrumentality these changes.

7. Reduce Redirects

Redirects tin dilatory down your leafage load time.

A redirect occurs erstwhile a idiosyncratic clicks connected 1 URL but is automatically sent to a antithetic URL.

Let’s accidental a page's URL changes from "techblog.com/best-smartphones-2023" to "techblog.com/best-smartphones-2024." The redirect automatically sends users to the caller page.

In immoderate cases, a leafage mightiness redirect respective times earlier reaching the last destination. This is known arsenic a redirect chain.

Every redirect adds an other measurement successful loading a page. Which makes the wide process slower.

To audit your tract for unnecessary redirects, usage the Site Audit tool.

Go to the “Issues” tab. Type “redirect” into the hunt barroom provided.

You’ll spot a database of Errors, Warnings, and Issues related to redirects. Like:

• How galore redirect chains and loops you have
• How galore impermanent redirects you have
• How galore imperishable redirects you have

Click connected the nexus wrong each identified redirect mistake to spot the database of affected pages.

The study volition amusement each page’s redirect benignant and fig of redirects:

If you’ve identified immoderate redirect chains oregon loops, the adjacent measurement is to delete the unnecessary redirects.

8. Reduce HTTP Requests

HTTP requests hap erstwhile web browsers nonstop “requests” to a website’s server for much information. 

Say a idiosyncratic visits a page. The server gets a petition from the browser and answers with a record containing accusation the idiosyncratic needs to presumption the page. (This record could incorporate text, images, multimedia, etc.) The idiosyncratic can’t presumption what’s successful the record until the petition is complete.

But if that record doesn’t incorporate each the accusation the idiosyncratic needs to presumption the page, the browser volition nonstop different request. 

The much requests, the much your leafage velocity slows down. The idiosyncratic volition person to hold longer to presumption the full page.

Aim to trim HTTP requests (or to marque them load faster) to amended your leafage speed.

To presumption a page’s fig of HTTP requests, usage Google Chrome.

Open your leafage connected Chrome. Right-click anyplace connected the leafage and take “Inspect.” 

You’ll spot Google’s developer tools (also called Chrome DevTools). Go to the “Network” tab. 

At first, the sheet volition person fewer to zero entries. Reload the leafage to cod data.

You’ll spot each HTTP requests, their sizes, and the clip it takes to load them. These see requests for images, plugins, JavaScript oregon CSS files, and galore more. 

You tin besides spot the full fig of requests successful the bottom-left country of the inspect window. 

This fig is simply a bully mode to way your progress. The less requests, the better. 

For context, the mean leafage sends astir 70 HTTP requests. However, determination isn’t a circumstantial fig to purpose for. Use the mean fig of requests connected your webpages arsenic guidance to way your progress.

Optimize Your Technical SEO

Page velocity is conscionable 1 portion of the method SEO puzzle. But it's a important 1 for improving some hunt rankings and idiosyncratic experience.

To get a broad presumption of your site's method health, including leafage velocity insights, effort the Semrush Site Audit tool.

It provides a elaborate investigation of your website's show and offers actionable recommendations for improvement.

Start optimizing your tract contiguous with a escaped tract audit. And instrumentality the archetypal measurement toward amended rankings and happier users.