Redegal, Google Partner Premier agency 2025
Did you know that knowing your website’s speed is important? Your website’s loading speed is one of the main factors influencing SEO and user experience. Learn how to improve your company’s website speed in this post.
Having a slow website can cause users to leave before even viewing your content or service. Google doesn’t like that either: having a slow or poorly fine-tuned website hurts your search engine rankings , so it’s essential to consider your website’s loading speed.
If you already have a website for your business or are thinking about creating a fast site, you should know how to actually test your speed , and even more importantly, how to interpret and improve it. In this article, we’ll show you everything you need to know.
Why is it important to measure website speed?
Your website’s performance directly influences user experience and SEO optimisation , as explained in this SEO tips article .
When a website takes too long to load, users tend to abandon it and look for a faster alternative. And this happens in a matter of milliseconds. We live in a society where everything is immediate and if your site isn’t keeping up, you’re losing traffic, leads, and even sales.
Furthermore, loading speed is one of the criteria Google uses to rank search results. A slow site may have good content, but if it’s not well optimised, it will always fall behind other competing pages.
That is, by testing your website’s speed , you ensure that it meets the technical requirements demanded by search engines and that it offers a good experience to your users.
Another important point is the impact on conversion. If you have an e-commerce site , for example, an extra second of loading time can lead to a significant drop in sales. A slow site harms your reputation and also your business results.
Therefore, reviewing performance and testing site speed should be a routine practice. Having a fast-loading page ensures that:
- Users stay on the web longer.
- The bounce rate decreases.
- Your search engine rankings will improve (yes, Google does take speed into account).
- The conversion rate increases , especially in eCommerce.
How can I test site speed?
There are several online tools that allow you to perform a comprehensive performance test on your website. Just enter the URL and, in seconds, you’ll receive a report with:
- Loading time.
- Page size.
- Number of requests to the server.
- Suggestions for improvement.
You can (and should) run these tests on both desktop and mobile . Most users browse from mobile, so it’s essential to create a fast, well-performing site on both devices.
Free tools to test website speed
Want to start testing your site’s speed? Here are three free and reliable tools that can help:
Google PageSpeed Insights
Official Google tool that offers detailed reports with specific suggestions for improving both the desktop and mobile versions of your website. It provides a performance score and explains what you can fix.
GTMetrix
Widely used among industry professionals, it displays load time, total page size, and performance score. It also offers highly detailed technical recommendations.
WebPageTest
An option for more advanced testing. It allows you to choose different locations and browsers to see how your website performs under different conditions.
We’ve already shared some tools with you, but don’t leave yet! Now we’ll show you how to analyse the results so you can see what you can improve and how to do it.
Analyse the results of the web speed test
After running the performance test and checking your site’s loading speed, you’ll see metrics like:
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) . The time it takes for the largest content on the page to be displayed.
- First Input Delay (FID) . The time it takes for the site to become interactive and clickable.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) . Visual stability of the site.
- Speed Index . Measures the speed with which visible content loads. A low value indicates that the main content appears quickly.
- Time to Interactive (TTI) . Indicates the time when the page is fully loaded and ready for use, without blocking.
These metrics show different stages of the website loading process, as speed is not a single metric.
If these values are outside the ideal parameters, your site may be providing a poor visitor experience. Contact us if you need help.
This can result in pages taking too long to load, elements appearing unevenly, or moving while the user tries to interact. It can also result in the site taking too long to become fully clickable.
That’s why it’s important to analyse the results carefully and act on the recommendations provided by the testing tools you use.
For example, if the report indicates that the LCP is over 2.5 seconds, you should consider compressing images or reviewing how the main content loads. If the CLS is high, it may be time to adjust the design to prevent elements from shifting while the page loads.
It’s not enough to know that your site is slow: you need to understand why and how to fix it , so you can offer a smoother, faster, and more efficient experience to your visitors.
Factors affecting website performance
There are several elements that can negatively affect your site’s loading speed, such as:
- Images that are too large or not properly compressed
- Poorly structured HTML, CSS, or JavaScript code
- Low-quality hosting
- Excessive external plugins or scripts
- Unnecessary redirects
- Lack of cache
By identifying these factors, you can act directly on them and create a fast and efficient site.
How to increase site loading speed
Once you’ve identified the issues and weaknesses from your performance test, it’s time to enhance your site. We’ve put together some recommendations to help your page load more quickly.
Reduce website weight
Heavy images, poorly integrated videos, or unnecessary JS and CSS files may be slowing down your brand’s website. Use modern formats like WebP and automatic compression tools.
Minify the code
Another key recommendation is to minify your code, eliminating redundant spaces, line breaks, and comments to decrease file size and improve loading speed. For example, plugins like Autoptimize ( a WordPress plugin ) make this easier.
Activate the cache
You should also enable site caching so visitors don’t have to reload everything every time they visit. But be careful: a poorly configured or outdated cache can retain old files that can slow down your site.
Invest in a good hosting service
Many times the slowness has nothing to do with the website itself, but with the server where it is hosted.
Here are some additional best practices to improve website performance:
- Optimise images with formats like WebP.
- Minify and compress CSS and JavaScript code .
- Avoid loading unnecessary scripts on all pages.
- Enable caching and Gzip on the server.
- Choose a good, reliable, and fast hosting service .
- Use a CDN (Content Delivery Network) to better distribute resources.
These actions may seem technical, but they make a big difference in improving loading speed.
If you’re unsure whether your site is performing as it should or are thinking about building a quick one from scratch , these tips and tools will help you test your page speed, identify issues, and improve performance.
Remember that a good loading speed helps you get more visitors, more conversions, and better Google rankings.
If you need a team that’s up to date on SEO and knowledgeable about user experience (UX), Redegal can help. Shall we talk?
