Optimize your site speed
Optimize your site speed
1. Use free tools such as Google PageSpeed Insights to test site speed on desktop and mobile.
Your website will be scored between 0 to 100. Many sites score below 50, so don’t be alarmed if your score is low. You’ll get a list of elements to review and improve.
2. Reduce the size of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript for faster page loading.
Compress your files with Gzip and minify resources to reduce the number of bytes that need loading on each page.
3. Reduce URL redirects. If you use WordPress, a Redirection plugin can help you manage redirects.
Redirects add additional loading time to your pages.
4. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to deliver content from servers located nearby your users.
There are plenty of CDNs to choose from, including Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) or StackPath (formerly MaxCDN).
5. Use the .htaccess file to set the browser cache period, e.g., 1 year
This stores static files in visitor browsers, so they don’t need to be loaded each time they access your site.
6. Switch to a fast web host to speed up your time to first byte (TTFB) performance.
Check your website’s server response time monthly to make sure it’s fast enough—Google recommends a response below 200ms. Your server response time can be affected by multiple factors, such as traffic from users and the size of your website’s content elements.