Web Design Tips
What makes a website fast and why it matters
Slow pages can frustrate visitors and make purchases or enquiries harder. Many speed problems come from large images, too much code or poor page loading.
01Use suitable images
Resize images for the space where they appear and reduce their file size. Load images further down the page only when they are needed.
Modern image formats such as WebP and AVIF are often much smaller than older formats at the same quality. Most website tools can create them automatically.
02Load only the code you need
Too much website code can delay what visitors see and make phones work harder. Each page should load only what it needs.
Review your plugins, tracking tags and chat tools once a year. Remove anything you no longer use. Each one adds code that visitors must download.
03Set clear speed targets
Agree loading and response targets at the start. Check new features against them so the site stays fast as it grows.
Google's Core Web Vitals are a useful starting point. They measure how quickly the main content appears, how fast the page responds and whether the layout moves while it loads.
04Choose good hosting
A fast website still needs a fast server. Good hosting and a content delivery network, which stores copies of your site closer to visitors, can cut loading times around the world.
Ask your hosting provider where their servers are and how they handle busy periods.
05Test on real phones
Your office computer and fast internet hide problems. Test on an average phone using mobile data to see what most visitors experience.
Free tools such as PageSpeed Insights show both test results and real visitor data, along with suggestions to fix.
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