Why is Pagespeed important?
PageSpeed is defined as the length of the total time to display all the items on a page. Another way we can say that is the total time taken to get a web server’s first byte for the web browser.
Every webpage has a few elements like HTML code, CSS files which are used to style the page elements, JavaScript files which help the website to be interactive, image files, videos and so much more. These elements can affect the PageSpeed.
PageSpeed is also known as an authentic of the SEO factors. Addressing landing time can improve your website ranking, the user experience, and also the conversion rate.
The PageSpeed is also important for any website's performance. A faster PageSpeed can provide a better user experience and decrease the high bounce rate.
A slower website= higher bounce rate
First, we need to know the meaning of a higher bounce rate. A higher bounce rate can indicate that the website's content is not helpful to visitors or users. One of the reasons for the higher bounce rate is a slower website. That means the website takes a lot of time to load a webpage so the visitor loses interest and leaves the website. A higher bounce rate may have a negative impact on the website's ranking. It also affects the user experience. So this is the main cause of lower conversion.
Low On page time = lower conversion
First, we need to understand what conversion is. Conversion means a visitor visits a website and spends a lot of time over there. That means they are researching the product or comparing the product and are going to convert a customer. If a visitor does not spend time on the website, then the chance of converting a customer is very low. This may cause a large loss for the brand owner.
How low Page Speed affects user experience
A PageSpeed is a vital factor that can affect user experience. Every user expects a website that is fast-loading. No one waits on your website if the website takes a lot of time to load a webpage. This may cause a high bounce rate, lower engagement, and a negative impact on website ranking. Users can think your website is unprofessional and lose trust in the product or brand.
How to improve PageSpeed ( manual & plugins)
Improving PageSpeed is important to reduce the lower conversion and increase the on-page time. Improving PageSpeed needs a combination of non-technical and technical solutions.
There are some steps to improve PageSpeed.
1. Compress and optimize images:
Large-sized image files can take a lot of time to load on a website. So it will increase the page loading time. So, if we can compress and optimize the image by using tools, that will help to reduce the loading time.
2. Use a content delivery network:
A content delivery network can reduce the distance between the website server and the user by distributing the website’s content across the worldwide server. So, if the distance is reduced the page loading time is also reduced.
3. Cache the webpage:
Caching is used to speed up your web Page. caching can store the static copies of image files, HTML files, CSS stylesheets, JavaScript files, etc. in a temporary storage location. so it minimizes the work for the server to generate content and serve the web page for the users.
4. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML:
Bonus Read: Top Technical SEO Tools To Improve Your SEO in 2023
We also improve the PageSpeed by minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files. Many coders use unnecessary space, comments, a large variable name, characters, and other unneeded elements for their better understanding. By minifying these you can decrease the loading time and increase the PageSpeed.
5. Minimize HTTP requests:
To load the website elements like images, scripts, and stylesheets an HTTP request is required. If we can reduce the number of HTTP requests then the PageSpeed will automatically be increased.
6. Use plugins:
In the above points, I am explaining the manual process to reduce the load time and increase the PageSpeed. We also can plugin some optimization tools for the same.
How to measure the improvement
After the optimization of the website, we can see the difference and the improvement of the webpage.
To understand the improvement of the PageSpeed, first, we need to check or analyze without doing any manual optimization or installing any optimization tools. There is a lot of software available to check the PageSpeed like Google PagesSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, Pingdom, WebPageTest, Uptrends, etc.
Then we need to optimize our website manually or by installing any optimization tool. If we plugin optimization tools or software then it will take some time.
After some time we need to check again. we need to check the performance for both, one is mobile mode and another is desktop mode. so that we can measure the difference between the performance and see the improvement.
