Website Page Speed Optimization for Core Web Vitals
Performance optimization for faster load times and higher page speed scores.
If your website is loading slow for users, there’s a lot of reasons why that could be. Your website structure, images, and hosting server can all play a role.
Benefits of Website Page Speed Optimization
As mobile traffic trends continue to rise, it’s more vital than ever for businesses to improve their website’s performance. When your website takes forever to load, people usually leave and look elsewhere.
While technical optimization sounds complicated, the core concept is quite simple. Users overwhelmingly prefer to use websites that load quickly. In fact, it’s estimated that 53% of people are likely to abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
What happens when you rarely make changes:
- Better user experience. Most visitors abandon slow-loading websites within 3 seconds.
- More conversions. Fast loading pages keep people engaged long enough for you to reach them.
- Improved search engine positioning. Google likes websites that prioritize user experience and page speed.
You can probably speak from your own experience. If you’re searching for something on your phone, how long will you wait before trying another search result?
What Technical Optimizations are Included?
Asset Minification
Removal of unnecessary text in CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files to reduce file sizes.
Asset Bundling
Combining multiple CSS and JavaScript files into fewer bundles to reduce the number of HTTP requests.
CSS Coverage
Identification and removal of unused CSS styles to eliminate bloat and reduce stylesheet file sizes.
Browser Caching
Setting up optimal cache headers so user’s browsers store static resources locally, preventing unnecessary repeat downloads.
Server Performance
Optimizing server performance through testing, database clean up, and infrastructure improvements.
CDN Configuration
Setup and implementation of a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to serve assets more efficiently all over the world.
Image Compression
Reducing image file sizes through modern compression techniques and next-gen image formats like WebP.
Media Lazy Loading
Defers loading of images and videos until they’re about to enter the user’s viewport, preventing unseen assets from slowing down page loading times.
Preloading
Priority rules for web browsers to fetch critical resources early in the loading process, making them available sooner and preventing delays.
Asynchronous Loading
Allows JavaScript files to load without blocking the interpretation and visual display of the webpage.
Third-Party Asset Handling
Audit and optimization of external scripts like fonts, analytics, ads, and other assets to minimize their impact on page performance.
Mobile-First Approach
Review and optimization of above-the-fold views on mobile, including mobile-first loading strategies and performance-first design assets.
Is Page Speed a Ranking Factor for SEO?
For years, Google has included page speed as a factor in mobile SEO ranking. While the algorithm is always changing, it’s clear that Google values page speed as an extension of user experience.
In 2021, Google introduced the page experience update as part of their search ranking algorithm. This update focuses on a set of metrics known as Core Web Vitals (CWV).
It’s debated exactly how much these metrics contribute to search rankings, but we know it’s at least important enough that CWV is a measurable part of your website’s search performance through Google’s own search console admin.
Core Web Vitals Explained
Core Web Vitals (CWV) are a set of practical web performance metrics that focus on the user experience of a website. Core Web Vitals metrics as defined by Google are used to assess the loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of web pages.
What are the key metrics of Core Web Vitals?
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — Measures loading performance.
- Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — Measures interactivity.
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — Measures visual stability.
Improving technical optimization of your website to meet the performance recommendations set by search engine leaders like Google helps ensure a more positive user experience and may even help improve SEO rankings.
It’s estimated that 53% of people are likely to abandon a website that takes more than 3 seconds to load.
FAQ About Page Speed Optimization
How much faster will my website load after optimization?
It depends on the website, but in general we see as much as 40-60% improvement in actual loading times after optimization. We can’t promise specific numbers without auditing your site first, but we try to provide the best results possible for your unique website.
Does page speed matter for SEO?
Although Google has indicated that page speed directly affects search rankings, SEO experts are divided on exactly how much it matters. We know that Google introduced page speed metrics (called Core Web Vitals) as part of their official algorithm update in 2021. In our opinion, whether it’s a ranking factor or not isn’t important—faster page speeds might improve SEO ranking, but it will definitely improve user experience.
Will I need to change hosting providers?
Technical and hardware limitations on web hosting servers are absolutely one of the contributors of website load times. There’s a measurable difference between a shared hosting server that manages hundreds of websites, and a high-performance dedicated server that is only focused on a few websites. We’ll look at your hosting server to determine whether it’s affecting page speed. If we think it is, we may recommend upgrading your hosting service (or migrating your website elsewhere) to get better performance.
How do you measure and report performance improvements?
Before we begin working on optimizations, we perform a deep baseline audit so we can understand how page speed is currently measured and what issues may be present on the site. During and after optimization, we measure key differences in Core Web Vitals metrics and real-world loading times. Our final reporting will include before-and-after performance metrics.
What’s a good score for page speed insights?
Page speed insights scores are from 0 to 100, and as a metric they appear to be very straightforward and easy to understand. Most people think 90+ is passing and anything less is a failing grade. The truth is these scores are really just for testing purposes, so it doesn’t matter what the number shows. We try to answer two questions: 1) Are the real-world load times faster for users, and 2) Does Google’s reporting indicate pass or fail?
