Every second your site takes to load costs you visitors and money. Here's why speed matters and what you can do about it.
The Numbers Don't Lie
Studies consistently show:
- 53% of mobile users abandon sites that take over 3 seconds to load
- A 1-second delay in page response can result in a 7% reduction in conversions
- Google uses page speed as a ranking factor
What Slows Sites Down
The usual culprits:
- Unoptimized images (the biggest offender)
- Too many plugins or scripts
- Cheap hosting
- No caching
- Render-blocking resources
Quick Wins for Speed
Optimize images: Use WebP format, compress everything, and specify dimensions. Tools like Squoosh or ShortPixel make this easy.
Enable caching: Browser caching stores files locally so repeat visitors load faster.
Use a CDN: Content Delivery Networks serve your files from servers closest to your visitors.
Minimize code: Remove unused CSS and JavaScript. Combine files where possible.
Test Your Speed
Use Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix to see where you stand. Focus on Core Web Vitals—these are the metrics Google actually uses for rankings.
The Bottom Line
Fast sites rank better, convert better, and make visitors happier. It's one of the few things in web development where there's no downside to doing it right.