what is page speed and how can you check your Google PageSpeed score?

Page speed is how quickly your web pages are displayed to users, and Google PageSpeed is a collection of tools designed to measure this. Google PageSpeed analyses performance on both mobile and desktop devices, and offers recommendations for improvement, identifying any problems or flaws which are preventing your website from working at the optimal speed.

Check your performance by going to the Google PageSpeed Insights page and type in your URL. You will be given separate scores for desktop and mobile – of between 0 and 100 points and either ‘good’, ‘needs work’, or ‘poor’.

why is page speed important?

Slow sites are frustrating for users, who may give up if your pages take too long to load. For example, around half of consumers expect a webpage to load in two seconds or less, with a one second delay decreasing satisfaction by 16%. Fast sites, on the other hand, have better user experience and a higher rate of conversions. Your site’s speed is also an important component of your website’s Google search ranking – websites with better page speeds appear higher up in searches.

Even if your page speed score was good a month or a year ago, that doesn’t mean it will stay that way. Google PageSpeed is being continually developed, so your score will change over time and needs to be regularly monitored and improved.

how can you boost your page speed?

The Google PageSpeed Insights page gives you specific recommendations to improve your score. But bear in mind that some changes may not be appropriate or may be expensive to implement with a low return on investment.

Here are our top three tips to improve your page speed:

• Compress images – this makes images smaller in size, so they load more quickly. You can lower image quality (which in turn reduces size) using Photoshop or an online photo editor such as Pixlr. If you use WordPress, there are also various plugins for image compression.
• Enable caching – this allows web browsers to ‘remember’ items (such as logo, images, menu etc) that have been downloaded before so that it doesn’t have to fetch everything from scratch each time your site is loaded. If using WordPress, caching can be easily enabled with a plugin. For other content management systems, ask your web provider to check.
• Activate AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) – this is Google’s way of helping mobile pages load faster by removing unnecessary features and content. Follow Google’s instructions for creating AMP content or get a WordPress AMP plugin.

where can you find out more?

We recommend Google’s ‘Test your mobile speed’ and GTmetrix as additional tools you can use to check the speed of your website. There’s also a great blog by Neil Patel with more information on improving your Google PageSpeed score.

If you’d like help improving your page speed or enhancing the performance of your website in any other way, please get in touch.

To sum up, good user experience (UX) is all about understanding your users’ needs, behaviours and preferences and structuring/designing your website with these in mind. With great UX, everyone who visits your site will have a positive experience and be able to find the information they’re seeking and complete relevant actions, such as making purchases. 

Having good user experience will do wonders for the performance of your website and is vital in helping you reach your digital goals!

Find out more about some of the key areas of user experience below:

• Mobile responsivity
• Browser compatibility
• Website accessibility
• The significance of different colours
• Page speed
• 404 error pages
  

If you’d like help with user experience or optimising digital performance in any other way, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help. Our expert digital services are on-demand so you pay for exactly what you need, when you need it.

We provide seven compelling reasons why your website deserves investment:

1. it’s your top marketing tool

Your website is your ‘shop window’ to show the world what you do and why your work matters. It’s vital to ensure that your website represents your work both effectively and professionally.

2. it promotes brand trust

Website design is more important than content in terms of whether users trust a company, with 94% of consumers citing design as their main reason for mistrusting a website.

3. it saves you time

If your website is inadequate and doesn’t provide users with the information or options they need, you’ll have to deal with off-line customer enquiries and orders. An integrated website which provides all relevant information and allows for online purchases/bookings/donations saves you both time and energy.

4. it helps people find you

Google has an average of 40,000 searchqueries every second (over 5 billion searches per day) so investment in Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for your website is a key component of success, helping people find and engage with your company.

5. it ensures speed

Another key area of website satisfaction is speed, with around half of consumers expecting a webpage to load in two seconds or less and a one second delay decreasing satisfaction by 16%.

6. it helps you engage with people

By investing in user experience and putting users at the heart of your website, you’re likely to generate increased online engagement and conversions.

7. it saves you money

In the long run, website investment not only helps you to reach users, generate income and meet your company’s goals, but it also ensures you avoid unforeseen expenses caused by security breaches, hacking or code issues.

website investment doesn’t need to be huge

How much you need to spend on your website depends on various factors, such as the level of functionality needed and your target audience. It’s a bit like decorating a house and you only really know is required when you start looking at the walls in detail and checking for cracks. Even then, you can choose to use budget paint or bespoke wallpaper and this will affect the quality of finish and how long the decoration lasts. As well as design, it’s also important to budget for ongoing website hosting and maintenance too.

We recommend starting with a website audit to get an overview of how your site is functioning, uncover problem areas and work out which areas require greatest investment. Small, ongoing updates help ensure your website is secure, up-to-date, user friendly, mobile and browser-compatible, and legally compliant. They also help your website last longer before it needs to be completely redesigned/rebuilt.

We’ve created an easy to follow checklist to explain the ongoing maintenance needed to keep your site working optimally. Our FREE downloadable web maintenance guide includes advice on improving search engine rankings, creating regular content, managing site back-ups, and many other tips.

Alternatively, if you’d like help with auditing, improving or maintaining your website, we’re your ideal partner. We tailor our services to your requirements and you only pay for what you need, when you need it. For more information, visit our web support pages or get in touch.