Slow Sites = Low Traffic
We’ve all been to that website before. It begins to load. And then the loading bar keeps spinning, and spinning, and spinning. After what feels like an eternity, you reject the slow site and go back to search results. How long was it exactly? Usually, people begin to bounce off a site after about 3 seconds of waiting. So as a site owner, you have 3 seconds for your site to load in order to avoid natural bouncing from clients. This can impact your direct connection with clients, but it can also impact where and when Google shows you in search results.
In this article, we will go over the main reasons why your site is loading slow, and why this impacts both your customers and your performance on Google
Culprits that Create Slow Sites
There are many factors that create slow sites. That said, there are generally 3 main culprits. We’ll go through each one.
Culprit #1: Large Images or Videos
This one is the main culprit that I often see when working on sites. Images and videos that are too large often have a significant impact on your site’s loading speed. It makes sense why there are so many high-quality images on sites. Especially with home services, you want to make sure your website is full of high-quality images so customers can have a better idea of what you do. You don’t need to reduce the number of images to solve this. Rather, you can reduce the load of your images.
Generally, there are ways to compress images while still retaining quality. One of my favorite ways to do this is to convert images from whatever format they are into WebP. WebP is an image format that was designed by Google for use on websites. It has a much smaller load of code than traditional types of images, but it maintains a clear, crisp look. And, even though it is a newer format, it is well-accepted throughout the website building space and on Google search. If you are interested in testing it out, you can use this free converter.
Culprit #2: Excessive Code on Websites
We all like a website that is as functional and stylish. And, designers often like to add multiple layers of “bells and whistles” in order to make our websites stand out. Often, this is really useful. The website can look great and have a lot of functionality. The downside, though? Each of these functions puts more code on your website. And, enough code can significantly slow it down.
There are two solutions that often work well for this issue. The first is to use less code on your site. This is usually best done through hiring a developer (if you are looking for one, reach out and I can connect you with one). Or, if you don’t want to reduce the code, you can use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). A content delivery network basically spreads out the delivery task to multiple servers in various locations.
For example, I’m located in Phoenix. If someone were to search “roofing in Phoenix” then the server in the CDN closest to their location (probably somewhere in Phoenix), would be responsible for serving their site. However, if someone in Salt Lake City was looking for my roofing business for their winter home and searched “roofing in Phoenix”, then the server near Salt Lake City would be responsible. Since prioritizes closer servers, and the load is spread out across multiple servers, CDN’s will almost always improve website speed once set up. They are an incredibly useful tool, especially for businesses spread out over a large area or not near the server their site is hosted on.
Culprit #3: Broken Code
While too much code can become an issue, broken code will also almost always slow your site down. This issue is difficult to diagnose. However, a trained professional will be able to unearth broken code. As SEO specialists, we utilize crawling software called Screaming Frog to identify the breaks in the code. Whenever a website is loading slowly, checking this software is always part of our process. If you find code that is broken and slowing your site down, it is usually best to go to a developer (my team handles this for our clients, but if you’re not a client yet, feel free to reach out and I’d be happy to make the connection). Getting broken code fixed can drastically improve your site speed.
Why a Slow Speed Matters for Your Website
#1: It detracts from User Experience
The main reason why you do not want a slow-loading website is that potential customers will have a poor experience on your website. I frequently click on websites that are too slow. Even if I like the company, unless I have some personal connection, I will not continue to try to get information off the website. Usually, I will go to the next company on the list. This is a fairly common experience when it comes to users. So, if you want to be getting the traffic you should, a quick website is essential. Otherwise, people may be driven to your competitor for the simple reason that their site is quicker.
#2: It Impacts Your Performance on Search Engines
Search engines will quickly start to recognize the issue with speed on your site. And just like you should, they see slow-loading sites as bad user experience for people using their search engines. If your site is too slow, or too many people are leaving before it fully loads, you will start to see an impact in search performance. This will begin to drive your traffic in the wrong direction – down.
Fast Sites. Happy Customers.
A fast site is essential for connecting with customers well through search engines. While there are other technical things to inspect, page speed fixes are some quick wins that can help you improve user experience on your own site, and your appearance in search engines. Try out these tips and tricks, and let us know if they work for you! Happy site speeds!