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The difference between page speed and site speed

Page speed and site speed refer to how quickly website content loads, but they have technical differences.

Page speed refers to how quickly a webpage loads its content. It may be defined as either:

• Page load time: refers to the time taken to display a page’s content fully. On average, this process takes 10.3 seconds.
• Time to first byte: refers to the duration it takes for a browser to receive the first byte of information from a server.

Site speed refers to the time taken for a whole website to load. It is calculated by taking the average load time for a sample of page views on your website.

Website speed refers to how quickly a website loads and may be used as a synonym for site speed.

Page speed, website speed, and site speed are interrelated factors that affect a website’s user experience and search engine ranking.

What makes website speed optimization services crucial for the success of a website?

Not only is it essential for your site visitors, but also Google. Quick page loading is crucial for SEO.

Google’s primary responsibility is to provide users with search results most relevant to their queries. Search engines display pages with content that best suits the user’s query and prioritize websites that offer an excellent user experience. And as expected, page speed is crucial in providing a great user experience.

Other factors contributing to a user’s experience include readability and how easy it is to navigate the content.

Quick-loading pages attract visitors, reduce bounce rates, and signal quality to Google.

When a website takes longer than 3 seconds to load, users become frustrated and bounce to find information more quickly.

If visitors frequently leave your website without interacting with its content, Google will note it. Consequently, your site’s ranking in search engine results may decrease. This is because Google considers a high bounce rate to indicate a poor user experience. As a result, they may lower your website’s rank in search engine results.

If your website takes too long to load and users leave before engaging with your content, Google might assume that your website needs more quality. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your website has poor content. It could be one of the best websites out there. The slow load time could be the only reason your visitors couldn’t experience your website.

Page speed is crucial for any website. Slow website speed can discourage users from entering your site, which ultimately means they will not learn about your business, products, and services or read the informative and beneficial information you provide. More importantly, they won’t convert.

IS MOBILE INVOLVED?

In January 2018, Google announced its Speed Update, which stated that mobile speed is now a ranking factor. As a result, both desktop and mobile rankings may be affected by site speed.

This emphasizes the importance of considering mobile devices when optimizing website speed.

Optimizing page speed for mobile devices is just as important as desktop devices. It is crucial to ensure your website is mobile responsive to make it effective and user-friendly even on smaller screens.

Four main factors that cause a website to load slowly

Slow load time can be caused by several factors, including:

1. SLOPPY HTML CODING

Having sloppy HTML code on the backend of your website is a sure way to hinder page load times.

HTML code defines the page’s appearance and functionality when creating a website. This is achieved through tags, which instruct the page on how to operate.

Each page of your website contains a set of code, and as your website grows in size and complexity, the code can become increasingly intricate. As a result, it is easy for the code to become cluttered and sloppy.

To maintain a fast loading speed of your web pages, it is crucial to ensure that there are no redundant tags and everything is referenced accurately. Otherwise, it may take the server longer to read the code, resulting in a slow-loading website.

2. HUGE, UNOPTIMIZED GRAPHICS

Incorporating graphics into your website is essential for delivering a satisfying user experience. When you provide a page filled with information, it’s crucial to break up the text with images, graphics, or videos to prevent the reader from becoming bored. This will make the content more engaging and easier to digest, enhancing the overall experience.

However, adding too many graphics and videos to your site can slow its loading speed.

Large, high-quality images are a significant contributor to slow-loading web pages.

So, how do you enhance user experience and reduce page load time? Optimize your website’s graphics!

Consider using a tool like Kraken.io to compress your image files, reducing their size without altering their visual quality. This will make your website load faster and improve the user experience for your visitors.

It is recommended to avoid using TIFF and BMP files and instead use only JPG and PNG files.

3. TOO MANY REDIRECTS

You can use redirects when you want to replace all links to an old webpage with references to a new one. These redirects are code bits placed within your server’s .htaccess file. You can create as many redirects as you need when you replace old pages on your site.

Numerous redirects on a single page can slow your website’s loading time. This is because the .htaccess file needs to be referenced multiple times to determine the new location of the link. Essentially, the links are loaded twice on your page, causing an increase in page load time.

4. SERVER LOCATION AND PERFORMANCE

When it comes to website loading speed, the location of your server plays a crucial role. The farther your server is from your audience, the longer it will take for your website to load. So, choosing a server location is very important based on your target audience’s location. For instance, if your business is based in the United States, choosing a server in China is not recommended.

Regarding server performance, it is crucial to have high-quality website hosting. Here’s how it works:

• A user visits your website by typing its URL into the search bar or by clicking on a link from a search engine like Google
• The user’s browser sends a request to your server for the necessary information to access your website
• If your server is of high quality, the information will be delivered quickly

The quality of your server depends on whether it is shared or dedicated:

• Are you on a shared server? If so, you are sharing server space with another website.
• Are you on a dedicated server? Using a dedicated server ensures that your website traffic is not shared with others, resulting in faster loading times.

Two website optimization tools to help with page speed

Looking to improve your website speed? Check out these web optimization tools to gauge page speed and improve performance.

1. GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE

Are you looking for free tools to speed up your website? Google Search Console is the best of the best options, providing you with valuable information to measure your website traffic, understand your site’s performance, and get advice on how to fix any issues that may be slowing your website down.