Website speed: why it matters and how to check yours in 2 minutes
Slow sites lose visitors before they even see your content, and Google ranks slow sites lower. Test yours free with Google's PageSpeed Insights, it takes about two minutes.
Speed is one of those things nobody notices until it's bad. A site that takes five seconds to load feels broken, and most visitors won't wait around to find out it isn't.
Why speed costs you customers
The longer a page takes to appear, the more people give up and go elsewhere, especially on mobile data. A visitor who bounces because your site was slow never even saw what you had to offer.
Why speed affects your Google ranking
Google factors page speed into how it ranks sites, particularly on mobile. A slow site doesn't just lose visitors who arrive, it can mean fewer visitors arrive in the first place.
How to check your site's speed
Search "PageSpeed Insights", paste in your website address, and Google will score your site out of 100 and list exactly what's slowing it down. It's free and takes about two minutes.
The usual culprits
Every site we build is hand-coded rather than bloated with plugins, with images compressed automatically and hosted on fast infrastructure. Speed isn't an afterthought, it's the default.
Talk to us about your website →Common questions
How much does website speed actually matter?+
A lot. Visitors leave slow sites within seconds, and Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, so it affects both conversions and visibility.
How can I check my website's speed?+
Use Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool, enter your website address, and it will score your site and list the specific issues slowing it down.
What's the most common cause of a slow website?+
Large, uncompressed images. They're usually the single biggest factor in slow load times for small business websites.