Nobody sits and waits for a slow website. They tap back and try the next business on the list. If your site feels sluggish, it is worth finding out why, and most of the time the cause is simple.
Two free ways to check
You do not need any technical knowledge for these.
1. Google PageSpeed Insights. Go to pagespeed.web.dev, type in your web address and press Analyse. Google tests the page the way a phone would see it and gives you a score along with a list of what is slowing it down. Do not panic if the list is long and full of jargon. Look at the top few items and ignore the rest. We show the same test in our ten minute self check.
2. Your own phone, on mobile data. Turn wifi off, open your site, and watch. Does the top of the page appear quickly? Can you tap something within a few seconds, or does the page jump around while it loads? This is how many of your customers will see it, standing in a driveway or waiting in a car park. Your office wifi can hide a lot of problems.
Try a second page as well as the homepage. Sometimes the homepage is fine and a gallery page is the slow one.
The usual culprits
Huge photos
This is the most common cause. A photo straight off a modern phone can be several megabytes, which is far larger than a web page needs. If those go onto the site unchanged, the page has to drag all that data down before it looks finished. The fix is to shrink the photos to a sensible size before they go online. Many website builders do this automatically, and some do not.
Our guide on taking website photos with your phone covers taking and sending photos. If your site has a setting for image size, use it, or ask whoever looks after your site to resize what is already there.
Too many add ons
Every plugin, widget and extra feature adds weight. A live chat box, a social feed, a booking calendar, a pop up, a review carousel and a cookie banner each load their own code. One or two can be fine. Ten is a lot.
Go through your add ons and ask what each one is for. If you cannot remember, or nobody uses it, it is a candidate for removal.
Video that autoplays
A video playing in the background of your homepage looks impressive, but it is heavy, especially on a phone. A better option is a still image with a play button, so the video only loads when someone chooses to watch it. Sliders and moving banners are similar. They are heavy, and they are often hard to read. Our guide on what to put on your homepage covers what deserves that space instead.
Crowded or cheap hosting
Hosting is where your site's files live. If it is slow, everything is slow, no matter how tidy the site is. This is harder to judge yourself, but a sign is when even a very plain page takes ages. If you are not sure what hosting is, domain, hosting and website explains the three pieces.
An old or overloaded setup
Sometimes a site has years of added layers and nobody wants to touch it. If small changes feel risky and everything is slow, it may be worth reading our guide on refresh or rebuild.
What you can fix yourself
- Delete add ons you do not use, if you have the login.
- Replace giant photos with smaller ones.
- Turn off autoplay video.
- Remove old banners, sliders and pop ups.
After each change, test again and see whether the PageSpeed result or the phone test feels better. Change one thing at a time so you know what worked.
When to ask for help
If you have done the easy things and it is still slow, or you do not have the logins to change anything, it is time to ask someone. Be wary of anyone who promises a particular score or a particular place on Google. A reasonable aim is a site that feels quick on a phone, and that is something you can check yourself.
You do not need to pay anyone to run these tests or to remove an add on you never use. If you want a second opinion on what is slowing yours down, tell us about your business and we will talk it through on a free 15 minute call.