It\u2019s also a well-known fact that Google considers a web page\u2019s load time as a ranking factor<\/a>. Because of this, many webmasters and organic SEO specialists use an array of tools to help improve website performance for their clients.<\/p>\n If you have a slow site and want to improve its speed, this article will explain how you can test your site speed, decrease your page load time, and improve your entire website\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n Page speed, or page load time, is the time it takes to display all of the content contained within a given page on your website. Page speed is sometimes mistaken for \u201csite speed,\u201d which is a term used to measure the overall speed of a group of a website\u2019s pages as opposed to just one. Site speed is important for improving individual page performance.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to optimize for both site and page speed for two very important reasons:<\/p>\n Fortunately, there is an array of websites that will test and analyze your website\u2019s speed<\/a> and many will also offer suggestions on how to fix issues<\/a> and boost load time.<\/p>\n PageSpeed Insights<\/a> is an easy-to-use tool that helps fix common page speed issues on both mobile and desktop devices. With each suggested issue to address, Google supplies a link to show you how to make the necessary changes to your website.<\/p>\n See also:<\/strong> How to Achieve 100% On Google PageSpead Test Tool<\/a><\/p>\n While Google\u2019s tool is great for analyzing individual pages within your website, WebPageTest<\/a> is a tool that will analyze hundreds of pages<\/a> and kick back a host of stats, including load time, time to first byte, and document completion time. Check out Moz\u2019s guide on using WebPageTest to better interpret the data the tool provides.<\/p>\n Here are several useful ways to increase your website\u2019s page speed.<\/p>\n You can use software, such as GNU\u2019s Gzip<\/a>, to compress HTML, CSS, and JavaScript website files that are larger than 150 bytes. If using WordPress, there are several plugins that have Gzip capabilities. Click here to see all plugins tagged with \u201cgzip\u201d on WordPress.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Scripts and code that make up your webpages can drastically slow down your load time. By using minification for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, internet browsers will have less work to do to display your content. If using WordPress, W3 Total Cache<\/a> is a powerful plugin designed to enhance your website performance with caching.<\/p>\n Redirecting URLs slows down a page\u2019s load time, making visitors wait longer than they should have to for the content they\u2019ve requested. If you have a lot of webpages being redirected on your website, Moz has a great guide on how to optimize your website\u2019s redirects<\/a> that you should use to clean them up.\u00a0 Some tools to help you identify your current redirects are the Google Chrome extension Redirect Path<\/a> and this online Redirect Tracker.<\/a><\/p>\n Browser caching can dramatically decrease your page load time and there are several ways that you can go about setting your cache options. Non-WordPress users can refer to guides like this one from Apache.org<\/a> and those who are operating their websites with WordPress\u2019 CMS can use the aforementioned W3 Total Cache plugin, which boasts over 1 million active installs.<\/p>\n See also:<\/strong> Beginner\u2019s Guide for WordPress: W3 Total Cache<\/a><\/p>\n A slow website can often be attributed to server response time. The more traffic your website gets or, if your site is on a shared server the more traffic all the websites on that server receive will noticeably slow your response time and page load speed. Click here to learn more about server response time<\/a> and what can be done about it if it\u2019s slow.<\/p>\n Those who try to run WordPress through a GoDaddy hosting account know all too well just how slow the server response time can be. So if this is happening to you, take a moment to read this article from WhatsWP<\/a> for tips on how to accelerate WordPress load speeds on Godaddy.<\/p>\n Content Distribution Networks (CDNs) are group servers that store copies of your website and are used to deliver your content quickly through geographically diverse data centers. Learn more about CDNs by visiting CDN Reviews<\/a>.<\/p>\n Large images, like ones taken with your mobile phone, that are published on websites can often be hundreds of megabytes in size. Without using image compression, these pictures can take some serious time to download to your computer \u2013 hence dragging out your load time.<\/p>\n As with all of the aforementioned tips for increasing website performance, there are many ways that you can optimize your images. For starters, you can use software like PhotoShop to compress the image size without obviously jeopardizing the integrity of the image quality. WordPress users can try plugins like EWWW Image Optimizer<\/a> and\/or Jetpack, which has a service known as Photon<\/a> that is capable of image acceleration.<\/p>\n See also:<\/strong> WordPress Plugins You Should be Using On Your Website<\/a><\/p>\n Google recently announced that they will be using page speed on mobile devices as a ranking factor for all websites in the not-too-distant future. This is something that should be taken seriously by all small business owners and bloggers alike \u2013 especially considering the massive, growing shift in mobile usage in recent years. You can read the entire article on this topic from Search Engine Land\u2019s Barry Schwartz here<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re concerned about your website\u2019s mobile performance, there is a new tool from Google available at ThinkwithGoogle.com<\/a> that will allow you to test how mobile-friendly your site is across mobile and desktop devices.<\/p>\n If your website seems to be running slow for you, there\u2019s a good chance that it\u2019s operating slowly for everyone trying to view it. This can be a serious issue that harms your reputation, annoys would-be visitors, and prevents Google and other search engines from ranking your site favorably in related search results.<\/p>\n If fixing your website speed and load time is a bit overwhelming for you, ask your webmaster or contact an experienced digital marketing firm to make the necessary changes for you. V Digital Services<\/a> is an industry-leading internet marketing firm that provides website design, organic SEO<\/a>, and paid advertising options. Call: 888-441-0784<\/a> or click here to speak with a representative<\/a> about your website performance needs.<\/p>\nWhat is Website Page Speed?<\/h2>\n
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![\"How](\"https:\/\/www.vdigitalservices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/v-digital-services-page-speed-effects-google-rankings-infographic.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nHow to Test Site & Page Speed<\/h2>\n
1. Google PageSpeed Insights<\/h3>\n
2. WebPageTest<\/h3>\n
Seven Tips for Decreasing Webpage Load Time<\/h2>\n
1. Compress Your Files<\/h3>\n
2. Minify HTML, CSS & JavaScript<\/h3>\n
3. Avoid Using Redirects<\/h3>\n
4. Use Browser Caching<\/h3>\n
5. Increase Server Response Time<\/h3>\n
6. Utilize a Content Distribution Network<\/h3>\n
7. Optimize Your Images<\/h3>\n
Mobile Page Speed Ranking Factor<\/h2>\n
![\"Mobile](\"https:\/\/www.vdigitalservices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/v-digital-services-mobile-load-time-vs-user-expections-inforgaphic.gif\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"ThinkwithGoogle](\"https:\/\/www.vdigitalservices.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/v-digital-services-think-with-google-mobile-site-tester.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\nConclusion<\/h4>\n