How to Improve Website Performance: 9 Optimization Tips

Website capacity is simply a measurement of really fast, interactive, and easy to usage your tract is. 

And amended capacity often leads to amended business results.

Before we get into really to amended your website’s performance, let’s screen immoderate of the specifics of why beardown capacity matters successful the first place.

Why Is It Important to Improve Website Performance?

A speedy website pinch a soft personification acquisition (UX) helps support visitors connected your pages longer and increases the likelihood of them completing conversions (taking desired actions) for illustration making a acquisition aliases signing up for a newsletter. 

Plus, pages that load much quickly and supply a amended UX thin to execute amended successful hunt motor rankings. Which helps much group observe them.

That’s because some page acquisition and page speed (among different criteria) are Google SEO ranking factors.

For example, let’s see the top-ranking consequence for the query “skincare routine”—a word Keyword Overview shows is highly competitory and gets complete 22K searches per period successful the U.S.

If we scroll to the bottommost of the report, we tin spot that Healthline has the page astatine the apical of the hunt motor results page (SERP).

Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool (we’ll screen this successful much item later) indicates this is simply a fast-loading page. 

And if we look astatine the page ourselves, we tin spot that it has elemental navigation, clear fonts, well-placed visuals, and a cleanable layout that enhances readability.

While awesome capacity isn’t the only point that affects precocious rankings, improving it tin still springiness you an separator successful hunt visibility.

So what precisely goes into a high-performing site? Let’s look astatine that next.

What Affects a Webpage’s Performance?

Many factors tin effect a webpage’s capacity (we’ll spell complete specifics erstwhile we get to the tips). But it’s worthy specifically discussing speed. 

And you tin usage the Core Web Vitals arsenic your superior guideline for this.

The Core Web Vitals are a group of 3 metrics that measurement really users acquisition a website:

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures really agelong it takes for the largest contented constituent connected the page to load
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures really overmuch the page’s layout moves astir unexpectedly during loading 
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures the longest hold a personification experiences betwixt erstwhile they initiate an relationship pinch a webpage and erstwhile they spot a ocular response

There’s much to a awesome tract than your Core Web Vitals scores alone. But measuring and improving these metrics tin thief you supply a amended wide acquisition for your users and moreover boost your SEO results. 

How to Test Website Performance

Let’s spell complete 2 website capacity tools and really to usage them:

PageSpeed Insights

Google’s PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is simply a free, easy-to-use instrumentality that measures a azygous webpage’s capacity and provides a Core Web Vitals appraisal on pinch recommendations for improvement.

To start, unfastened PageSpeed Insights and paste the URL you want to cheque into the hunt bar. Then, click “Analyze.”

The apical of your study shows whether you passed the Core Web Vitals assessment.

Scroll down to the “Diagnose capacity issues” conception to spot your capacity score. Which is connected a standard retired of 100. 

Google considers a people complete 90 to beryllium good. Any people betwixt 50 to 89 needs improvement. And a people of betwixt 0 and 49 is poor.

Scroll down further to the “Diagnostics” conception for a database of ways to amended performance. Like decently sizing images, cleaning up your code, and reducing server consequence times.

Some of these suggestions are alternatively technical. So, scope retired to a developer if you request help.

Site Audit

Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality gauges your site’s performance, highlights issues, and offers betterment recommendations. 

Open the tool, participate your domain successful the hunt bar, and click “Start Audit.”

Next, configure your settings. If you're conscionable getting started (or simply want to trial retired the tool), you tin proceed pinch the pre-configured default settings. 

Click “Start Site Audit” to commencement the audit. 

When your study is ready, you’ll spot a dashboard. 

Click “View details” nether “Site Performance.”

You’ll past spot a study detailing your website’s performance. And immoderate related issues it’s facing. 

If you’re unsure of really to tackle a concern, click connected “Why and really to hole it” adjacent to the corresponding rumor for much information. And you tin consult pinch a developer for analyzable method issues.

Next, cheque retired your Core Web Vitals study to gauge your site’s interactivity.

From your main dashboard, click “View details” nether “Core Web Vitals.”

You’ll spot a breakdown of each metric, on pinch apical improvements you (or your developer) tin make. And statement that Site Audit uses Total Blocking Time (TBT) arsenic an approximation for INP. 

The instrumentality checks up to 10 pages connected your site. To attraction the audit connected your astir important pages, scroll down to “Analyzed pages,” and click “Edit list” supra the table. 

9 Website Performance Optimization Best Practices

After testing your website and identifying factors affecting its performance, it's clip to make improvements.

These 9 capacity optimization techniques tin thief pinch circumstantial improvements based connected what your trial showed, but they're besides valuable champion practices for keeping your tract performing good successful general.

1. Optimize Images 

Images pinch ample record sizes tin slow down page load times because the user's browser has to download much data. 

To amended page speed, beryllium selective astir the images you’re using. And only see images that adhd existent worth for users.

Then, optimize your visuals by:

• Choosing the correct image format: For photos and illustrations, usage JPEG. For images that request transparent backgrounds (like logos aliases icons) usage PNG. But opt for much modern image formats for illustration WebP erstwhile imaginable because they connection smaller record sizes while maintaining quality. 
• Compressing your images: Use compression devices for illustration TinyPNG to trim record size without importantly impacting image quality
• Specifying image dimensions: Specify the tallness and width for your images wrong <img>tags to thief forestall layout shifts and amended UX. If you’re not judge really to do this, activity pinch a developer aliases cheque your contented guidance strategy (CMS) aliases website level settings for optimization options.
• Serving responsive images: Responsive images (like the ones below) set to fresh the user’s surface and minimize loading times. Most modern website platforms (like Wix) do this automatically, but you tin besides inquire a developer for help.

2. Choose Your Fonts Carefully

If you’re not observant astir your website’s font choices, it tin slow down your load time, lead to layout shifts, and moreover harm readability. 

For instance, web fonts request to beryllium downloaded by the browser earlier they tin beryllium displayed. Which tin slow down really quickly users spot contented connected your page. 

And simply choosing the incorrect look tin make your matter difficult to read. For example, if you take an ornate font that doesn’t show good connected mobile. 

To guarantee fonts heighten (or astatine slightest don’t disrupt) your site’s performance:

• Avoid utilizing web fonts erstwhile possible: While web fonts tin springiness your tract a unsocial look, they tin slow down your site. If you do usage them, reserve them for headings aliases typical elements to minimize their effect connected load times.
• Use strategy fonts for assemblage text: System fonts for illustration Arial aliases Helvetica are already installed connected users' devices, truthful they load instantly

Your developer tin besides thief velocity things up by utilizing WOFF2, a newer font format that loads faster. 

They tin besides group rules for really browsers grip fonts. Which tin make your tract consciousness quicker and support matter from shifting arsenic it loads.

3. Minimize Unnecessary Redirects

Redirects automatically nonstop users and hunt engines from 1 URL to another—like erstwhile you delete pages and move content. But excessively galore tin slow down your site.

You tin usage Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to cheque if your tract has issues pinch redirects.

Open your study and navigate to the “Issues” tab. Type “redirect” into the hunt barroom and you’ll spot a database of redirect-related issues. Like this:

First, cheque nether “Errors” for immoderate problems pinch redirect chains and loops.

Redirect chains hap erstwhile location are aggregate redirects betwixt the first URL and the last destination. Like this:

To hole a redirect chain, redirect consecutive from the aged URL to the last destination URL 

Redirect loops hap erstwhile 2 aliases much pages redirect specified that hunt engines and users ne'er scope a last destination. Like this: 

Fix redirect loops by identifying the final, correct destination and ensuring each page redirects to it.

Next, look nether “Warnings” for immoderate impermanent redirects. Click connected “# URLs” to position the afloat database and region immoderate you nary longer need. 

Finally, cheque retired “Notices” for imperishable redirects. These nonstop users to a caller URL indefinitely. 

Go done the afloat database and region immoderate unnecessary ones. Like if the original page is nary longer accessed aliases needed.

4. Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests

An HTTP petition is erstwhile a browser asks for accusation from a server for illustration erstwhile it needs to load a file. 

More requests mostly mean slower page load times. Because each petition requires a information travel betwixt the user’s browser and the server.

You tin spot the number of HTTP requests for a page utilizing your browser’s developer tools. 

On Chrome, unfastened the page you want to assess. Right-click connected the surface and prime “Inspect.”

Navigate to the “Network” tab. Then, reload your page to cod data.

You’ll spot each the requests and accusation astir each. And the full number of HTTP requests successful the bottommost near area of the window.

There are immoderate beginner-friendly ways to trim the number of HTTP requests connected a page. Like removing unnecessary elements (e.g., buttons that tin beryllium eliminated) and utilizing less plugins. 

But the safest measurement is to consult pinch a developer. They tin thief you instrumentality much precocious techniques to trim HTTP requests without risking your site's functionality aliases personification experience.

5. Minify CSS and JavaScript Files

Minifying intends making your codification files smaller without changing really they work. And that speeds up your site. 

Developers tin minify codification by:

• Removing unnecessary characters for illustration other spaces and statement breaks
• Deleting codification comments and formatting
• Getting free of unused code
• Using shorter names for variables and functions

For example, unminified CSS mightiness look for illustration this:

/* Main styling for the header */
.header {
background-color: #2c3e50;
color: #ecf0f1;
padding: 20px;
margin-bottom: 30px;
}
/* Navigation menu styles */
.nav-menu {
display: flex;
justify-content: space-between;
list-style-type: none;
}
.nav-item {
margin-right: 15px;
font-size: 18px;
}
/* Hover effect for nav items */
.nav-item:hover {
text-decoration: underline;
color: #3498db;
}

The aforesaid CSS, erstwhile minified, looks for illustration this:

.header{background-color:#2c3e50;color:#ecf0f1;padding:20px;margin-bottom:30px}.nav-menu{display:flex;justify-content:space-between;list-style-type:none}.nav-item{margin-right:15px;font-size:18px}.nav-item:hover{text-decoration:underline;color:#3498db}

You tin usage Site Audit to cheque if your tract has unminified code.

Open the task you want to measure and click “View details” nether “Site Performance.” 

Scroll down to the “Warnings” section. 

If there’s an opportunity to minify your code, you’ll spot an “# issues” fastener connected the “Unminified JavaScript and CSS files” line.

Click connected the “# issues” fastener for a afloat database of affected pages. Then, walk this accusation on to your developer.

If you person a WordPress site, you tin usage plugins for illustration WP-Optimize. Just beryllium mindful that plugins themselves tin slow down your site—we’ll screen this much later on.

6. Use a Content Delivery Network

A content transportation network (CDN) is simply a group of servers dispersed astir the world that present contented to the users nearest them to velocity up your site.

Let's opportunity your website's main server is successful New York but you usage a CDN. In that case, personification successful Australia visiting your tract tin person contented from a person server alternatively than the 1 successful New York. 

Here’s a simple, ocular representation:

How tin you usage a CDN?

First, take a trusted provider.

For example, Cloudflare, Amazon CloudFront, Fastly, aliases Microsoft Azure Content Delivery Network. 

But the champion CDN for you will dangle connected factors for illustration your budget, wherever your users are located, and your information requirements. 

7. Choose Good Web Hosting

The value of your web hosting affects really quickly your tract loads and its expertise to grip postulation spikes.

There are respective types of hosting, each pinch different capacity implications. 

For example:

• Shared hosting: This action is often the astir affordable. Though it tin lead to slower performance, particularly during high-traffic periods, because you’re competing pinch different sites connected the server for resources. But it’s a bully action for mini blogs and individual sites.
• Virtual backstage servers (VPS): This is simply a measurement up from shared hosting. Your tract still shares a beingness server pinch different websites but gets a guaranteed magnitude of resources.
• Dedicated hosting: Your website gets its ain server. This provides maximum power and performance, but it tin beryllium expensive. It's suitable for high-traffic websites and those pinch circumstantial server configuration needs.
• Cloud hosting: Multiple servers activity together to big a group of websites. This offers scalable and reliable performance. And it tin grip postulation spikes well.

If you're experiencing slow load times aliases predominant downtime (moments erstwhile your tract is unavailable), see upgrading your hosting scheme aliases choosing a different type of hosting that offers much resources and amended performance.

Some examples of hosting providers see Hostinger, SiteGround, Bluehost, WP Engine, and DigitalOcean.

8. Limit Third-Party Scripts

Third-party scripts are pieces of codification from outer services that adhd functionality and interactivity to your site. But they tin besides slow down your tract for a number of reasons.

Here’s an illustration of a video embed enabled by third-party script:

Use Google’s PSI instrumentality to cheque a azygous page for third-party book issues. 

If location are immoderate problems, you’ll spot a “Reduce the effect of third-party code” correction nether “Diagnostics.”

Click connected the correction for a database of scripts impacting your page’s performance. 

The simplest measurement to amended capacity is to region scripts you nary longer use.

For example, if you added an Instagram sharing plugin to your blog posts but nary longer beforehand your contented that way, you tin region that script.

But often, third-party scripts are basal for your site's functionality. So, speak to a developer to talk options.

9. Enable Browser Caching

Browser caching is erstwhile a visitor's browser stores files aft their first visit, truthful those files tin beryllium loaded much quickly erstwhile they return.

This improves the acquisition for returning visitors. But cognize that the first sojourn won’t beryllium immoderate faster.

If you person a WordPress site, you tin alteration caching utilizing plugins for illustration LightSpeed Cache, W3 Total Cache, and WP Super Cache.

But because excessively galore plugins tin slow down your site, we urge that you activity pinch a developer to edit your server files to alteration caching. 

Maintain Strong Site Performance

Improving your tract capacity tin amended your visibility successful hunt results, incentivize users to enactment longer, and moreover thrust conversions.

But sustaining coagulated website capacity requires ongoing attraction and maintenance. 

Use Semrush’s Site Audit instrumentality to support an oculus connected your tract capacity complete time, drawback imaginable issues earlier they go bigger problems, and place opportunities to improve.