How to speed up your site

In one line

Speeding up your site means reducing what the browser has to load and how fast it responds, through image optimisation, less JavaScript, caching, and good hosting.

The steps

  1. 1Compress images and use modern formats (WebP/AVIF)
  2. 2Lazy-load offscreen images and media
  3. 3Minimise and defer heavy JavaScript and third-party scripts
  4. 4Enable caching and use a CDN
  5. 5Choose fast hosting; reserve space for elements to avoid layout shift
  6. 6Re-test with PageSpeed Insights

Why it matters

Speed is a ranking signal (via Core Web Vitals) and a major UX and conversion factor, slow pages lose visitors before they read a word. It also helps crawlers cover more of your site.

Frequently asked

What slows sites down most?

Usually large unoptimised images and heavy JavaScript/third-party scripts. Fixing those two delivers the biggest gains.

How do I measure site speed?

Google PageSpeed Insights or a Core Web Vitals checker gives real field + lab data and specific fixes.

Put this into practice

Grade your site against our 250-point AEO/GEO checklist and see exactly what to fix, free, no signup.

Run a free audit Free tools

Related

Core Web Vitals explained
Google's three page-experience metrics, and what “good” looks like.
Technical SEO basics
The site-health essentials that let your content rank.