Unsatisfied with your page speed score? So is Google. Whether you’re in the yellow or, worse, the red zone, enhancing your website’s speed and performance is crucial. Neglecting this could severely impact your website traffic, leads, and revenue, as Google prioritizes fast-loading sites in its search results.
Elevate your website’s search ranking and capitalize on the benefits of being at the top with our comprehensive site speed and performance checklist. This 13-step guide will help you optimize your site’s speed and increase revenue for your company.
Continue reading to unlock the secrets to supercharging your site speed!
P.S. For more strategies to boost your website’s performance, explore Revenue Weekly!
This site speed checklist offers a thorough overview and actionable steps to enhance your page speed, a critical factor for your business. It can significantly improve your website’s overall performance, including metrics like rankings and sales.
1. Assess Page Speed
Your current page speed is the foundation of your site speed checklist. Your page speed report will dictate the necessary optimizations. Thoroughly test your website using reliable page speed tools, such as:
Google PageSpeed Insights
GTmetrix
SEO Checker
These tools will provide a baseline for your page speed.
Did you know the average page load time is 10.3 seconds?
2. Evaluate Mobile-Friendliness
Ensure your website is mobile-friendly, especially since Google uses a mobile-first index. A fast mobile website is essential, as a slow mobile site can hinder your search rankings and sales.
Use these tools to check your site’s mobile-friendliness:
Google Mobile-Friendly Test Tool
SEO Checker
Bing Mobile Friendliness Test Tool
For non-mobile-friendly sites, consider a responsive design to improve user experience.
3. Test Accessibility
Accessibility is vital for all users, including those with disabilities. Non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) can lead to fines and exclude potential customers. Utilize tools like WAVE or Chrome’s Lighthouse to check your website’s ADA compliance.
4. Audit Server Response Time
Slow server response times can harm your PageSpeed Insights score and user experience. Use tools like GTmetrix and Lighthouse to check your server’s Time to First Byte (TTFB) and optimize accordingly.
5. Implement a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN can significantly enhance page speed by storing your content across multiple data centers globally, delivering content from the nearest location.
6. Remove Unnecessary Plugins
Excessive plugins can slow down your website. Evaluate the value of each plugin and remove those that no longer serve a purpose.
7. Reduce Redirects
Minimize redirects to improve page speed. Use tools like Screaming Frog to identify and resolve redirect chains.
8. Integrate Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
AMP can enhance mobile page speed and improve search rankings. Use the AMP plugin for WordPress or consult a developer for non-WordPress sites.
9. Eliminate Unnecessary CSS
Remove unused CSS for better page speed optimization.
10. Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
Optimize your code by minifying CSS, JavaScript, and HTML using tools like HTMLMinifier, CSSNano, and UglifyJS.
11. Compress CSS, HTML, and JavaScript Files
Compress your files using tools like Gzip to reduce their size.
12. Compress Images
Use image compression tools like Squoosh, Kraken, or Smush to optimize your images.
13. Enable Browser Caching
Browser caching can improve page speed for returning visitors by saving page information.
For more information on page speed and site performance, visit our FAQ section.
Page speed is crucial for your online success. A fast website can attract more leads and improve sales. At WebFX, our site speed optimization services can help you achieve these goals. Contact us online or call 888-601-5359 to learn how we can assist you!
