Website Speed Optimization
Our website speed optimization finds what is slowing your pages down on real phones and fixes it, from oversized images and heavy scripts to missing caching and layout shifts.
What's included
- Mobile and desktop speed tests of your key templates, with Core Web Vitals scores
- A breakdown of what loads on each page and how much each item costs in load time
- Image compression, resizing and conversion to modern formats such as WebP
- Lazy loading for images and videos below the fold
- Cleanup of unused plugins, apps, fonts and third-party scripts
- Deferring or removing render-blocking JavaScript and CSS
- Browser and server caching setup, plus a CDN where your host supports it
- Layout shift fixes so text and buttons don't jump while the page loads
- Before and after results for every template we worked on
Who it's for
Speed problems are one of the most common issues we see on small business websites, and they tend to build up quietly. You're a good fit if:
- Your site feels slow on your own phone, especially on cellular data, and you have noticed visitors leave quickly.
- Search Console flags Core Web Vitals issues and you don't know which of the listed URLs or problems to start with.
- Your homepage has a large photo or video header that took priority over load time when the site was built. A single uncompressed hero photo straight from a camera can be several megabytes.
- Your WordPress site has collected plugins over the years: two page builders, a slider nobody uses, three different analytics or chat widgets.
- Your Shopify store has many apps installed, each adding its own scripts to every page, including apps you uninstalled but whose code stayed behind.
- Buttons move as the page loads, so people tap the wrong thing. That is a layout shift problem, and it is usually straightforward to fix.
Restaurants, contractors and clinics often get most of their visits from phones, so they tend to feel slow pages first.
How we do it
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1. Measure on the templates that matter
We run page speed testing on each main template: home, a service page, a location or contact page, a blog post and, for stores, a product and a collection page. It reports lab results for mobile and desktop, along with field data from real users where Google has enough visits to report it. We test templates rather than every URL, because a fix to a template improves every page that uses it.
Page speed testing - 2
2. Find out what the site is built with
Technology detection identifies your CMS, theme, plugins or apps, analytics, chat, font services and other third-party tools loading on the site. That list is often a surprise. It tells us which scripts come from tools you still use and which are leftovers.
Technology detection - 3
3. Fix the largest items first
We work in order of impact:
- Images: resize to the dimensions actually displayed, compress, convert to WebP where supported, add width and height to prevent layout shift, and lazy load anything below the first screen.
- Scripts: remove unused plugins and apps, defer non-essential scripts, and load chat, video and map embeds only when a visitor needs them.
- CSS and fonts: remove unused styles where the theme allows, limit font families and weights, and make sure text shows while fonts load.
- Caching and delivery: set browser caching rules, turn on page caching and compression, and connect a CDN if your host supports it.
- Server response: if the server itself is slow, we identify it, show you the measurements and outline your options.
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4. Retest and compare
After each round of changes we repeat the page speed testing on the same templates and compare against the starting figures. We also check that forms, booking tools, tracking and checkout still work, on a phone as well as a desktop, before moving on to the next round.
Page speed testing - 5
5. Watch the field data
Lab results change immediately, but Google's real-user data updates over several weeks. We check Search Console's Core Web Vitals report once enough new data has come in.
Where the time actually goes
When owners think about a slow website, they usually blame the hosting. In practice, most of the delay on a small business site comes from what the page asks the browser to download and run.
A typical example: a home page with a full-width photo slider of five large images, an embedded YouTube video, a Google Map, a chat widget, a review carousel, two web fonts in four weights each, and analytics and advertising tags from tools that were tried once and forgotten. Each item seems small. Together, a phone on an average connection has to download and process all of it before the page feels usable.
Speed work is mostly a matter of asking, item by item, whether the visitor needs this right now. The slider can become one well-compressed image. The video and map can load only when someone taps them. The chat widget can wait until the page has finished loading. The forgotten tags can go.
None of that changes what your site offers, and very little of it changes how the site looks. It changes the order and weight of what loads, which is where most of the time is lost.
What you receive
At the end of the project you get:
- A before and after table of page speed results and Core Web Vitals for each template
- The technology list with notes on what was removed, kept or deferred
- A change log of every optimization and where it was made
- A short list of remaining items that would need design or platform changes, with our view on whether they are worth it
We also leave you with a few simple rules for the future, such as the image size to export photos at and what to check before installing a new plugin or app, since new additions are the most common way a fast site slows down again.
To keep the site fast as plugins update and new content is added, speed checks can continue under our website maintenance services.
Pricing: custom quote after a free review
Speed work is quoted after a free review, because the fixes depend heavily on your platform, theme, hosting and how many third-party tools are installed. We run the tests first, so the quote reflects what is actually slowing your site down.
Frequently asked questions
Something else? Call (866) 571-4320.
What are Core Web Vitals?
They are three measurements Google uses to judge page experience. Largest Contentful Paint measures how quickly the main content appears, Interaction to Next Paint measures how quickly the page responds when someone taps or clicks, and Cumulative Layout Shift measures how much things move around while loading. Google reports them in Search Console using data from real Chrome users.
Does page speed affect Google rankings?
Page experience, including Core Web Vitals, is one of many factors Google considers, and it is rarely the deciding one. Its bigger effect is on people: a slow page on a phone loses visitors before they read anything. We treat website speed optimization as something that helps both, without claiming it will move your rankings on its own.
Can you get my page speed score to 100?
We don't chase a perfect score, and we won't promise one. A score of 100 in a lab test often means removing features you need, like a booking widget or a map. We aim for pages that load quickly and respond smoothly on an average phone, and we show you what each remaining slow item is doing so you can decide.
Do I need new hosting?
Sometimes, but not usually first. Most slow small business sites are slowed by what the page loads, not by the server. If your hosting response time is genuinely the bottleneck, the tests will show it and we'll explain your options.
Will speed changes break anything?
Deferring scripts and removing plugins can occasionally affect a form, a slider or a tracking tag. We make changes in stages, test contact forms and key features after each one, and keep a record so any change can be rolled back quickly.
My site is on Wix or Squarespace. Can you still help?
Yes, though there is less to adjust because the platform controls the code and hosting. On those platforms we focus on the things you control: image sizes, embedded videos, third-party widgets, fonts and page length. On WordPress and Shopify there is usually much more room to improve.
Why does my site feel fast to me but test slowly?
Your own browser has probably cached the site from earlier visits, and you may be testing on fast office Wi-Fi with a recent phone or a desktop. Speed tests simulate a first visit on a mid-range phone and a slower connection, which is closer to what a new customer experiences. That first impression is the one that matters most.
Make your site fast on the phones your customers use
Tell us about your business in a short chat. We review your website and contact you within one business day, with no obligation.