Google recently announced page speed as a new mobile ranking factor. Page speed was already a ranking factor for desktop searches and will now be for mobile as well.
Starting in July 2018, the new algorithm will negatively impact the “pages that deliver the slowest experience to users” and, in Google’s words, will only affect a “small percentage of queries.”
However, consider this: Google processes more than 3.5 billion searches per day. Therefore, a small percentage could still mean that many websites will be affected.
Fortunately, this article provides the information you need. Start with checking your site’s speed on Google Insights Tool and learn about some potential optimizations. Then come back to this article to read the six most accessible ways to improve mobile website speed.
Optimize Your Images for Page Speed
Images on your website affect its loading speed. Not compressing image files before they are uploaded is a common reason for slow loading websites. Left unchecked, this will hurt your ranking and traffic. Fortunately, there are plenty of free image compression tools that you can use to optimize your images. For the photos already uploaded, an easy option to compress them is using a WP Smush plugin. Make sure to save all your pictures in PNG or JPG format. For instance, knowing when to use progressive JPEGs and when to choose between PNG8 or PNG24 helps a great deal. Correctly coded images will ensure faster page speed on both mobile and desktop.
Compress Codes
You likely have compressed files in a zipped folder when trying to send a bunch of files to someone through email. Similarly, you should also compress your website code. As a result, this can save tons of server space and increase your website’s loading speed. Therefore, you should enable Gzip compression on your web server. This one step can contribute to as much as a 300% improvement in page speed.
Leverage Browser Caching
Caching your data stores it for future requests. Therefore, browsers can retrieve data faster. When you leverage browser caching, webpages will load much faster for repeat visitors and other web pages that share the same resources, such as your logo. Because your webpage files are in the browser cache, therefore, when a user returns, the files on your website will have a significantly reduce page load time.
Improve Server Response Time
Server response time is the time your server takes to begin loading the files. Consequently, longer server response times can hurt your website’s loading speed. Fortunately, a web design professional can check and improve server response time.
How to know if your website is facing server issues
- You may be experiencing system errors or issues with your server’s CPU.
- You may run into problems with your ISP’s connection.
- There may be faults in your server network.
- High traffic volume may be clogging your server.
Final Page Speed Tip – Fix Render Blocking JavaScript and CSS
JavaScript and CSS are used on most websites to help style the content and add visual appeal. The JS and CSS scripts do cause the web browser to delay the loading of your website. Keep in mind that some JS and CSS scripts are not needed to load the page. Therefore, they unnecessarily slow down your website. Eliminating these scripts can speed up your site considerably.
These are some steps you can take to prepare your site for this Google page speed update. If you need assistance, ProEngage Local can evaluate your website for required repairs.