What is Page Speed and how can I improve my score? - Watkins Web Design

Page speed isn’t just about convenience—it’s a fundamental aspect of user experience and plays a direct role in search engine rankings, particularly on mobile devices. Google has confirmed that page speed is a ranking factor, with a clear preference for websites that offer a fast, efficient, and data-friendly experience for users on the go. This makes optimizing page speed one of the most effective starting points for webmasters and business owners looking to boost their SEO and overall site performance.

How Is Page Speed Influenced by Website Design?

Clients frequently want to impress visitors with high-impact visuals—videos, dynamic animations, and eye-catching images—especially above the fold, where first impressions are made. While these elements can be fantastic for branding and user engagement, they’re also some of the biggest culprits when it comes to slowing down your page speed score.

That said, there are methods to minimize the impact of rich media and maintain high performance. By carefully selecting the technologies you use, compressing images and videos appropriately, and using modern file formats (like WebP for images or efficient video codecs), you can retain visual appeal without sacrificing load times. Prioritizing essential content and ensuring heavy resources don’t block the initial render are key strategies to balance aesthetics and speed.
What Page Speed Factors Are There?

Several core factors affect your page speed score. Some of the most important include:

Image Optimization:

• Are your images properly compressed?
• Are you using modern, efficient formats like WebP?
• Is lazy loading enabled, so offscreen images load only when needed?

CSS/JS Optimization:

• Does your page load only the CSS and JavaScript it needs for initial rendering?
• Are unnecessary styles and scripts being called before your content appears?
• Are your files minified and served progressively to reduce load times?

Render-Blocking Resources:

• Are there scripts or stylesheets that prevent the page from displaying content immediately?
• Eliminating or deferring non-essential resources can significantly speed up initial load times.

Server Response Time:

• Is your server fast and reliable?
• Is it located close to your primary audience to reduce latency?
• Is your hosting plan sufficient for your traffic, or is the server overloaded?

How Can I Improve Page Speed?

Improving page speed doesn’t always require advanced technical knowledge—there are many tools and services designed to help. If you’re using a popular content management system like WordPress, Shopify, or Magento, you have access to a range of automated optimization plugins.

For example, on WordPress, my go-to solution is LiteSpeed Cache. When paired with a LiteSpeed server, it becomes easy to achieve consistently high page speed scores through automatic caching, image optimization, and file minification.

For custom CMS setups or web applications, you don’t have to tackle every optimization manually. Services like Cloudflare can act as an intermediary between your server and the end user, automatically optimizing images, caching content at edge locations, and reducing the load on your original server. This means you can benefit from faster load times and improved scores without having to directly modify your site’s codebase.

Additional Tips for Improving Page Speed

• Minimize the use of large background videos or animations above the fold.
  If you do use them, make sure they’re compressed and set to load after the main content.
• Reduce the number of HTTP requests by combining CSS and JavaScript files where possible.
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to distribute your content globally and decrease latency for international visitors.
• Regularly audit your site with tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix, and address specific recommendations for improvement.

Page speed is an essential metric that affects everything from user satisfaction to search engine visibility. By understanding the key factors that influence it—especially those related to design and resource management—you can make informed decisions that benefit both your users and your website’s performance. Whether you’re running a WordPress blog, a Shopify store, or a custom web application, there are plenty of solutions to help you optimize page speed and deliver the best possible experience.