What is Page Speed?

Page speed refers to how quickly the content on your website loads and becomes usable for visitors. It measures the time from when a user clicks a link or types your URL to when they can see and interact with your page. Page speed is typically measured in seconds and encompasses several metrics including Time to First Byte (TTFB), First Contentful Paint (FCP), and Largest Contentful Paint (LCP). A fast page speed is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings.

Page speed matters for three key reasons. First, user experience - visitors expect websites to load in under 3 seconds, and 53% will abandon a mobile site that takes longer. Second, SEO - Google uses page speed as a ranking factor, meaning slower sites rank lower in search results. Third, conversions - research shows that a 1-second delay in page load time can reduce conversions by 7%. For UK small businesses, faster websites directly translate to more enquiries and sales.

The most popular free tool is Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev), which analyses both mobile and desktop performance and provides specific recommendations. GTmetrix is another excellent option that provides detailed waterfall charts showing what is slowing your site down. WebPageTest offers advanced testing from different locations and connection speeds. For ongoing monitoring, Google Search Console provides Core Web Vitals data for your entire site. Test on mobile as well as desktop, as mobile performance is often worse.

A good page speed means your Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) loads within 2.5 seconds, which Google considers 'good'. Loading between 2.5-4 seconds 'needs improvement', and over 4 seconds is 'poor'. For overall page load time, aim for under 3 seconds on desktop and under 4 seconds on mobile. Your PageSpeed Insights score should ideally be 90+ (green), though 50-89 (amber) is acceptable for most small business websites. The key is ensuring users can interact with your site quickly.

Yes, page speed directly affects SEO. Google confirmed in 2018 that page speed is a ranking factor for mobile searches, and in 2021 introduced Core Web Vitals as ranking signals. Slow websites rank lower in search results, receive less organic traffic, and have higher bounce rates - which further damages rankings. Google's mobile-first indexing means your mobile page speed is particularly important. Improving page speed is one of the most impactful technical SEO improvements you can make.

Core Web Vitals are three specific metrics Google uses to measure user experience: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) measures loading performance - how quickly the main content loads. Good is under 2.5 seconds. FID (First Input Delay) measures interactivity - how quickly your site responds to user interaction. Good is under 100 milliseconds. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift) measures visual stability - whether elements move around as the page loads. Good is under 0.1. Google considers these metrics when ranking your site.

The most effective improvements are: optimise and compress images (often the biggest impact), enable browser caching, minimise CSS and JavaScript files, use a Content Delivery Network (CDN), choose fast web hosting, remove unnecessary plugins or scripts, implement lazy loading for images below the fold, and reduce server response time. For WordPress sites, using a caching plugin and image optimisation plugin can make dramatic improvements with minimal effort.

Yes, mobile and desktop page speeds are measured separately and often differ significantly. Mobile connections are typically slower (4G/5G vs broadband), mobile devices have less processing power, and mobile users are often on the move with variable signal strength. Google uses mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile page speed matters more for rankings. Always test and optimise for mobile first. Many sites score well on desktop but poorly on mobile - this needs addressing.