Page Speed
Page speed refers to how quickly a webpage loads and becomes usable for the visitor. It includes the time it takes to load all the content on the page — text, images, scripts, and more — as well as how quickly users can interact with it.
Fast-loading pages provide a better user experience, reduce bounce rates, and are favored by search engines like Google. In fact, page speed is a confirmed ranking factor, especially for mobile searches.
Why page speed matters for SEO
A slow website can hurt your rankings and frustrate users. Here’s why page speed is so important:
- Better user experience — people expect sites to load quickly
- Lower bounce rates — slow pages cause visitors to leave
- Higher engagement and conversions — users are more likely to stay and act
- Improved crawl efficiency — search engines can index your site more easily
- Boosted rankings — page speed is part of Google’s Core Web Vitals
Key metrics used to measure page speed
| Metric | Description |
|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | Time to load the main content on the page |
| First Input Delay (FID) | Time until the page becomes interactive |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | Visual stability — how much content shifts during load |
| Time to First Byte (TTFB) | How quickly the server starts sending data |
| Fully Loaded Time | When all content has completely loaded |
HTML example: Using async to improve speed
<script async src="script.js"></script>
This script tag tells the browser to load JavaScript asynchronously, so it doesn’t block the rest of the page from loading — helping improve speed.
How to improve page speed
- Compress and resize images to reduce file size
- Use browser caching and CDNs (Content Delivery Networks)
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Avoid excessive third-party scripts and heavy plugins
- Implement lazy loading for images and videos
- Enable GZIP compression on your server
- Choose fast, reliable hosting
- Test with tools like PageSpeed Insights or GTmetrix
In summary, page speed is how fast your website loads and becomes usable for visitors. It affects everything from user satisfaction to SEO rankings, so optimizing your page speed is one of the smartest things you can do for your site’s performance.