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Why Website Speed Matters More Than You Think
How load time affects visitors, conversions and Google rankings.
A one-second delay in load time can measurably cut conversions — and on mobile, where most local searches happen, slow is the default unless a site is built specifically to avoid it.
What actually slows a site down
- Unoptimised images (the single biggest culprit on most small-business sites).
- Page-builder and plugin bloat loading code the page doesn't need.
- Fonts and scripts loaded from third parties instead of the same server.
Why it also affects your ranking
Google's Core Web Vitals are a direct ranking signal — a faster site has a real SEO advantage on top of the conversion benefit. See SEO.
Real before/after load-time number goes here once available — e.g. X.Xs to Y.Ys, testing tool named. See CLIENT-INPUT-NEEDED.md.
If your current site is the slow one, see website redesign.