How do I test my website's speed?
Use Google's free PageSpeed Insights tool. Enter your web address and it tests the page on mobile and desktop, then shows your Core Web Vitals and a list of what's slowing things down. Test on mobile first, because that's how most local customers will find you.
What are Core Web Vitals?
Three measurements Google uses for real-world page experience:
| Metric | What it measures | Good score |
|---|---|---|
| Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) | How quickly the main content appears | 2.5 seconds or less |
| Interaction to Next Paint (INP) | How quickly the page responds when you tap or click | 200 milliseconds or less |
| Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) | How much things jump around while loading | 0.1 or less |
What usually makes a website slow?
- Huge images. A photo straight off a phone can be several megabytes. Resized and saved as WebP, it's often a small fraction of that.
- Heavy themes and page builders. They load code for every feature they offer, whether you use it or not.
- Too many plugins. Each one can add its own scripts and styles.
- Cheap hosting. A slow server delays everything before the page even starts loading.
- Third-party scripts. Chat widgets, tracking codes and embedded feeds all add weight.
Does speed really affect sales?
Think about your own behaviour. If a page sits there blank on your phone, you press back and tap the next result. Your customers do exactly the same, and the next result is usually a competitor.
Can a slow website be fixed?
Often, yes: compress the images, remove unused plugins, and move to better hosting. But if the problem is the theme or page builder itself, you can only polish it so far.
That's why we hand-code every site, with optimised images and nothing that isn't needed. Read more about the difference in our guide to hand-coded vs WordPress.