Website speed isn’t a technical detail. The longer visitors wait, the more likely they are to leave — and Google considers page experience in its rankings. If you want to improve website speed, the good news is that most fixes are simple.

Here are nine ways, in the order that usually brings the biggest results.

1. Optimise your images

Upload images at the size they are displayed, not straight from the camera. Use modern formats such as WebP or AVIF, and compression. Images further down the page can load only when needed (lazy loading).

2. Turn on caching

With caching, the server doesn’t build the page from scratch on every visit. It is one of the most effective improvements, especially on WordPress.

3. Choose the right hosting

An overloaded server slows everything down. Modern hardware, an up-to-date PHP version and a server close to your audience cut response time.

4. Reduce plugins and scripts

Every plugin, chat widget, tracking tool or embedded video adds code. Keep only what you need and load third-party scripts only where they’re required.

5. Watch your fonts

Many fonts and weights increase loading time. Limit yourself to a few, host them on your own server where possible and load only the character sets you need.

6. Use a CDN

A content delivery network (CDN) serves files from servers close to the visitor. It helps especially if your audience is spread across countries.

7. Avoid layout shifts

When images or ads load and push content around, the experience suffers. Set dimensions for images and reserved spaces so the layout stays stable.

8. Be careful with videos and sliders

A background video or a slider with several large images at the top of the page is often its slowest part. Ask whether they really give visitors anything.

9. Measure regularly

Use PageSpeed Insights and the Core Web Vitals report in Google Search Console. Measure before and after every change, on mobile and desktop.

Conclusion

A fast website is the result of many right choices, from design to hosting. If you’d like your own site checked and improved, M. Dimopoulos offers speed optimisation and SEO.