Website Speed Optimisation: 12 Quick Wins to Boost Your Site Performance

Why Website Speed Matters in 2025

Google uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor, meaning slow websites rank lower in search results. Beyond SEO, every second of delay reduces conversions by approximately 7%. For an e-commerce site doing $100,000/month, a 1-second improvement could mean $7,000+ in additional monthly revenue. Speed isn't just technical—it's directly tied to business outcomes.

Understanding Core Web Vitals

• Largest Contentful Paint (LCP): Measures loading performance—how quickly the main content appears. Target: under 2.5 seconds
• Interaction to Next Paint (INP): Measures responsiveness—how quickly the page responds to user interactions. Target: under 200 milliseconds
• Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS): Measures visual stability—how much the page layout shifts during loading. Target: under 0.1

12 Quick Wins for Faster Website Performance

1. Optimise and Compress Images

Images typically account for 50-80% of page weight. Convert images to modern formats like WebP (30% smaller than JPEG). Use responsive images with srcset to serve appropriately sized images. Compress images using tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel. For most business sites, this single change can reduce page weight by 50% or more.

2. Implement Lazy Loading

Lazy loading delays loading of images and content below the fold until users scroll to them. This dramatically improves initial load time. Add loading="lazy" attribute to images below the fold. Most modern browsers support this natively—no JavaScript required.

3. Enable Browser Caching

Browser caching stores static files locally so returning visitors don't re-download them. Configure cache headers to store CSS, JavaScript, and images for at least 1 year. For WordPress, use caching plugins like WP Rocket or W3 Total Cache. This can reduce load times for returning visitors by 80%+.

4. Minify CSS and JavaScript

Minification removes unnecessary characters (whitespace, comments) from code without changing functionality. This typically reduces file sizes by 20-30%. WordPress users can enable this through caching plugins. Custom sites should implement minification in the build process.

5. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

CDNs distribute your content across global servers, serving files from locations closest to each visitor. For Australian businesses, this dramatically improves load times for international visitors and provides redundancy. Cloudflare offers a free tier; Fastly and AWS CloudFront are premium options.

6. Upgrade Your Hosting

Cheap shared hosting is the silent killer of website performance. Moving from budget hosting ($5-10/month) to quality managed hosting ($30-100/month) often provides the single biggest speed improvement. For Australian businesses, consider hosts with Australian data centres like Digital Pacific, Panthur, or VentraIP.

7. Reduce HTTP Requests

Each file your page loads (CSS, JavaScript, images, fonts) requires a separate HTTP request. Combine CSS files where possible. Inline critical CSS. Remove unused plugins and scripts. Use SVG sprites instead of multiple icon files. Target under 50 requests for optimal performance.

8. Optimise Web Fonts

Custom fonts can significantly impact load times. Limit font families to 2-3 maximum. Use font-display: swap to prevent invisible text during loading. Consider system font stacks for body text. Host fonts locally rather than loading from Google Fonts for better privacy and performance.

9. Remove Unused Plugins and Scripts

WordPress sites commonly have 20-30+ plugins, many adding JavaScript and CSS that loads on every page. Audit your plugins—remove those not actively used. Replace multiple single-purpose plugins with comprehensive solutions. Each plugin removed can save 50-200ms of load time.

10. Implement Database Optimisation

WordPress databases accumulate revisions, spam comments, transients, and unused data. Regular cleanup using plugins like WP-Optimize can significantly improve backend performance. Schedule weekly automatic optimisation to prevent database bloat.

11. Enable GZIP Compression

GZIP compression reduces file sizes by 70-90% before transmission. Most modern hosts enable this by default, but verify it's active using tools like GTmetrix. For Apache servers, add compression rules to .htaccess. For Nginx, enable gzip in server configuration.

12. Preload Critical Resources

Use preload hints to tell browsers about critical resources needed immediately. Preload your main font files, critical CSS, and hero images. Add tags in your document head. This can improve LCP by 20-30% for many sites.

How to Test Your Website Speed

• Google PageSpeed Insights: Free tool showing Core Web Vitals and specific recommendations
• GTmetrix: Detailed waterfall analysis showing exactly what's slowing your site
• WebPageTest: Advanced testing from multiple locations and devices
• Google Search Console: Shows Core Web Vitals data from real users

When to Call a Professional

While many optimisations are DIY-friendly, some require technical expertise. Consider professional help if you're making code changes, implementing CDN configuration, addressing complex performance issues, or if PageSpeed scores remain poor after basic optimisations. The cost of professional optimisation typically pays for itself in improved rankings and conversions.