What is Page Speed?
Page speed measures how quickly a web page loads and becomes interactive for users. It's both a direct Google ranking factor (via Core Web Vitals) and a major influence on user experience and conversion rates.
Key metrics: - LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): Loading speed — target under 2.5s - INP (Interaction to Next Paint): Responsiveness — target under 200ms - CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): Visual stability — target under 0.1 - TTFB (Time to First Byte): Server response — target under 800ms - FCP (First Contentful Paint): First visual render — target under 1.8s
Optimization strategies: 1. Optimize images (WebP/AVIF, lazy loading, proper sizing) 2. Minimize JavaScript (code splitting, tree shaking, defer non-critical) 3. Use a CDN for global delivery 4. Enable compression (Gzip/Brotli) 5. Leverage browser caching 6. Preload critical resources (fonts, hero images) 7. Server-side rendering for content pages
Impact: A 1-second improvement in page speed increases conversions by 7%. Sites loading in under 2 seconds have 15% higher conversion rates than those loading in 5 seconds.
Example
An ecommerce site loading in 6 seconds has a 40% bounce rate. After image optimization, JavaScript code splitting, and CDN implementation, it loads in 2.1 seconds with a 22% bounce rate.