Improving Your Website's Page Speed
Page speed affects user experience, conversion rates, and search engine rankings. This guide covers techniques to improve your website's loading speed on Faciotech hosting.
Measuring Your Page Speed
Before optimizing, measure your current performance:
- Google PageSpeed Insights - Official Google tool with Core Web Vitals
- GTmetrix - Detailed performance analysis
- Pingdom - Simple speed test from multiple locations
Key Metrics to Improve
- Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) - Main content load time (target: <2.5s)
- First Input Delay (FID) - Interactivity (target: <100ms)
- Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) - Visual stability (target: <0.1)
- Time to First Byte (TTFB) - Server response time (target: <200ms)
Server-Side Optimizations
1. Enable Caching
Caching stores generated pages to serve faster:
- WordPress: Use LiteSpeed Cache, WP Super Cache, or W3 Total Cache
- Other CMS: Enable built-in caching or use server caching
2. Use Latest PHP Version
PHP 8.x is significantly faster than PHP 7.x:
- Go to cPanel → MultiPHP Manager
- Select your domain
- Choose the latest PHP version
- Click Apply
3. Enable GZIP Compression
Compresses files before sending to browsers:
- Go to cPanel → Software → Optimize Website
- Select Compress All Content
- Click Update Settings
Content Optimizations
4. Optimize Images
- Compress images before uploading (TinyPNG, ImageOptim)
- Use WebP format when possible
- Specify image dimensions in HTML
- Use responsive images (srcset)
- Lazy load images below the fold
5. Minify CSS and JavaScript
Remove unnecessary characters from code:
- Use caching plugins with minification features
- Or use tools like Autoptimize
6. Reduce HTTP Requests
- Combine CSS files
- Combine JavaScript files
- Use CSS sprites for small images
- Remove unnecessary plugins/features
Network Optimizations
7. Use a CDN
Content Delivery Networks serve files from servers closer to visitors:
- Cloudflare (free tier available)
- Easy integration with most websites
8. Enable HTTP/2
HTTP/2 is enabled by default on Faciotech servers, providing:
- Multiplexing (multiple requests over one connection)
- Header compression
- Faster page loads
Code Optimizations
9. Defer JavaScript
Load non-critical JavaScript after page render:
<script src="script.js" defer></script>
10. Preload Critical Resources
<link rel="preload" href="critical.css" as="style"> <link rel="preload" href="font.woff2" as="font" crossorigin>
11. Remove Render-Blocking Resources
- Inline critical CSS
- Defer non-critical CSS
- Async load non-critical JavaScript
Quick Wins Checklist
- [ ] Enable caching plugin
- [ ] Update to latest PHP version
- [ ] Enable GZIP compression
- [ ] Compress and resize images
- [ ] Enable lazy loading
- [ ] Minify CSS and JavaScript
- [ ] Set up Cloudflare CDN
- [ ] Remove unused plugins
Need Help?
Our team can help optimize your website's performance. Contact support for assistance.
