When a page takes too long to load, people leave — often before they've seen a single product. Speed also matters for Google: page experience, including loading speed, is one of the signals it uses when ranking websites.

The good news: most slow websites are slow for the same few reasons. Here are seven ways to fix them.

1. Resize and compress your images

Images are the most common cause of slow pages. A photo straight from a phone or camera can be several megabytes — far bigger than any screen needs.

  • Resize images to the size they're actually shown at
  • Use modern formats like WebP, which are much smaller than JPEG or PNG at the same quality
  • Serve smaller versions to phones and larger ones to big screens

2. Load images only when they're needed

Images further down the page don't need to load straight away. Lazy loading waits until a visitor scrolls near them, so the first screen appears much faster.

3. Remove plugins and apps you don't use

On WordPress and Shopify, every plugin or app can add its own code to every page. Over time this adds up. Review your list regularly and remove anything you no longer need.

4. Choose good hosting

Your hosting is the foundation. A cheap, overloaded server will slow everything down no matter how well the site is built. Look for hosting with:

  • Fast storage and up-to-date server software
  • A CDN (content delivery network) that serves your files from locations close to your visitors
  • Built-in caching

5. Use caching

Caching saves a ready-made copy of your pages, so the server doesn't have to build each page from scratch for every visitor. Most good hosts and WordPress setups offer this — make sure it's switched on.

6. Keep fonts and third-party scripts under control

Every font, chat widget, tracking script and embedded video adds weight. Use only the fonts and weights you actually need, and only add third-party tools that clearly earn their place.

7. Measure, don't guess

Use Google PageSpeed Insights (free) to test your pages. It shows your speed scores for mobile and desktop and lists the biggest problems to fix first. Test again after every change so you know what actually helped.

Quick checklist

  • Images resized, compressed and in WebP
  • Lazy loading for images below the first screen
  • Unused plugins and apps removed
  • Quality hosting with a CDN and caching
  • Only the fonts and scripts you need
  • Tested with PageSpeed Insights

Want a faster website?

Speed is something I build into every project — from image optimisation to clean, lightweight code. If your website or store feels slow, send me a message and I'll take a look at what's holding it back.