Your Website is Slow. Here's What's Actually Wrong
A slow website isn't just annoying—it's expensive. Every second of delay costs you customers. Google penalizes slow sites in search rankings. Users bounce before they see what you're selling.
But "make it faster" isn't actionable. Here's a technical breakdown of what's actually slowing you down and how to fix each issue.
How to Test Your Speed
Before fixing anything, measure:
- Google PageSpeed Insights (pagespeed.web.dev) - Free, gives specific recommendations
- GTmetrix (gtmetrix.com) - More detailed waterfall analysis
- WebPageTest (webpagetest.org) - Test from different locations
Key metrics to watch:
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): When the main content loads. Target: under 2.5s
- FID (First Input Delay): How fast the page responds to clicks. Target: under 100ms
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): How much stuff moves around as it loads. Target: under 0.1
This is the #1 cause of slow websites. Someone uploads a 5MB photo directly from their camera. The page loads a 4000x3000px image to display it at 400x300px.
How to detect:
- PageSpeed shows "Properly size images" warning
- Images are over 100KB each
- Image URLs end in .png or .jpg instead of .webp
How to fix:
- Resize images to the maximum size they'll display
- Convert to WebP format (30-50% smaller than JPEG)
- Use responsive images (
srcset) for different screen sizes - Lazy load images below the fold
- Use a CDN with automatic image optimization (Cloudflare, Vercel)
Impact: Often improves load time by 50-70%
Cheap shared hosting means your site shares resources with hundreds of others. When someone else's site gets traffic, yours slows down.
How to detect:
- Time to First Byte (TTFB) over 500ms
- Speed varies wildly at different times
- Server is physically far from your users (US server for Thai users)
How to fix:
- Use a CDN (Cloudflare is free and caches in Singapore/Bangkok)
- Upgrade to better hosting (DigitalOcean, Vultr, or managed WordPress)
- For static sites: deploy to Vercel, Netlify, or Cloudflare Pages (free, fast)
- Choose hosting with servers in Asia
Impact: Can cut TTFB from 800ms to 100ms
Every file (CSS, JS, image, font) requires a separate HTTP request. More requests = more latency. Some WordPress sites make 100+ requests per page.
How to detect:
- Network tab in browser dev tools shows 50+ requests
- Multiple CSS and JS files loading separately
- Requests to dozens of third-party domains
How to fix:
- Combine CSS/JS files (minify and bundle)
- Remove unused plugins and scripts
- Self-host fonts instead of loading from Google Fonts
- Use image sprites or inline SVGs for icons
- Audit third-party scripts (analytics, chat widgets, ads)
Impact: Reducing from 80 to 20 requests can save 2+ seconds
CSS and JavaScript in the <head> block the page from rendering. The browser waits for them to download before showing anything.
How to detect:
- PageSpeed shows "Eliminate render-blocking resources"
- Blank white screen for 2+ seconds before anything appears
How to fix:
- Move non-critical JS to end of body or use
async/defer - Inline critical CSS, lazy load the rest
- Preload important resources:
<link rel="preload"> - Delay third-party scripts until after page load
Impact: Can improve First Contentful Paint by 1-2 seconds
Without proper caching, browsers re-download everything on every visit. Your logo, CSS, and scripts—fetched again and again.
How to detect:
- Second visit is just as slow as first
- Response headers show no cache-control
How to fix:
- Set cache headers for static assets (images, CSS, JS)
- Use a CDN with built-in caching
- Enable browser caching in your server config
- Use versioned filenames for cache busting when you update
Impact: Repeat visits load 80%+ faster
WordPress with 30 plugins, a page builder, and a heavy theme is a recipe for slow. Each plugin adds CSS, JS, and database queries.
How to detect:
- PageSpeed score under 50
- Page size over 3MB
- You have plugins you forgot about
How to fix:
- Audit and remove unused plugins
- Replace heavy plugins with lighter alternatives
- Use a caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache)
- Consider switching to a lighter theme
- For serious speed: migrate to a static site or headless CMS
Impact: Removing 10 plugins can cut page weight by 50%
The Quick Wins Checklist
- Compress images (biggest impact, easiest fix)
- Enable a CDN (Cloudflare free tier is fine)
- Remove unused scripts (chat widgets, analytics you don't check)
- Enable caching
- Move JS to bottom of page
These five changes fix 80% of speed issues on most sites.
When to Call a Professional
DIY fixes work for basic issues. Call someone if:
- PageSpeed score is under 30 after basic optimization
- You don't have server access to change caching/hosting
- The site is built on old, complex code
- Speed issues are costing you measurable revenue
Need help?
Send me your site. I'll run a free speed audit and tell you exactly what's wrong.
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