As technology has evolved, so has our culture. Whereas not so long ago, virtually everything was done on a desktop, our fast-paced and ever-changing world has brought with it the ability to do things on the go by means of mobile devices. It is important for companies t0 to focus on developing mobile speed as well as desktop speed for their websites. One analysis found that the average desktop Time to First Byte (TTFB) speed is 1.286 seconds on desktop and 2.594 seconds on mobile. The average time it takes to fully load a webpage is 10.3 seconds on desktop and 27.3 seconds on mobile. Given this drastic difference, it is important to understand why these numbers are so far apart, as well as how to reduce the amount of time it takes for your website to load.
Test your website speed.
It is important to test your website speed. Doing so will give you information on why your site is loading so slow, and what you can address to help improve the speed. There are many wonderful tools that allow you to perform speed tests, but one of the most common is a Google tool known as PageSpeed Insights. This tool gives you reports on both mobile and desktop speed performance, as well as offers suggestions on how you can improve those pages. After analysis, PageSpeed will give you a performance score of your website. Anything above 90 would be considered fast, whereas anything below 50 would be considered slow. Pay attention to both mobile speed scores, and desktop speed scores. Once you have this information, you can begin to make corrections and improvements to your site speed that will ultimately increase traffic and conversions.
Why mobile speed is slower.
After running a speed test on your website, you will notice that your mobile speed will almost always be slower than your desktop speed. There are a few reasons for this.
- Mobile devices tend to have a slower processor than a desktop
- PageSpeed Insights will stimulate a slower cell network speed
- There are specific CSS rules for mobile devices
Although your mobile speed may be slower than your desktop speed, it is important to work on developing both. 51% of all internet usage is mobile, so it only makes sense that mobile speed should be given due attention.
Increase your mobile speed.
There are several ways to increase your mobile speed. However, one of the more common ways is to keep your site “light”. Often, site owners have the mindset of “bigger is better”, but this is often untrue. It’s better to have a little and to do it well. Keeping your site “light” keeps it free of clutter, excessive code, and helps make sure links are working properly. Keep your site straightforward, limit redirects, and stay simple. In the case of your website, you don’t want to overwhelm the user or device, so keeping things smooth and simple is one of the most effective ways to increase your mobile speed. Aside from limiting clutter, you can speed up your site by eliminating unnecessary weight such as pictures. Although good pictures are crucial to a good site, too many pictures will slow you down. Pictures make up 63% of a page’s weight, so limiting pictures will, therefore, lighten your site and increase speed.
Refer to an expert for help.
Even though you can do a certain level of work yourself, maintaining your site and increasing speed can still be a difficult task. However, there are companies that make it their priority to help others navigate this difficult field of work. Reach out to a professional for help in increasing both mobile speed and desktop speed, and you can quickly become a fierce competitor in your field of business by means of a quick and efficient website.
We want to help!
Site Espresso is a service of Effect Web Agency, a boutique web design and development company based in Granger, Indiana. Our company has been helping clients design websites and grow website traffic for 15 years. We are currently the highest rated web agency in Northern Indiana. See what our clients say on our Effect site. You can also check out our reviews on Google. We have a team of 8 web specialists, focused on helping clients achieve real-world goals through their websites.
