Speed is one of the few things that affects both your Google ranking and your conversion rate. Here’s what actually slows sites down — and how to fix it.
Why speed matters
Visitors leave sites that take more than a few seconds to load, and Google uses page speed as a ranking signal. On mobile data, a heavy site is even more punishing.
The biggest culprits
- Huge images — the number one cause. Photos straight from a phone are often 10x larger than needed.
- Too many scripts — every plugin and tracker adds weight.
- Cheap/slow hosting — a bargain server means a slow site.
- No caching — the site rebuilds everything on every visit.
- Bloated themes — heavy templates loading things you never use.
How to fix it
- Compress and resize images before uploading; use modern formats.
- Remove unused plugins and scripts.
- Use good hosting or a fast static setup.
- Enable caching and a CDN.
- Lazy-load images below the fold.
Measure it
Test with a free tool like PageSpeed Insights. Aim for a fast load on mobile, not just desktop.
The takeaway
Most speed problems are images and bloat, not rocket science. At Vystra we build lean, fast-loading sites from the start — because speed you have to retrofit is always harder than speed built in.