Page speed is the amount of time it takes the content on one of your web pages to fully load. It is a crucial element of on-page search engine optimization (SEO). This speed score is calculated using a bunch of different factors, such as file size, server response time, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Page speed can be described using two variables, including “page load time” (the total time it takes to completely load the contents of a page) and “time to first byte” (the time it takes for a browser to receive the first byte of information).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It is often confused with website speed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As the name suggests, page speed is the measure of the page load time<\/em> of a single webpage on your site. On the other hand, site speed is the page speed for a sample of page views on your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\u2019s how page speed can affect the overall performance of your TMS clinic\u2019s website:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All things considered, the individual speed scores of your webpages can collectively make or break your TMS clinic\u2019s website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re curious to know what the speed score of a particular page on your website is, you can easily find out with Google\u2019s PageSpeed Insights<\/a>. It uses Lighthouse<\/a>, which is an open-source tool by Google used for measuring web performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To run a speed test, head over to the GPSI homepage and plug in the URL of your TMS clinic\u2019s website and click on \u201cANALYZE,\u201d like so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n The tool will then generate a site speed score on a scale of 0 to 100. Furthermore, it lets you view both desktop and mobile speed scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the example above, you can see the page speed score is different for mobile users and desktop users. The reason is mobile devices have slower processors and the website has to convert the site according to mobile page\u2019s specific rules (for example, resizing large images). <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, big differences, like (61 \u2013 16) in the page load speed score reflect mobile site speed optimization errors, which means you need to properly optimize your site for mobile devices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, GPSI provides smart recommendations for improving your scores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For deeper insights into important speed metrics, you can try other software webmasters use such as GTmetrix<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are a few SEO best practices to help you avoid slow page speed from the get-go: <\/p>\n\n\n\n Redirects (short for HTTP redirect code) are used to direct visitors from a specific URL to a different URL. They are often used when you change your domain name, merge pages, delete, or move content to a new address. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Each page redirect costs your visitors valuable time as they have to wait for the HTTP request\/response cycle to complete. Considering that, it\u2019s important to avoid or minimize redirects as much as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also known as \u201ccontent delivery networks,\u201d they allow websites to have cached web servers in different locations to reduce web traffic and connect users to their nearest server. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A CDN saves copies of your site in different geographical locations to make your webpages load faster, thereby enhancing the user experience<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minification is the process of removing unnecessary characters from your webpage\u2019s JavaScript, CSS, and HTML codes to enhance page processing. This could include unnecessary spaces, line breaks, and comments made by the developer to increase the readability of the code. These elements don\u2019t have anything to do with the functionality of the webpage, but can impact its performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Compressing, on the other hand, refers to reducing the file size of your page code. You can do that using free online tools such as TextFixer<\/a> (for HTML), JSCompressor<\/a> (for Javascript files), and CSS Compressor<\/a> (for CSS files). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever a patient visits your TMS clinic website, their browser has to download the entire website, which takes a considerable amount of time. However, with browser caches, the browsers won\u2019t have to download the entire website from scratch when users visit for the second time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To do that, set Expires headers<\/em><\/a> (tell browsers whether to load a cached version of a page and set an expiration age). You can use a tool like YSlow to check if your browser caching has an expiration date. In case you\u2019re wondering \u2013 a year is a good time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Large image files can take their toll on the page speed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For that reason, make sure you don\u2019t use overly-large media files on your website. A good way to ensure that is to use an image compression tool, such as TinyPNG<\/a> (this tool can compress both PNG and JPEG files). <\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\u2019re on WordPress sites, you can instead use an image optimization plugin, such as Smush<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a world where everything time is money, you can\u2019t afford to compromise on your page speed. A lightning-fast website will not only deliver a positive user experience, but will also help carve a positive reputation for your TMS clinic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering everything, keep monitoring the page speed scores of your most critical pages and take measures to improve performance.<\/p>\nWhy Page Speed is Important for Your Clinic\u2019s Website<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How to Check Page Speed<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"testing](\"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lighthouse-pagespeed.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"pagespeed](\"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lighthouse-desktop-page-speed.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n![\"pagespeed](\"https:\/\/iteratemarketing.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/lighthouse-mobile-page-speed.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHow to Improve Page Speed<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ending Note<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n