8 Best Ways to Improve Your PageSpeed Insight Score

Introduction

PageSpeed Insights (PSI) is an extremely important determinant of your ranking on the Google Search Engine. PSI tells you how well a page works on desktops and mobile phones, and it gives you ideas on how to make that page even better.

The more time your page takes to load, the more likely it is that more than half of your customers will leave without viewing it, which is why it is extremely important to improve your PageSpeed insight score. 

Listed below are a few ways you can use to improve you PageSpeed insight score and consequently, your ranking.

1. Refrain from redirecting your audience

When linking two or more URLs together, you utilize redirects. They're often used when you relocate or remove a page from your website. While there is nothing inherently wrong with employing redirects, they can lower your PageSpeed score, which may bring a fall in your ranking.

Every time a user is redirected, page rendering comes to a standstill, adding valuable seconds to the load time of your website. 

If possible, avoid using redirects entirely by creating your website using responsive design – a technique that offers a high-quality user experience, irrespective of the fact that your audience is using a desktop or a mobile phone

2. Minify CSS, HTML, JavaScript

Minification eliminates and repairs redundant and redundant material while without interfering with how browsers process the CSS, HTML or JavaScript

The process includes repairing and formatting code as well as deleting unneeded code and reducing code wherever feasible. Poor codes may be the source of this issue, which can be remedied using a variety of tools such as: -

1. HTML Minifier
2. CSSNano
3. UglifyJS2 

3. Optimize Images

Page delay caused by unoptimized pictures may easily accumulate and affect the page load time. Using pictures in the correct size, format, and timing may greatly enhance your PageSpeed score.

The best way to optimise photographs is to convert your PNG files into JPEG files. Or, if you have added pictures just for the sake of adding them, you can do much better if you remove them.

A recently developing alternate to these formats are the next-gen image formats. Instead of converting your images into JPEG files, you can also convert them as a WebP, JPEG 2000, or JPEG XR

You can also install plugins which can do the compressing for you hassle free such as: -

• Guetzli
• Zopfli
• WP Smush

4. Cache your browser

Caching is a feature that lets your browser store items like the header, navigation, and logo from a previous visit. The fewer components the browser needs to load each time a request is made, the quicker a website will appear for the user. 

Google PageSpeed Insights refers to this as “Leverage browser caching” and recommends you implement a caching policy for at least one week.

Caching not only increases your PageSpeed score, but it also boosts your SEO optimization and enhances the user-experience. The easiest way to implement this is through different plugins such as: -

1. WP Rocket
2. Cache Enabler
3. Comet Cache

5. Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

Accelerated mobile pages seek seek to ‘build the future online together’ by enabling you to design websites and advertisements that are extremely fast which may help you  to attract people.

A major reason why AMP sites load swiftly is because AMP limits HTML/CSS and JavaScript, enabling for speedier processing of mobile websites. The data on AMP pages, as opposed to ordinary mobile sites, automatically gets stored by Google AMP Cache, resulting in quicker load times when searching.

Some of the benefits of AMP include: -

1. Improvements in speed and customer experience: Pages built using AMP tools open very instantaneously, providing users with a smoother, more appealing experience on their cellphones and laptops or computers. 

2. Flexibility: Businesses have the freedom to choose how their information is presented and which technology providers they want to work with, while still meeting or exceeding their key performance indicators (KPIs).

6. Minimize the use of third-party codes

Third-party applications and interactive components may be made possible through JavaScript. The problem with this is that it also prevents HTML code from being parsed.

Ideally, third-party codes should not be used, but where extremely necessary, you should try to minimize the influence it has on the overall performance on your website.

To minimize the use of third part codes and consequently improve your PageSpeed score, you should: -

1. Loading JavaScript should be deferred.
2. Your browser should be cached.
3. You should host the third-party codes yourself

7. Compress your text

Text compression is usually done through GZIP Compression. GZIP is a compression method that is widely used to transport information over the web rapidly.

GZIP is one of many text compressing tools. However, what distinguishes it from the rest is that is has powerful compression algorithm and is capable of compressing the data by as much as 70%.

Some of the plugins that support GZIP are: -

1. NGINX
2. Apache

8. Reduce Server Response Time

Server response time is the amount of time it takes for a server to reply to a query asked by someone on the website. It is the time it takes for an HTTP request to be received and the first byte of the requested page to be sent back.

A high server response time can be harmful for the website as people may switch to another one if the response takes too long.

You can check your Server Response Time using tools such as GTMetrix, and Google PageSpeed Insights and if it is below par, less than 200ms, you need to take measures to improve it.

You can improve your Server Response Time by: -

1. Hosting the website yourself
2. Using a Content Delivery Network

If you want to improve your PageSpeed Insight Score, and consequently improve your ranking, you should definitely try these 8 tips listed above. If you would like some help from one of our SEO freelancer experts, get in touch with us.