Website speed
How to make your website faster
Key takeaway
To make a website faster, measure an important page, reduce unnecessary downloads and check how quickly the server responds. A CDN helps deliver reusable public files. Lightning Web Hosting includes AWS hosting and CloudFront CDN in both plans, while changes inside an existing website are assessed separately.
In this guide
Start with a page your customers need
A website can feel quick on your office computer and frustrating on a customer’s phone. Start with a page that matters: your main service, booking information or enquiry page. Open it on a phone using mobile data, then try the action you want a customer to take.
Keep a note of the page address and where the wait happens. Does nothing appear for a while? Does the picture arrive late? Does the button look ready but fail to respond? Those are useful observations to give the person investigating the problem.
Give the first screen less to load
A large opening picture, a video background or unnecessary code can hold up the main content. The aim is to make the useful part of the page appear promptly. Material further down the page can often wait until a visitor approaches it.
Pictures should suit their displayed size, with smaller versions available for phones. Fonts matter too: several decorative typefaces can add downloads and delay readable text. Keep the design you need, then remove work that adds little for the customer.
Prepare pictures that load efficiently
Sources: Google: improving the loading of main page content (opens in a new tab)MDN: responsive website images (opens in a new tab)Google: web fonts and loading performance (opens in a new tab)
Use a CDN for files that can be reused
A content delivery network, or CDN, can keep copies of public files at delivery locations closer to visitors. Reusing those files reduces repeated work for the main hosting server. It is particularly useful for pictures, fonts and other files shared across many visits.
Amazon CloudFront CDN is included in both our hosting plans. You do not need to buy a separate CDN or security tier. Private portal pages and customer proofs need different handling from public pictures, so the setup matters as much as the presence of a CDN.
Sources: AWS: how CloudFront delivers website content (opens in a new tab)
Check the website as well as the hosting
A better hosting setup can help when the server is the source of the wait. It cannot remove an oversized photograph or make an unnecessary booking widget disappear. Ask for an explanation of the bottleneck before paying for a larger server.
If your website has accumulated plugins or page-builder features, agree which ones are still needed. Test changes on a separate copy. A speed improvement should leave the enquiry form, menus and important business features working.
Make the improvement easy to keep
Speed work can be undone by the next huge picture or extra animation. Agree a sensible approach for new images and ask whoever looks after the website to check important pages after changes.
On the Lightning plan, Arc handles supported everyday text changes, your uploaded images and simple layout moves through a private proof and approval. A larger performance repair or rebuild needs its own agreed scope. We establish that before starting separate work.
Keep everyday website changes simple with ArcFollow the customer journey to an enquiry
Choose a useful hosting foundation
Thunder is NZ$55 + GST per website a month. Lightning is NZ$99 + GST and adds everyday Arc updates, subject to fair use. Both include AWS hosting, CloudFront CDN, SSL, platform security, daily AWS website backups, domain registration and DNS.
Give us your website address and tell us what feels slow. We assess the website and its features, explain the moving or modernisation route, and agree any one-off work. Hosting billing begins when your website is live with us.