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Did you know 64 percent of Smartphone users expect webpages to load in less than 4 seconds? However, sadly, a mobile landing page, on average, takes 22 seconds to fully load.

These basic numbers make it quite evident just how important it is to have your website run in mighty speed if you are to convert and deliver good UX. But then again, boosting website’s loading time is easier said than done.

For example, sometime a feature may sink the loading speed. But that feature could be an integral part of your online presence that you cannot rid. What to do now? Or, for instance, you have very less say in steering how your server performs. If things fail with your host, how do you keep website’s loading speed intact?

The solutions to the mentioned problems are difficult. However, they aren’t necessarily impossible to fix. And even when you lack the right skill to work on the backend with the codes, you can still boost your website speed.

Here are 5 steps on how to increase website speed:

1. Know about the problems

There are many tools available online that help you know where your website stands in terms of speed and optimization. Use them to how much you score, what are the problems and what exactly needs to be fixed foremost.

Google’s PageSpeed Insights scan your website by looking at your codes. GTmetrix scans the website from a visitor’s perspective. Use both the tools and see how much your website scores.

2. Developers are your best bet

DIY isn’t the right answer to how to optimize your website. The core problem why your website is lagging could be plenty, diverse and unique. For example, a lot also depends on the CMS you’re using and what kind of business you have. So, to save yourself the time, effort and to achieve a better result, it’s always the best idea to let qualified developers and experts do the work.

Instead of spending time on learning and trying to do it yourself, focus on your business and its operation. Let qualified people handle this end for you. It’s a basic rule of optimized performance.

Also Read: Is WordPress the right CMS for your business?

3. Optimize the Images

Those high-definition images look great, don’t they? Sadly, they come with a big price. Their large size plays a serious role in slowing down your website. So, it is always a good idea to ensure your website isn’t image-centric. However, this is not always possible. This is where you need to take the right image optimization measures. Here are few tips:

If possible, stick to JPEG/JPG image format
Compress the size of the image using Tiny JPG
Display images’ original height and width; no re-sizing them with Chttps://tinyjpg.com/SS or HTML

For more tips, check out image optimization guide here.

4. Minify HTML, CSS and JS

If your website was developed by unqualified professionals, it’s very likely that its coding end has more than a handful of flaws. Many times, there are lines of codes that have no relevance. Other time, poor practices are used to write the codes. All these contribute to slowing down the website.

This is why it’s always a good idea to minify HTML, CSS and JS to eliminate unnecessary features, lines of codes and to make things compact in the backend. There are many tools to help you do this. Check out Willpeavy.com and minifier.com.

Note: Sometime these tools might not work efficiently and may deliver the poor result. If that’s the case, we suggest you hire a good web development company.

5. Enable Gzip Compression

If you Zip a folder of 100mb on your computer, you will find the zipped file would be slightly less in size; likely 80 MB or less. The same concept works when you optimize your website with Gzip compression—its size gets reduced. And this helps in its loading speed.

When compressed, instead of sending a raw file of 100 kb, your web server sends a compressed file of 80kb to the browser. The browser receives this compact size, unzip it and then loads it for the reader/visitor. This entire process happens very fast, hence boosting your website loading speed.

Again, there are a handful of Gzip compression tools out there that can help you with this. However, given the task is tedious and requires to be very efficient, you’re better off letting an expert do this for you.

These are 5 steps how to increase website speed. Follow them and assuredly fuel your website’s loading speed to the next level. Once that happens, the rewards in ranking on SERP, conversion and better UX will immediately follow.

Remember, there’s a lot a visitor looks for in a website—high speed is one of them. Deliver them that and you will see your sales metrics spiking high.

Also Read: 9 Things Visitors Look for In a Website (And How You’re Disappointing Them)

(P.S. If your server is the culprit in slowing the website, either upgrade the plan or change your web host.)