BTB 55: 5 Ways to Speed up Your Website

A conversation about how to speed up your website.

Today we are chatting with photographer, plant-enthusiast, and Davey & Krista team member, Alex Lucas. Alex is one of our designers and he’s joining me today for a conversation about how to speed up a website.

We chat about why page load speed matters—hint: a fast website can help improve conversion rates—how you can test your website, what you should look for when running a test, and then 5 ways you can increase your website speed.

A quick warning: We chat about a lot in this episode. For quick reference, I’ve written a corresponding blog post that you can find in the show notes that summarizes what we’ve discussed.

Find it quickly…

• 9:02 – Why is optimizing a website for speed performance important?
• 10:50 – Where can people go to test their website loading time?
• 14:49 – Getting A’s when testing doesn’t mean it’s a great website
• 17:00 – What website platforms are best for website speed?
• 19:34 – How does the build of a website affect website speed?
• 22:55 – What themes are great to use?
• 25:44 – Quick wins with website speed
• 27:28 – Images for your website
• 33:33 – Choosing a good host
• 38:14 – What is cashing, what tool do we suggest using and why we recommend it
• 44:13 – What is CDN and who are the reputable providers?

Note: Most of the conversation in this episode focuses on WordPress website optimization, where a user is in control of hosting. Companies such as Showit, Squarespace, and Wix already handle optimization. However, this episode has many useful tips for anyone looking to speed up their website.

More about Alex:

Alex is an entrepreneur, photographer at AL Weddings, and designer for Davey & Krista—but outside of work, his life is consumed by plants. He may have missed his calling as a botanist but he’s doing his very best to turn his home into a jungle. He loves solving problems whether it’s helping brands find more clients or fixing the kitchen sink, and at least once a day he slips up and calls Davey & Krista, “Dava & Kristy.”