Speed – one of the most important metrics for a modern website. If you want to retain users or attract new ones, the biggest help is a fast-loading website. While site speed tells the load time of the whole website, page speed shows only how long a single page takes to fully load. This metric can be dependent on a lot of factors, like media optimization and page size, but the most impactful one is the site’s server performance.
Why does it matter and how a VPS can improve page speed?
Studies to see how long it will take users to click away from a slowly loading page are always being done. The most recent data shows that it takes 3 seconds to leave the site if it is not loading properly. If your website loads slowly, the bounce rate will rise, while the conversion rate will go down. Ideally, you would aim for two seconds or less of load time, while tech giants like Google can aim for less than half a second.
Now, you can reach great page loading speeds with the proper hosting plan. If you are like most small businesses, you might opt for a shared hosting plan. Yet that will only throttle your load times, as you will share the same server with other users, severely limiting your bandwidth. The perfect solution to that is a VPS server. Virtual private servers provide you with scalable resources dedicated to you as a sole user. It is a great way to have speedy pages no matter what project you are working on, be it a blog or an e-commerce website.
How to measure your page speed?
Well, you want your webpages to load fast, but you won’t just sit there with a chronometer and reload the page over and over gathering data. There are many more simple solutions. Several free page speed testing sites can be easily found online. The most popular one is GTMetrix. On this website all, you must do is just copy and paste your URL and press start. Then it will perform a test that will provide you with exact page load speed and other performance metrics. Not only that, but it will also suggest solutions on improving your performance based on the data gathered. Google also provides its platform – PageSpeed Insights. This will also provide you with a list of suggestions as to how you can improve load times. And lastly, there is an older testing platform, preferred by developers, since it lets you choose variables to test with to identify the issue – webpagetest.com
Although a VPS is just a tad more expensive than a shared hosting plan, it will pay for itself as your visitor base will increase.
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