3 Things That Are Slowing Down Your Squarespace Website
Do your web pages take a while to load? A slow website can cause high bounce rates, leading to a lack of website traffic and sales.
The recommended web page load speed should be within 0-2 seconds.
How to check your website speed
Plenty of website tools can help you test your website’s efficiency. Two that comes highly recommended are PageSpeed by Google or Ubersuggest.
Three reasons your Squarespace webpages might be running slow:
1. Large Images
It is always recommended to use high-quality images for your website; however, large image files can be a huge factor in slowing down your webpage.
Make sure that your images are compressed before using them on your website. Try using programs like TinyPNG to help compress your photos while still maintain the high-quality.
If you are downloading stock images, some platforms will allow you to download a compressed version of that image specific for web.
2. Messy Coding
Using custom code in Squarespace to add features and effects outside the pre-made templates can be exciting, but it is easy to get carried away.
Tips to keep your coding clean:
Have regular Spring cleaning. Schedule time to revisit your coding to ensure everything is working correctly and relevant to all pages it affects.
Be careful of duplicates. Even if duplicate code doesn’t affect the appearance of your web pages, it can slow it down immensely.
Be selective. It is easy to get lost in the excitement of code and all the opportunities you can have with your website. The more particular you are with your coding, the easier it will be to manage down the road.
Remember, Squarespace is a simple website builder that allows designers to all coding, but it is not always necessary.
3. Page is Too Large
The maximum recommendation for web pages is around 5MB. Your web page can take a longer time to load if you display a lot of content on one page that involves a combination of images, text, videos, links, etc.
Also, if your web page pulls a lot of content from multiple external sources, like YouTube or Vimeo, it could also impact your load speed. The more information your page has to constantly look for, the more time it will take for your page to generate its content.
Recommendation: If you have a lot of content on one page, consider breaking it up into two or multiple different pages. Smaller/shorter pages can also make it easier for your user to navigate through your content.
Factors that might slow down a web page that are out of your control:
If a user has slow internet or weak internet connection, this will slow down their load speed.
The user hasn’t cleared their cache. Your cache is your computer software and hardware storage system that stores data. If your cache gets full, it can affect the load speed of future website searches.