Most slow pages are slow because of large photos and videos. Make photos smaller before you add them, turn on Export Optimized Images, put videos on YouTube or Vimeo, and keep each page to a few galleries and effects. Then publish with File > Publish Entire Site.
Speed matters: many visitors use a phone on mobile data and leave before a slow page appears, and Google takes speed into account.
When you'd use this
- A wedding photographer's home page shows 20 photos straight from the camera, and couples say it takes ages to open on their phones.
- A restaurant uses a large video file of its dining room as the page background.
- A plumber tested the website with Google PageSpeed Insights and was told to "properly size images".
Check your speed
- Go to Google PageSpeed Insights, type your website address and click Analyze.
- Look at the Mobile results first. The list under the score names what's slowing the page, often the largest pictures.
The score changes a little each time you test. Use it to find the big problems, not to chase a number.
Make photos smaller before you add them
A photo from a phone or camera is often 3 to 10MB. Aim for under 500KB for each photo on your website. Resize it closer to the size it shows on the page, and save it as a JPEG. Free tools such as TinyPNG and Squoosh can shrink it further.
To swap a photo you've already used, right-click it in the Assets list and choose Replace Asset... Every page that uses it updates.
Turn on Export Optimized Images
Go to File > Edit Publishing Settings and tick Export Optimized Images. When you publish, EverWeb also saves your pictures as WebP, a smaller picture format, and browsers that can show WebP use it.
Publishing takes longer, especially the first time. Colours can shift slightly in some photos. If a picture looks darker or different, untick the box and publish again.
Load lower pictures only when needed
Select a picture further down the page. In Inspector > Shape Options, under Fill, tick Lazy load image. The picture then loads when the visitor scrolls near it. Leave it off for the main picture at the top, which visitors see straight away.
Put videos on YouTube or Vimeo
A video file in your project is sent from your hosting every time someone plays it. Upload it to YouTube or Vimeo instead, then show it with a shape whose Fill is set to Video and source YouTube Video or Vimeo Video. See How do I add a video, a background video or music to my EverWeb website?
Keep each page light
- Galleries and sliders. Each Image Gallery, Image Slider or Carousel loads its pictures. One per page is usually plenty.
- Effects. Parallax backgrounds and scroll animations use large pictures that must load early. Use them on a few objects, as explained in Add animation and scroll effects to your pages.
- Very long pages. A page with dozens of photos is slow on any connection. Split it into a few shorter pages.
- Outside widgets and embeds. Each feed, booking calendar, chat box or HTML Snippet loads code from another company's server. Keep the ones that earn their place.
- Fonts. Each Google Font, and each weight such as bold, is another file to download. Two fonts are usually enough. See My fonts look different on other computers: Google Fonts and using your own font.
Your web host
If your site is on another host and PageSpeed Insights says the server is slow to respond, ask your host about it. EverWeb + Hosting is set up for EverWeb websites, and our team can check a slow page for you.
Publish everything again
After changing pictures or image settings, go to File > Publish Entire Site so every page is sent again. Then check your website in a private browser window. See What's the difference between Publish and Publish Entire Site?
What doesn't change your speed
Find Unused Assets... in the Assets list removes files your pages don't use. That makes your project file smaller and quicker to work with, but it doesn't change how fast your live website loads. See Replace an image or PDF everywhere at once, and clear out files you no longer use (the Assets list).
Common problems
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| No change after resizing photos | Use File > Publish Entire Site, then test in a private window. |
| Photos look darker or the colours changed | Untick Export Optimized Images, then File > Publish Entire Site. |
| Publishing is much slower than before | That's expected with Export Optimized Images, mostly the first time. |
| Pictures appear late when scrolling quickly | That's Lazy load image. Turn it off for that picture. |
| The PageSpeed score is different each time | That's normal. Look at the list of problems, not the number. |
Related articles
- How do I add a video, a background video or music to my EverWeb website?
- Replace an image or PDF everywhere at once, and clear out files you no longer use (the Assets list)
- Add animation and scroll effects to your pages
- My fonts look different on other computers: Google Fonts and using your own font
- What's the difference between Publish and Publish Entire Site?