Website Speed & SEO: Why Every Second Counts in 2026

Speed is a Feature, Not a Bonus

In 2026, user patience is at an all-time low. Research shows:

• 1 second delay reduces conversions by 7%.
• 3 seconds delay causes 53% of mobile users to leave.
• Google explicitly uses Core Web Vitals as a ranking factor.

If your site is slow, your SEO efforts are wasted.

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What Slows Down Your Website?

1. Unoptimized Images: Uploading 5MB raw photos instead of compressed WebP formatting.
2. Too Many Plugins: WordPress sites with 30+ plugins run like molasses.
3. Cheap Hosting: Shared hosting for ₹99/month overloads servers.
4. render-blocking Code: styles and scripts that stop the page from showing content.
5. Video Backgrounds: Heavy auto-play videos that eat bandwidth.

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Core Web Vitals Explained (2026 Update)

Google measures three key speed metrics:

1. LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

What: How long until the main content appears? Goal: Under 2.5 seconds. Fix: Better hosting (Vercel/CDN), optimized images.

2. INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

What: How fast does the site react when you click? Goal: Under 200 milliseconds. Fix: Minimize JavaScript execution.

3. CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

What: Does the page jump around while loading? Goal: Under 0.1 score. Fix: Set explicit width/height for images/ads.

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How We Build Blazing Fast Sites

At Smile Fotilo, we don't just "optimize" later. We build for speed from day one using Next.js.

• Server-Side Rendering (SSR): Content is pre-built, not built in the browser.
• Image Optimization: Next.js automatically resizes and compresses images.
• Edge Network: Your site lives on Vercel's global CDN (Content Delivery Network).
• Code Splitting: Users only download the code needed for the specific page they browse.

Our Guarantee: 90+ score on Google PageSpeed Insights for every new project.

Check your website speed here - then call us to fix it.

Get a fast website →