Wix Website Speed Optimization - Wix SEO 2023 (Part 5)

Welcome back to our deep dive into the fascinating world of Wix SEO! In today's post, we'll unravel the secrets to optimizing your Wix website's performance—a critical component that can make or break your position in Google's organic search results. After all, a sluggish site can quickly become a detriment to user experience and search rankings alike. Buckle up and join us on this SEO adventure as we dissect the best practices to enhance your site's speed and user experience. And don't forget to hop over to NewForm at the end for more tips and tricks about leveling up your design game.

Why Website Performance Matters

If you've been journeying with us through the Wix SEO series, you'll know the importance of aligning your strategy with Google's ranking factors. Well, one pivotal factor is website performance. Google cares about how swiftly your site loads because it directly impacts user experience. Picture this: users often abandon sites that take longer than a couple of seconds to load. Hence, ensuring your website is nimble isn't just good practice—it's essential for capturing and holding your audience.

Tools to Analyze Your Website's Performance

Before we jump into optimizations, we need to gauge our starting point. Here are a few tools to help you analyze your Wix website's speed performance:

1. Google PageSpeed Insights: A fantastic free tool from Google that provides insights into both mobile and desktop performance, complete with recommendations to speed things up.

2. GTmetrix: Offers in-depth analysis including page load details, waterfall breakdowns, and tips to optimize your site's speed.

3. WebPageTest: A detailed tool that allows you to test your site's performance from multiple locations worldwide with a variety of browsers.

Armed with insights from these tools, you'll have a better understanding of what's slowing down your site and how to remedy it.

Optimizing Image Usage on Wix

Images are a double-edged sword in the world of web design. While they enhance aesthetics and can enrich content, they're often the main culprits behind sluggish site performance. Here's how to balance beauty and speed:

1. Choose Proper File Formats: Use JPEGs for larger photos and PNGs for graphics with fewer colors. WebP is another format that offers superior compression, although you'll want to confirm its compatibility with Wix.

2. Compress Images: Utilize compression tools like TinyPNG to reduce file size without sacrificing quality. Repeat this mantra: "Small is beautiful."

3. Use SVGs for Icons: Instead of loading large image files for icons, opt for SVG files. They're vector-based, scalably crisp, and lighter on your loading times.

Remember, just because an image looks small doesn't mean its file size is irrelevant. Always upload images in their intended size instead of relying on width or height reductions in the editor.

Animation—A Performance Balancer

Animations can be a delight for the eye... until they overload your site with unnecessary code. Use them sparingly. A home filled with whizzing and whirling animations can derail your UX and drag down your site's load time. Audit your animations and remove any redundant ones to keep both your page speed and user experience in check.

Minimize Apps and Plugins

Wix's app market is bursting with enticing functionality enhancements. But like anything in life, balance is key. Each app introduces additional scripts and files that can bog down performance. Therefore, make it a habit to:

1. Review Existing Apps: Are they all necessary? Remove any that aren't pulling their weight in user value.

2. Resort to Native Solutions: When in doubt, consider if there's a native Wix feature that could achieve the same outcome minus the overhead of an app.

Leveraging Videos Wisely

Videos are powerhouse content, igniting engagement and boosting conversions. But beware: hefty videos can be performance roadblocks. Instead of uploading directly to your site, leverage platforms like YouTube to host your videos and embed them on your page. This approach takes advantage of platforms optimized for speedy video delivery and also expands your reach beyond your site.

Optimizing for Mobile

Let's face it, mobile is king. Google prioritizes mobile performance in its rankings, so your site needs to perform brilliantly on smaller screens. After implementing the above optimizations for desktop, tailor your approach for mobile:

1. Reduce Media: If a giant hero image isn't vital on mobile, hide it.

2. Check Layouts: Ensure no elements jump around during load (examine your cumulative layout shift on PageSpeed Insights).

3. Streamline Content: Less is more when it comes to mobile displays.

Putting It All Together: Analyzing and Iterating

Once you've applied these changes, it's time to revisit your URL with Google PageSpeed Insights. Analyze, implement, rinse, and repeat. Your goal is to steadily bump up your performance scores, ensuring a swifter, slicker user experience.

Join the NewForm Community!

At NewForm, we’re all about honing your design skills, helping you find opportunities in the marketplace, and connecting you with industry leaders. We offer monthly web design challenges with cash prizes, weekly skill-building events, and exclusive monthly guest sessions featuring top professionals in web design.

So, if you’re ready to take your skills to new heights and join a community of like-minded creatives, come and be part of our journey! Visit us at NewForm and unlock new levels of creativity and success.

Thank you for sticking with us in this deep dive. We look forward to seeing you in the next installment of our Wix SEO series. Happy optimizing!