How do I increase the speed and performance of my website?

Ah, slow websites. They’re like waiting in line at the DMV—nobody enjoys it, and everyone’s secretly judging you for it. But don’t worry, we’ll speed things up. Here are my Top 5 tips for making your web pages faster, leaner, and more lovable to the almighty Google Gods.

1. What’s Your Goal: UX or SEO?

Before you start optimizing, ask yourself: what are you even optimizing for? Because there’s no one-size-fits-all.

Goal: Make Visitors Love You (UX)

Say your goal is to get more free trial signups. For a page like this, you’re focusing on the user experience. That means bringing out the big guns:

• Gorgeous product images
• Demo videos that make people go, “Shut up and take my money!”
• Testimonials that scream, “We’re awesome!”
• A live chat widget to catch those hot leads in real-time

Sure, these things add some weight to your page, but it’s totally fine because you’re optimizing for conversions, not Google rankings.

Goal: Woo the Google Gods (SEO)

On the flip side, if you’re writing blogs or pillar pages to attract organic traffic, SEO is the name of the game. Keep these pages light and content-rich.

• Skip the heavy media files.
• Sprinkle in a few lightweight images for pizzazz.
• Write content that Google’s algorithm dreams about at night.

Clear goals = a rockstar website.

2. Optimize Your Images (Seriously, Do This)

Images are the guilty pleasure of slow websites. They look great, but they’re eating all the bandwidth. Here’s how to whip them into shape:

Image Size (Dimensions)

Don’t upload a wallpaper-sized image for a tiny thumbnail. Use tools like Page Ruler Redux (a nifty Chrome extension) to measure exactly what you need. No more, no less.

Image Compression

Let’s talk compression. You want your images looking sharp but not like they’ve been through a blender. My pal Baby Yoda is here to help:

No compression: 500x500px, 138kb (adorable but hefty)

High compression: 500x500px, 10kb (slightly fuzzy, still cute)

Find that sweet spot between file size and quality. Tools like Photoshop let you fine-tune compression levels like a pro.

Image File Formats

Choose wisely:

• JPG/JPEG: Your everyday hero for most images.
• PNG: Larger files, but perfect for transparent backgrounds.
• SVG: Great for logos and icons.
• GIF: Use sparingly unless you’re running a meme empire.
• WebP: Compressed and trendy, but watch out—Internet Explorer doesn’t support it (because of course it doesn’t).

3. Turn Off Duplicate jQuery

Your Clean Pro theme comes with jQuery out of the box. But if HubSpot’s settings are also enabling an older version, you’re essentially running two engines in one car. Not great.

To fix this:

• Go to Content Settings in HubSpot.
• Navigate to Content > Pages > Templates. 
• Turn off the older jQuery.

Your site will thank you, and so will your page speed.

4. Lighten the Load of 3rd-Party Scripts

Scripts are like junk food for your website. Tasty, but too much will weigh you down. Examples include:

• Live Chat: Awesome for UX, but maybe skip it on your SEO pages.
• Analytics & Tracking: HubSpot’s built-in tools are great, but if you’re using extras, watch the page weight.
• Embedded Videos: YouTube, Vimeo, and Wistia are handy, but they come with baggage (and by baggage, I mean data).

You’ll find these scripts lurking in your HubSpot settings under Content > Pages > Templates. Trim the fat, and your site will speed up faster than your morning coffee hits.

5. Keep the Bells & Whistles to a Minimum

The Clean Pro theme has a ton of cool features—mega menus, parallax scrolling, animations, and background videos. They’re like the sprinkles on your website cupcake. But sprinkles add weight. If you're optimizing a page for SEO then avoid these:

• Background Videos
  These files can at best be 5MB to load.
• Sliders (logo sliders, image sliders, any sort of slider)
  These require JavaScript files to do their slide magic which has a small weight
• Embedded Videos (Hubspot video, YouTube, Etc.)
  These require their own JavaScript files for the player
• Embedded Maps or Calculators
  Cool but yet again require their own amount of JavaScript to work

For SEO pages, ditch the frills and keep it simple. Save the pizzazz for UX-focused pages where you’re wooing visitors instead of Google.

5. Remove Forms for any Global Element

HubSpot forms are notorious for adding a bit of page weight especially since HubSpot forms can do some really cool things with smart content and more. For this reason, they require a JavaScript file which HubSpot automatically includes on any page with a form.

This makes it important to not include forms in any global modules like the header or footer if you optimize various pages for SEO.  So, if you're thinking about putting that "Subscribe to our blog" form in your footer, I'd skip it personally and add it on the actual blog page.

In Conclusion…

Your website’s speed is a team effort between the Clean Pro theme’s built-in optimizations and your thoughtful design choices. Lazy loading, deferred JavaScript, and compressed CSS are all helpful, but the content you add is the real game-changer.

So, design with intention. And remember: a fast website is a happy website. Go make Google proud!