11 Effective Webflow Performance Optimization Hacks To Boost Speed

Regarding Webflow SEO, website performance can make or break your online presence. Think about launching a visually stunning website on Webflow but facing slow loading times and sluggish user experiences. But don't worry, in this guide, we will break down the essential steps to improve Webflow website performance, helping you create a smooth user experience and enhance your online visibility quickly!

Looking to boost your website's performance on Webflow? NUMI's Webflow Developers solution could be your advance for smooth user experiences and high search engine rankings.

Why Is Website Speed Optimization Important?

Website speed optimization is crucial for webflow performance. The importance of an optimized site becomes even more evident when considering Webflow-specific optimizations. In a digital landscape where a delay of even a second can lead to a 7% reduction in conversions, ensuring that your Webflow site is lightning-fast is paramount. Research indicates that 53% of mobile users abandon sites that load over three seconds. This isn't just about the user experience but your bottom line.

Impact of Site Speed and Performance

Conversion Rate

Multiple studies have demonstrated that site speed affects the conversion rate. Not only do more users stay on fast-loading sites, but they also convert at higher rates compared to slower sites. Several companies have found that a decrease in page load time of a few milliseconds increases conversions. For example, Mobify found that decreasing their homepage's load time by 100 milliseconds resulted in a 1.11% uptick in session-based conversion.

Bounce Rate

The bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave a website after viewing only one page. Users are likely to close the window or click away if a page does not load within a few seconds. Websites that load within two seconds see an average bounce rate of 9%, jumping to 38% if load times exceed five seconds.

SEO Best Practices

Because Google tends to prioritize getting relevant information to users as quickly as possible, site performance is an essential factor in Google search rankings. A site's performance on mobile devices is significant for SEO.

User Experience

Long page load times and poor response to user actions create a bad user experience. Waiting for content to load frustrates users and may provoke them to leave the site or application altogether.

A fast-loading Webflow site retains visitors and ranks higher on search engines, leading to more organic traffic. In its emphasis on user experience, Google factors in load speed when determining search rankings. So, if you're looking to outpace your competitors in the Webflow arena, both in terms of user experience and SEO, optimizing your Webflow website performance is non-negotiable.

What Are The Main Factors Affecting Website Performance?

Server Quality

The hardware and location of your server play a vital role in your website's performance. Opting for commercial servers with high-quality hardware can ensure reliability and uptime, while servers closer to your target audience can significantly reduce latency and improve site responsiveness.

Network Latency

Internet connection speeds vary based on user location. Using Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) can help deliver content faster by storing copies of your site's resources on servers closer to users, reducing the distance content travels. This optimization can speed up page load times and improve user experiences.

Code Efficiency

Bloated code, such as redundant CSS styles and excessive JavaScript libraries, can slow page speeds. Optimizing your code by eliminating unnecessary elements can lead to faster load times and smoother user experiences, boosting engagement rates.

Third-Party Scripts

While third-party scripts and plugins enhance site features, they can introduce lag by requiring additional browser resources to fetch and execute. Limiting the number of third-party scripts used on your site can help maintain functionality while minimizing the impact on performance.

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NUMI helps with product design, web design, Framer development, Webflow development, mobile design, prototyping, UX design, and all your startup's design needs! Subscribe to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed on your team today. Schedule a call with us today to learn more!

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How Webflow Delivers Great Site Performance

Regarding website performance, Webflow is focused on delivering exceptional user experiences. The platform excels in this aspect due to factors that set it apart from the competition. From clean and optimized code to efficient hosting services, Webflow ensures that every website built on its platform is fast and reliable. Let's delve into the measures Webflow has in place to guarantee top-notch website performance. 

No Code Bloat

Webflow prides itself on clean and well-optimized code, which plays a crucial role in ensuring fast loading times and smooth user interactions. With no code bloat to worry about, Webflow websites perform exceptionally well across different devices and browsers. By keeping the code concise and efficient, Webflow eliminates unnecessary elements that could slow down a website's performance.

No Excessive Add-ons

Unlike other website builders offering many plugins and add-ons, Webflow keeps things simple and streamlined. This approach prevents websites from being weighed down by unnecessary code and resources. Without long CSS stylesheets or render-blocking JavaScript, Webflow websites load quickly and provide a seamless browsing experience. By avoiding excessive add-ons, Webflow prioritizes speed and performance above all else.

Turbocharged Servers

Webflow's hosting services are powered by Tier 1 content delivery networks like Amazon CloudFront and Fastly. These robust servers ensure that websites built on Webflow benefit from reliable and fast hosting. By leveraging top-tier infrastructure, Webflow eliminates common hosting issues, such as downtime and slow loading times. With turbocharged servers, Webflow users can rest assured that their websites will perform optimally.

Webflow's commitment to delivering exceptional website performance is evident in its approach to code optimization, add-on management, and hosting services. By focusing on speed and efficiency, Webflow sets itself apart as a platform that prioritizes user experience above all else. With clean code, minimal add-ons, and top-tier servers, Webflow is well-equipped to handle the demands of modern websites and deliver outstanding performance for every user.

11 Effective Webflow Performance Optimization Hacks

1. Leverage Content Delivery Networks

Content Delivery Networks (CDN) spread content across global servers to provide faster delivery to website visitors. By serving content from the nearest server to a user, CDNs reduce latency and speed up access. Streaming companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video often rapidly use CDN to deliver shows and movies worldwide. CDN providers like Cloudflare, Fastly, and KeyCDN can enhance your site’s loading speeds and improve user experience if you aim for similar speed and reach.

2. Choose Reliable Web Hosting Providers

Reliable providers host your website on high-performance servers optimized for speed, uptime, and security. These providers invest in infrastructure and technologies that reduce server response times, handle high traffic efficiently, and prioritize content delivery, leading to faster website loading and smoother user experiences. 

Webflow’s hosting solution handles 10 billion web pages across six continents, providing features such as global CDN, image compression, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificates, and advanced Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection.

3. Optimize images

Large, uncompressed images can significantly reduce page load speeds by requiring servers to transfer more data to browsers. When a user visits a web page, the browser requests and downloads all the content, including images, from the server. The larger the file size, the more time browsers need to download and render them.

You can use software such as Adobe Photoshop and TinyPNG to optimize image file sizes and compress images without compromising quality. Photoshop offers “Save for Web” options, providing precise control over image quality and format, while TinyPNG automatically compresses images while preserving their integrity. You can also use WebP images instead of PNGs and JPEGs to reduce file sizes further. 

4. Optimize Fonts for Better Webflow Performance

Fonts are an essential part of almost every website. Unfortunately, as of 2022, the default implementation in Webflow is very poorly done. Below is what you should do. 

Use a limited number of fonts on the page. 1-2 should be enough for most sites and pages. If possible, use system fonts (like Arial, Helvetica, etc.). If your goal is the absolute top site speed, use system fonts and do not load anything extra.

Upload fonts manually with “swap”

Remember a simple rule: NEVER use the default Google or Adobe fonts from the drop-down menu in the “Fonts” section. They are loaded in the worst possible way, and Lighthouse wouldn’t like it. Instead, download all the font files and upload them manually to the “Installed Fonts” section with the “swap” setting (the best-performing option). I hope Webflow fixes this in the future.

Preload fonts with code

For absolute top performance, you’d need to preload your fonts. Since the font source is in the CSS, custom fonts start loading only after the CSS file is loaded and parsed. We can tell the browser to preload the font files earlier. Here’s an example with Google fonts (you can do the same with fonts loaded to Webflow). It also uses " pre-connect”.

<link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin/>

<link rel="preload" as="style" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Merriweather&display=swap"/>

<link rel="stylesheet" media="print" onload="this.media='all'" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Merriweather&display=swap"/>

<link rel="stylesheet" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Merriweather&display=swap"/>

‍5. Lazy Loading Scripts Using Google Tag Manager

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a powerful tool, but it can impact your Webflow site's load time. The solution? Lazy loading your GTM container with a custom JavaScript script:

    var GTMCode = 'GTM-XXXX';  // Replace 'GTM-XXXX' with your actual GTM code

    var GTMLoaded = false; // Flag to check if GTM is loaded or not

    function loadGTM() {

      if(!GTMLoaded) { // Load GTM only if not loaded yet

        GTMLoaded = true; // Update the flag to indicate GTM has loaded

        (function(w,d,s,l,i){

          w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});

          var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';

          j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);

        })(window,document,'script','dataLayer',GTMCode);

      }

    }

    $(window).one('scroll touchstart mousemove', loadGTM);

This script waits for a user's first interaction—be it a scroll, touch, or mouse movement—before loading the GTM container. This ensures GTM doesn't hinder the initial page load, offering users a snappier experience.

Setting It Up in Webflow

• Go to your Webflow project settings.
• In 'Custom Code,' paste the script into 'Footer Code'.
• Replace 'GTM-XXXX' with your GTM code.
• Save and publish.

Lazy loading GTM ensures critical site content loads first, enhancing user experience, especially for mobile users or those on slower connections. It balances functionality and speed, optimizing your Webflow site's performance. It is particularly effective for improving website speed and core web vitals.

6. Use selective loading on mobile vs. desktop

Since mobile websites are usually slower than desktop websites, it’s a good idea to load specific scripts only on the desktop version of your website. Google also ranks you based on the mobile version of your site. As a rule of thumb, use the fewest scripts or fancy effects on your website, whether mobile or desktop.

7. Video Optimization

Webflow doesn’t make good friends with videos. Its automatic video transcoding can significantly decrease video quality (and there’s no option to disable it). Also, many users complain that the resulting “optimized” and transcoded video file by Webflow can be even larger than the original (up to twice the size).  That’s why many developers avoid using native Video elements on Webflow and prefer the Youtube element or embed Youtube/Vimeo <iframe> directly where needed. 

‍8. Optimizing SVG

The SVG images are preferred for images that need to scale, like the logo, but we often need to correct SVGs. We use them directly in Webflow without minifying. An SVG could consist of many layers, paths, and groups that need to be removed to reduce the load on our site. This can be done in any design software like Figma, XD, Sketch, or online tools.

9. Optimize Webflow Page DOM Structure

The Document Object Model (DOM) is the backbone of any website. It's a structured representation of your site's content. However, a bloated or poorly structured DOM can be a silent speed killer for your Webflow site and any website builder. Let's explore why and how to optimize it.

In simple terms, the DOM is like a tree diagram of your website. Each element, from paragraphs to image elements, is a branch or leaf on this tree. The browser reads this tree to render your website. A heavy DOM can:

Slow Down Rendering

Browsers take longer to process and display content.

Increase Memory Usage

More elements mean more memory consumption, affecting performance, especially on mobile devices.

Complicate Interactivity

JavaScript interactions can become slower and less responsive.

When it comes to your DOM (i.e., page structure), here are the best practices to follow:

Limit Nested Elements

Avoid wrapping elements in multiple layers of divs or containers. Each additional layer adds to the DOM's complexity.

Avoid Unnecessary Wrappers

Pages don't always need a "Main" wrapper. Sections can often be nested directly inside the body element.

Simplify Containers

A container should be as simple as possible. Avoid having too many child elements within a single container.

Use Semantic HTML:

Elements like , , and not only make your code more readable but can also reduce the need for additional divs. A lean DOM is crucial for optimal Webflow performance. By understanding the DOM's role and following best practices, you can ensure a faster, more responsive site without compromising on design or functionality—load images at appropriate image sizes.

10. Avoid preloads

Preloading is a behind-the-scenes directive telling your browser to load another page before the user clicks. For example, if 90% of your visitors go to your Pricing page from your homepage, you can preload it so it loads instantly.

This impacts website speed since it has to load 2 pages: the page you’re on and the next page. If you’re currently using preloading, you may want to consider turning it off for maximum performance. Note that preloading is disabled for all links by default in Webflow. 

11. Third-party script optimization

Third-party scripts are probably the number one cause of lousy site performance, and they will most likely be the number one recommendation in your Lighthouse / PSI report. Unfortunately, no modern production website can get away without scripts. You’d need at least 2-3 analytics and likely at least one ad library on your site. Here’s what you can do:

Leave only necessary scripts on each page.

Carefully analyze all the scripts you use and discuss with the stakeholders and your team what is necessary and what can be removed. Most likely, you have remnants of the old analytics or styling effects library that are no longer needed. 

Ensure that the script is added only to the page where it’s used. A common mistake is to add a JS effect library used on a single page to the global footer, which makes it load unnecessarily on all the other pages. Only scripts used on every page (like analytics, fonts, etc.) should be left on the global footer page. Make a policy to test any new script through performance analysis before adding it.

Move to before </body>

Move scripts from “<head>” to “<footer>” before the closing “</body>” tag. When rendering your site, the browser parses the page from top to bottom. Lowering your scripts on the page will allow users to see the content first. And don’t worry that most official docs tell you to put the scripts in the “<head>” section. They will also be perfectly fine before the “</body>.”

Use “async” or “defer.”

When adding the “<script>” tag, you have an option to use “defer” or “async” attributes. With the “async” tag, the script will be fetched in parallel to parsing and evaluated as soon as it is available (meaning the DOM may not be ready then). This is useful if the script doesn’t need to access any DOM elements and if you don’t care about the execution order (like most analytics).

<script async src="myscript.js">

</script>

With the “defer” tag, the browser will also load your script in the background but execute it only after the page is rendered. It’s helpful if you need to manipulate the DOM elements or when order is necessary (like JS animation libs).

<script defer src="myscript.js">

</script>

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Bonus: How To Test Speed And Performance Of Your Webflow Site

When it comes to testing the speed and performance of your Webflow website, it's crucial to understand the key metrics that affect user experience and search engine rankings. Google uses the tool Lighthouse to measure and report on the PSI site, utilizing specific metrics like First Contentful Paint (FCP), Speed Index (SI), Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS), Time to Interactive (TTI), and Total Blocking Time (TBT). Each metric has a unique weight, reflecting its significance in determining the overall performance score.

First Contentful Paint (FCP)

First, Contentful Paint (FCP) is one of the essential metrics tracked in the Performance section of the Lighthouse report. It measures the time the first piece of content appears on the screen, providing a good score if it's under 1.8 seconds. A quicker FCP positively impacts the user's perception of your site's loading speed.

Speed Index (SI)

Speed Index (SI) is another critical metric determining how quickly a page's contents are visibly populated. A lower score is better, with a good SI under 4.3 seconds. A fast-loading Speed Index enhances user experience and improves search engine rankings.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) measures the time it takes for the main content of your Webflow site to become visible, emphasizing the importance of displaying meaningful content promptly. A good LCP score is under 2.5 seconds, ensuring users can access valuable information quickly and efficiently.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) quantifies the extent of unexpected movement on your page, such as shifted content due to loaded images or ads. A good CLS score is under 0.1, indicating a stable layout that enhances user experience and reduces frustration.

Time to Interactive (TTI)

Time to Interactive (TTI) measures the duration for a page to become fully interactive, ensuring all elements are rendered and event handlers are registered. A good TTI is under 3.8 seconds, demonstrating a responsive, engaging user interface that encourages interaction.

Total Blocking Time (TBT)

Total Blocking Time (TBT) quantifies the duration when the main thread was blocked, impacting input responsiveness. Minimizing TBT through asset preloading and pre-connection enhances site responsiveness and provides a seamless user experience.

Using Incognito Window on Chrome

When testing your Webflow load speed, it's essential to simulate a first-time visitor's experience using Chrome's Incognito mode. This eliminates cached data and cookies that might skew the results, providing a clear picture of your site's load time. Accessing Lighthouse on Chrome involves opening a new incognito window, right-clicking to inspect the page, selecting the Lighthouse tab in the DevTools panel, and running a mobile-focused audit to generate a detailed report.

Prioritizing mobile testing and core web vitals, including mobile-friendliness, performance, and interactivity, is crucial since most web traffic originates from mobile devices. Fast-loading Webflow sites retain visitors, improve search engine rankings, and drive more organic traffic, showcasing the importance of optimizing performance for both user experience and SEO benefits.

If everything seems daunting to you, NUMI can be of great assistance. As Webflow developers, we do our best to design efficient and optimized Webflow sites. Whether you're building a new Webflow site or implementing measures to ensure your existing site is highly optimized, we can help. By subscribing to our guild of Webflow developers, you get access to top developers who can help speed up and optimize your Webflow site.

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NUMI boasts a fabulous design team that ensures all design work is executed to the highest standards. The platform helps with product design, web design, Framer development, Webflow development, mobile design, prototyping, UX design, and all your startup's design requirements. By subscribing to a guild of world-class designers ready to embed into your team, NUMI ensures that your design needs are well handled. 

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