Your Website’s Loading Speed Is Costing You Sales—Here’s How to Fix It

Your Website’s Loading Speed Is Costing You Sales—Here’s How to Fix It

Did you know that 53% of mobile users abandon a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load? In New Zealand’s fast-paced digital landscape, a slow website doesn’t just frustrate visitors—it kills conversions, hurts SEO, and loses you money.

At Glu Group, we’ve audited hundreds of Kiwi business websites, and one thing’s clear: speed equals sales. The good news? Fixing it isn’t as hard as you think. Below, we’ll break down why your site might be lagging and exactly how to speed it up.

Why Speed Matters (Especially in NZ)

1. Google Penalises Slow Sites

• Speed is a direct ranking factor in search results.
• Slow sites get lower visibility, meaning fewer customers find you.

2. Visitors Won’t Wait

• A 1-second delay can reduce conversions by 7%.
• Bounce rates skyrocket after 3 seconds.

3. Mobile Users Expect Instant Results

• With over 60% of Kiwis browsing on phones, a slow mobile experience = lost sales.

5 Common Speed Killers (And How to Fix Them)

1. Unoptimised Images

❌ Problem: Large, uncompressed images slow down pages.

✅ Fix: 

• Resize images to match display dimensions (e.g., don’t upload a 5000px wide photo for a 500px space).
• Compress with tools like TinyPNG or ShortPixel.
• Use WebP format (30% smaller than JPEG/PNG).

2. Bloated Code & Plugins

❌ Problem: Unused CSS, JavaScript, or too many plugins drag down performance.

✅ Fix:

• Run a site audit (Google’s PageSpeed Insights).
• Minify code (plugins like Autoptimize can help).
• Delete unused plugins (WordPress users: aim for <10 active plugins).

3. Slow Hosting

❌ Problem: Cheap shared hosting = slow server response times.

✅ Fix:

• Upgrade to NZ-based hosting (e.g., VentraIP, WP Engine) or a CDN (Cloudflare).
• For high-traffic sites, consider VPS or dedicated hosting.

4. No Caching

❌ Problem: Every visitor loads your site from scratch.

✅ Fix:

• Enable browser caching (stores static files locally).
• Use a caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache).

5. Too Many Redirects

❌ Problem: Chains of redirects (e.g., http > https > www) add latency.

✅ Fix:

• Audit redirects with Screaming Frog SEO Spider.
• Eliminate unnecessary hops.

Pro Tip: Test Your NZ Site’s Speed

• Google PageSpeed Insights – Checks performance + suggests fixes.
• GTmetrix – Simulates loading from Auckland/Sydney servers.
• Pingdom – Tracks speed by real-world location.

Need a Faster Website? We Can Help!

At Glu Group, we specialise in high-speed, high-converting websites for NZ businesses. Our team can:

✅ Audit your site for speed bottlenecks.

✅ Optimise images, code, and hosting.

✅ Build lightning-fast custom sites.

📩 Contact us today for a free speed check—let’s turn your sluggish site into a sales machine!