The reality: Speed kills conversions
Every second counts. Google research shows that as page load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds, the probability of a visitor bouncing increases by 32%. From 1 to 5 seconds? 90% more likely to leave.
For a NZ tradie getting 100 quote requests per month from their website, a 2-second delay could mean losing 30+ potential jobs. That's real revenue walking away because your website took too long to load.
Speed vs. Bounce Rate (Google Data)
- 1-3 seconds: Bounce rate increases 32%
- 1-5 seconds: Bounce rate increases 90%
- 1-6 seconds: Bounce rate increases 106%
- 1-10 seconds: Bounce rate increases 123%
Why NZ websites are slow
Most slow websites in New Zealand share the same handful of problems. Here's what we see constantly:
1. WordPress with too many plugins
The average WordPress site we audit has 20-40 plugins installed. Each plugin adds weight, database queries, and potential conflicts. Many NZ businesses install plugins for simple features that could be coded directly.
Common culprits: Page builders (Elementor, Divi), slider plugins, contact form plugins, SEO plugins, caching plugins, security plugins, social sharing plugins.
2. Unoptimised images
We regularly see NZ business websites serving 5MB+ images straight from a phone camera. A cafe uploads a 4000x3000px photo of a flat white when 800x600px would look identical on screen.
The fix: Images should be compressed, properly sized, and served in modern formats (WebP). A 5MB image can become 150KB with zero visible quality loss.
3. Offshore hosting on cheap shared servers
Hosting your NZ business website on servers in the US or UK adds 200-400ms of latency before a single byte is sent. That's half a second wasted before anything starts loading.
What matters: Server location, server quality, and proper caching. A $5/month shared hosting account in Arizona will always be slow for NZ visitors.
4. Render-blocking resources
Many NZ websites load 10+ CSS files and 15+ JavaScript files in the header, blocking the page from rendering until everything downloads. The browser sits there waiting when it could be showing content.
Technical debt: Old themes, unused styles, multiple font files, analytics scripts loaded synchronously.
5. No caching strategy
Every visitor triggers database queries, PHP execution, and HTML generation—even when the content hasn't changed in months. It's like rebuilding your website from scratch for every single person who visits.
The waste: Servers doing unnecessary work, databases getting hammered, pages taking 2-3 seconds when they should be instant.
How to test your website speed
Before fixing anything, measure what you're working with. Here are the tools we use:
Google PageSpeed Insights
Free tool that tests your site on mobile and desktop, gives a performance score (0-100), and lists specific issues to fix.
What to look for: Aim for 90+ on mobile. Anything below 50 is costing you customers.
GTmetrix
More detailed analysis with waterfall charts showing exactly what's loading and when. Lets you test from different locations (including Sydney, closest to NZ).
What to look for: Total page size under 2MB, load time under 2 seconds, number of requests under 50.
WebPageTest
Advanced testing with video playback showing how your page loads frame-by-frame. Can test from multiple NZ and Australian locations.
What to look for: Time to first byte (TTFB) under 600ms, first contentful paint under 1.8s.
Test from NZ: Many tools default to US servers. Make sure you're testing from Sydney or Auckland to get realistic results for your NZ customers.
Practical fixes (from easiest to hardest)
Easy: Compress your images
Time required: 30 minutes one-time + 2 minutes per new image
Use free tools like TinyPNG or Squoosh to compress images before uploading. Aim for 100-200KB per image max. Convert to WebP format if your platform supports it.
Expected impact: 30-50% faster page loads, especially on mobile.
Easy: Enable caching
Time required: 15 minutes (if on WordPress)
Install a caching plugin (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, or WP Super Cache for WordPress). Configure it to cache pages and enable browser caching. Your server will thank you.
Expected impact: 40-60% faster for repeat visitors, reduced server load.
Medium: Audit and remove plugins
Time required: 1-2 hours
Disable plugins one by one and test your site. If nothing breaks, you didn't need it. Replace heavy plugins with lightweight alternatives. Aim for under 15 active plugins.
Expected impact: 20-40% faster, fewer conflicts, easier maintenance.
Medium: Use a CDN
Time required: 1 hour setup
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) serves your images and assets from servers close to your visitors. Cloudflare offers a free tier that works well for most NZ businesses.
Expected impact: 30-50% faster for first-time visitors, better global performance.
Hard: Switch to JAMstack
Time required: Website rebuild (1-2 weeks)
JAMstack sites (like we build with Astro) are pre-rendered and served as static files. No database queries, no server-side rendering, just instant HTML. This is the most effective fix but requires rebuilding your site.
Expected impact: 70-90% faster, near-perfect PageSpeed scores, zero server load.
What fast looks like (real numbers)
Here's what you should be aiming for in 2025:
PageSpeed score (mobile): 90+
First Contentful Paint: Under 1.8s
Largest Contentful Paint: Under 2.5s
Total page size: Under 2MB
Number of requests: Under 50
Our JAMstack sites typically score 95-100 on PageSpeed with sub-1-second load times. That's not luck—it's architecture.
When to rebuild vs. optimise
Sometimes fixing a slow website costs more than rebuilding it properly. Here's our honest assessment:
Worth optimising if:
- ✓ Site is less than 2 years old
- ✓ You're on decent hosting
- ✓ PageSpeed score is 50-70
- ✓ You control the codebase
- ✓ Images are the main issue
Consider rebuilding if:
- ✓ Site is 3+ years old
- ✓ PageSpeed score under 30
- ✓ WordPress with 30+ plugins
- ✓ Custom theme, hard to modify
- ✓ Cheap offshore hosting
We rebuild sites for $699-$2,499 depending on complexity. Often cheaper and faster than trying to fix architectural problems in an old WordPress install.
Next steps
Start by testing your current site with PageSpeed Insights. If you're scoring below 50 on mobile, you're losing customers right now.
Try the easy fixes first (compress images, enable caching). If that doesn't get you to 80+, it might be time to talk about a proper rebuild.