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How To Speed Up A Squarespace Site
Before Starting, Check Your Existing Site Loading Time
It's necessary to test the speed of Squarespace sites.
You can do this for two reasons.
First, speed checking tools give you a precise loading time for your site down to the millisecond and highlight very specific areas where you can make improvements.
It is possible to find that the script that you are using takes a long time to load or that the images on your website are too large.
A speed check tool is a great way to get an idea of what your website's speed will be before you make any improvements. This will allow you to see how well your efforts are performing and where improvements can be made.
You might feel tempted to make a Google Page. Squarespace recommends that users do not use Speed Insights to accomplish this job.
"Google's Page. Speed Insights is a tool for developers who code their sites from scratch and can return false negatives for Squarespace sites which are built on a custom CMS." Squarespace's support team I'm a bit skeptical of this to be honest Google uses the technology behind Page. The ranking algorithm uses Speed Insights, and any user can use the score generated by it.
1. Squarespace 7.1, not 7.0
Squarespace is generally faster than Squarespace, 7.0.
Squarespace is making technical improvements to Squarespace 7.1 in order to make Squarespace websites more responsive to Google Core Web Vitals standards. This has been confirmed by Squarespace via the 'Circle’ forum for designers.
Squarespace 7.1 Template, 'Devoe. The current platform is in an improvement phase.
You might want to switch to version 7.1 if you own a Squarespace website that is smaller and need it faster. it definitely makes sense to switch to version 7.1 of Squarespace You can tell which version of Squarespace your site uses by going to the 'Help' section of the Squarespace dashboard. These details will appear under the main help options.
7. Consider Using Amp On Your Squarespace Blog Posts
Squarespace's Accelerated Mobile Web Pages (AMP) can dramatically improve the speed of your Squarespace blog posts.
If enabled, it displays very fast-loading versions your posts on mobile devices – provided they can be accessed via Google search result. You can read more about AMP by clicking here. It basically removes non-essential codes from a webpage and uses smart caching to quickly load the pages.
Squarespace AMP On/Off can be done by clicking Settings > Blogging.
Note however that AMP format disables quite a few standard Squarespace blocks , including code blocks and form blocks, so this one won't be for everyone (particularly site owners that use code blocks to embed adverts on their posts).
It's worth taking the time to review Squarespace Support Material on AMP before you switch it on.
9. Reduce Your Dns Lookup Time By Using A Faster Provider
NOTICE: If this step is not followed correctly it can lead to problems. Proceed with caution or involve somebody with the relevant technical skills to help you.
You can speed up Squarespace by reducing your DNS (Domain Name System), lookup time.
For a technical explanation of DNS lookup time, I'd suggest reading this excellent Cloudflare resource on DNS , but the layman's explanation is this: it's basically how long it takes your browser to find out where on the web your domain is located.
DNS looksups must be done before your site can load. This is why you need it to take as few seconds as possible.
It's true that some domain-name providers such as Godaddy may not offer the fastest DNS lookup times. The chart below from DNSPerf.com illustrates this. You might want to transfer your domain to one offering quicker DNS times or change your nameservers.
Cloudflare was used to transfer domains for Squarespace. The DNS lookup times were significantly reduced. To learn how this can be done, visit the Cloudflare Section on Squarespace support website Cloudflare. Scroll down until the section titled "Miscellaneous Vendors" and click on Squarespace.
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Squarespace Site Speed – How Quick is It Right Now
We must first know where to start before we move on to the tip and trick.
It's necessary to check the speed of Squarespace's site before you can determine its loading time.
Why? You have 2 great reasons.
#1. Benchmark Score. This is how you will know the speed of your site NOW. A starting point will make it difficult to return to. What are you putting down?
#2. Specifications & details: Speed-checking tools give specific loading times, down to the milisecond. They also provide detailed reports that show you what slows down your site. You can use this detailed report to help determine the best areas for improvement.
You can speed check your computer with these tools:
Many tools can be found online that you don't have to pay for.
GTMetrix offers visuals to help prioritize speed concerns and provides useful visuals.
This video tutorial will show you how to use GTMetrix. Important Note*** Even though these tools are amazing, it's still just a benchmarking tool. Some of these suggestions can seem overwhelming or technical. The tool will most likely offer suggestions about things you could change. It's okay, it will let you know what is possible so that Squarespace can be faster without you having to do anything!
Now that we have a starting point, let us get on to the fun stuff.
#2 Enable The Ssl Certificate
Want a quick speed win? Squarespace gives you a free SSL. You might find it a bit technical, but it's really easy.
Login to your Squarespace Dashboard, click on Settings >> Advanced >> SSL.
Next, you will want to ensure that Secure (Preferred), along with HSTS Secure are checked.
What does it do for your site's speed? You can now have your website delivered via the HTTP/2 protocol faster with the SSL.
#5. Be Smart With Custom Code
Squarespace lets you add your custom code to any website. It is a wonderful way to modify your Squarespace template.
Custom code such as third-party code embed, code injections or custom CSS can be added to your website. For example, Addthis for social media sharing and Sumo for tracking code for advertising online.
But the key to this is to be smart about it.
When you are adding code to your site, remember your priorities. When your site loads slowly due to too many code lines, visitors won't stay long enough reading your content or sharing it with their friends on social media. Get what I'm sayin'?
But that doesn't mean you shouldn't use custom code. Actually, customization is something that I really like. If your website is slowing down I suggest you audit the scripts that you are currently using, and get rid of any that don't add value.
The less third-party scripts & custom code on your Squarespace site, the better for website speed.
How Do I Speed Up My Squarespace Website?
- You should check how long it takes to load your site.
- Squarespace 7.1 may be a better option than 7.0.
- Secure your data with SSL
- Reduce your image sizes.
- Be as brief as possible with scripts.
- Use web fonts to make your website stand out.
- You can use the custom thumbnail option to embed any video.
Why is Squarespace loading slowly on my site?
The custom code you use, including third-party embed and code injections as well as CSS, can slow down your website's loading speed. If you are having trouble with load times, take out all the custom code and save it to a text document. Then, refresh your page.
Squarespace Sites: Are They Slow?
Why are Squarespace page speeds so slow? Squarespace pages take longer time to load than WordPress sites because Squarespace has more complex content management capabilities that makes them easier to create.
How Can I Speed Up A Specific Website?
- Allow compression.
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, HTML.
- You can reduce redirects
- Remove render-blocking JavaScript.
- Utilize browser caching.
- Reduce response time of servers
- Use a content distribution network.
- Optimize images