Webhosting performance matters for Google

Web server speed plays an important role in how a website performs in Google.

What is a web server?

Simply put, it is a computer connected to the internet that stores a website so visitors can view it.

A server can host one or several websites. Large websites may use multiple servers. When a visitor requests a page, the server retrieves it and sends it back.

The server also stores images and downloads. Each image creates another request: “Send me this image.” A page with five images therefore makes six requests in this simplified example: one for the page and five for the images.

About twenty requests per page is normal for a small website, while a larger one might make a hundred. A small site visited ten times a minute therefore handles about two hundred requests a minute. Ten such websites on one server create about two thousand requests a minute.

Why use a faster server?

A faster server handles more requests per second. If a request cannot be handled immediately, it may be delayed by a second, making the website slower overall. Improving the visitor’s experience is the main reason to use a faster server.

Why is Google often mentioned? Search engines assess aspects of user experience, including website speed. Server performance partly determines that speed, so faster hosting is one component that can support search performance.

Google announced a desktop page experience rollout beginning in February 2022. Read Google’s announcement.

If you think your website is particularly slow, contact us so we can investigate whether hosting is responsible.