The speed of a website is influenced by a range of technical and content-related factors. These factors can be grouped into several categories:

1. Server and infrastructure performance:
Server Capacity:
A website’s speed depends on the performance of the servers provided by the hosting company. Insufficient resources like CPU and RAM can affect response time. Using outdated storage devices is also a problem; therefore, choose hosting plans that include SSDs. All hosting packages offered by IPHost are SSD-based.

Type of Hosting:
Solutions such as dedicated servers, VPS, or VDS are faster than shared hosting.

Server Location:
The farther the server is from the user, the longer the loading time.

Use of CDN (Content Delivery Network):
A CDN distributes content across multiple servers worldwide, reducing load on a single server and mitigating location-related delays.

2. Website resource optimization:
This category of factors depends not on the hosting company but on the web application developer. Depending on how optimized the code is and how much space the website needs, it will consume more or fewer virtual or physical resources for proper functioning.

Image or media file size:
Large, unoptimized, or uncompressed images can significantly increase loading times and take up excessive storage. A good solution is to use modern formats like WebP or AVIF. Also, compress images using tools like TinyPNG, ImageOptim, or automatic optimization plugins. Resizing images to the exact dimensions needed on the page is also helpful.

Code files:
Unoptimized or unreduced code can slow down page loading.

Caching:
The lack of an efficient caching system may lead to full reloading of resources on each visit. For WordPress websites, a solution could be WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache.

3. Website design and structure:
Design Complexity:
This is a similar factor, handled by the developer, but from the perspective of website structure and design. Pages with many animations, dynamic elements, or complex effects may have longer loading times, especially depending on how they’re implemented. Some implementation methods require more resources than others, even if they offer the same visual result.

Number of redirects:
Redirects are essential in managing web traffic and refer to processes in which users are automatically sent from one URL to another. There are several types of redirects, but the most common are:

• 301 Redirect (Permanent): Indicates that a page or site has been permanently moved to another URL.
• 302 Redirect (Temporary): Indicates that the move is temporary and users should return to the original address later.

Each redirect adds an extra step in the loading process. The browser must request the original page, receive the redirect response, and then request the final URL.

Redirect chains (e.g., URL1 → URL2 → URL3) can increase loading time, especially on slow connections. Poorly optimized redirects can also prevent proper browser caching and negatively impact SEO rankings.

Responsive Design:
Every web application should be developed to fit all device sizes – computers and mobile phones, which can vary significantly. If a web app is not properly adapted and optimized for mobile devices, the website's loading speed can increase significantly.

4. User connection quality:
Users with slower internet connections will experience slower application load speeds. The issue may not lie only in the internet connection but also in the browser and device used to browse, as different devices and browsers can have varying performance when rendering website content.

5. Additional optimizations:
Lazy Loading:
Lazy Loading is an efficient method for optimizing websites. This technique delays the loading of resources (images, videos, etc.) until they enter the user's viewport. Instead of loading all content at once, elements are loaded progressively, which reduces initial page load time.

GZIP Compression:
GZIP compression reduces the size of website files transferred from the server to the browser, allowing faster data transmission and lower load times. GZIP compresses text files on the server, sends them compressed, and the browser automatically decompresses them for display.

CSS and JavaScript file optimization:
For faster load times, optimizing CSS and JS files is recommended, using tools like Terser, UglifyJS (for JavaScript), CSSNano (for CSS), or other alternatives.

Terser and UglifyJS remove whitespace, comments, and unnecessary characters, reduce file sizes, rename variables and functions, and eliminate redundant code.

CSSNano works similarly for CSS, merging rules, removing unused or default properties, and simplifying styles.

Optimized code consumes less bandwidth – a major advantage for users on slower connections. Additionally, smaller files are transferred faster, leading to quicker page loads and a better user experience.