There are 2 major sections of this connection; source and delivery.
We will break down the two aspects of the response time and page load speed; the example for this explanation will be an online order.
The source
For the “source” we can think about this as the server or host that is holding onto the website files and responding to requests.
My example for this would be the guy at the warehouse that gets your order and packages it and sends it out the door.
The Delivery
For the “delivery” we can think about the website request (and page load files) being sent from the hosting server to the gussets local computer.
My example for this would be the delivery guy whose job it is to deliver your package from the warehouse to your home.
Source Options and controlled variables
If we break down the analogy of the “warehouse packer” then we can make some more extrapolations….
The hosting resources:
The RAM is how many packages they can grab all of your items and pack them into the box. (multi-tasking power)
The CPU is how FAST they can get all your items into the box. (Processing speed)
The I/O is how fast they can respond to changes and updates based on all the orders they get. (Database read/write speed)
All of these things can be tuned and upgraded. If you have more than 1 site on your hosting then your “order packer” may have to juggle different orders at the same time. Too many sites running in the same hosting will cause your resources to be divided.
If there’s a lot of bot traffic, even if your resources are effective, your “order packer” could still be overwhelmed by all the fake orders to the warehouse.
If the order has to be assembled ahead of being shipped because it’s a complex order (for our example a complex website build) then there’s a lot to prepare before the order gets sent. Running a lot of plugins; or if your website is significantly complex… it could take a while to build each page and send it down the line.
So depending on the hosting and the site build/configuration, the response time and complexity can vary.
Delivery Options and External variables
Contiinuing with the concept of the shipping and “delivery” concept… we can break apart factors that can impact the response getting from the hosting server to your local device.
Did you order bowling balls or pillow cases? The weight of your shipment will impact how easy it is to get to you.
The more plugins you use, the heavier your page is and the complexity of the design, and the larger your media files are… more and more data needs to be pulled and bundled and packed and sent to you.
Are you using only the plugins you need? Is your web dev running your images through Photoshop and “save for web” to make sure they are optimized for high resolution but low size?
Your internet speed is going to determine how long the last length of the connection will be. If you have slow speeds or live out in a rural area then you’re going to have a slower delivery.
Sometimes there are issues outside of everyone’s control. The internet is a large network of interconnected systems; so if there’s a traffic jam or and even happening in the middle of this long distance delivery then your load time is going to be impacted.
A CDN is a network of satellite servers that keep copies of your site to delivery closer and faster. Kind of like when your online order has different warehouses to ships the order from, the closer the sending location the faster the delivery. Additionally if your site is getting a spike in heavy traffic then your hosting could be overwhelmed with your standard resource allocation. So if you go viral and there’s a massive spike of traffic, the network of satellite servers will load balance and help get your site distributed evenly.
Sometimes… It’s just an issue with delivery in your local area. If the site loads everywhere else then it could be a localized ISP issue. To check this part of the journey we can run a “trace route” from the site to your local device and log the ‘hops’ between relay points. If there’s an extended delay then you’d reach out to your ISP instead of the hosting company.
If you want less bad traffic and bots… Get a firewall to sort and filter what talks to your hosting.
If you want better distribution of files globally… get a CDN so copies of your site are stored on remote or satellite servers.
If you want your pages to be packaged and sent faster… manage your caching so your pages are pre-built and ready to get out the door.
If you check your page speed scores and the issue is large media… optimize your content so the send and delivery are smaller and lighter loads.
If your hosting is running out of resources and you’ve checked everything else and this all seems to be legitimate traffic and you have robust content management plan in place… then you need to upgrade your hosting tier for additional resources.
We can only upgrade the resources so much, we can only improve responsiveness and reaction speeds so much…. If your site is poorly built or is not optimized and has heavy media assets… that’s on your website developer.
Run 3rd party tests, do your own research, check and make sure the people you pay are doing their job; ad if you aren’t paying anyone then it’s your job or you expect too much from others. There is no easy mode other than paying for a premium product or for someone else’s time.
If you’d like to do a complete review of your website & page load speed, this article has a macro approach to auditing your website.