All websites created with Hostinger Website Builder are optimized by default:
All website assets — images, videos, and other files — are automatically served via the Cloudflare content delivery network. What is CDN?
The builder automatically optimizes all the visuals you upload to your website, except for GIFs
That’s what you can do additionally:
Limit the use of GIFs, as the builder isn’t capable of optimizing them for you; therefore, GIFs can slow down your page
Limit the use of integrations and leave only the most necessary ones; any additional piece of code that’s added to your website needs to be loaded, and it naturally takes some time
How to Check the Page Speed
It's recommended to use PageSpeed Insights – this tool is developed by Google and is one of the most trustworthy sources. Insert the URL of your page and click on Analyze:
Here, you can check both mobile and desktop versions.
It is completely normal for the mobile version to be slower compared to the desktop version due to the following reasons:
Mobile devices have slower processors
PageSpeed Insights stimulates the cell network at a slower speed
Mobile devices have specific CSS rules (e.g., for resizing images)
Other similar tools that measure web vitals usually use Lighthouse in the background. The use of Lighthouse may be a bit complicated and not entirely trustworthy because it shows results depending on the particular user's location. For instance, if the internet connection is excellent in your area, you will get better results than average.
The Most Common Metrics
There are many metrics available in page speed tools, but the ones listed below are the most common 👇
Initial Server Response Time
Initial Server Response Time
Initial Server Response Time is the time the browser takes to receive the first byte in response to the browser request. The ideal response time should be between 30 and 100 ms:
When this metric is low, it automatically reduces other metrics, e.g., LCP (Largest Contentful Paint). Note that you may get poorer results because, while checking your website performance, your website is not cached on the page speed tool. It means that your site is always tested like it’s being accessed for the first time ever. The page will actually load slightly faster for real users.
Unused JavaScript
Unused JavaScript
Unused JavaScript code may either be not required anymore (but present) while loading the page or may contain remnants imported from other modules that aren't referenced anymore. It is usually caused by third-party integrations that are added to a website:
Properly Sized Images
Properly Sized Images
All image files you upload to the website builder are optimized automatically. However, there are some exceptions:
Visuals added using the Embed code element
Visuals that come from the Instagram element
GIFs
Learn more: Properly Sized Images
Critical Request Chains
Critical Request Chains
Critical Request Chains are sequences of requests that depend on each other and are essential for page rendering. Long critical request chains can drastically slow down a page. However, websites made with Hostinger Website Builder do not have critical request chains – this could only occur due to third-party tools or integrations, the removal of which would definitely improve the page loading speed:
Content Delivery Network
Content Delivery Network
It is always suggested to use a CDN. For this reason, the assets of sites created with our website builder are, by default, served via Cloudflare, so if you receive such a suggestion, the issue is related to third-party party tools or integrations on your page. You may check what specific component causes the problem and remove it from your site:
Excessive DOM Size
Excessive DOM Size
Excessive DOM Size is generally caused by image gallery elements, especially if there are many images added – there are simply a lot of images to render:
