Verdicts
Whose problem is your slow website?
Almost every site scan ends in one of ten conclusions. Each one below names the owner of the problem, the first thing to do, what happens if you do nothing, and the point at which further work stops paying for itself.
Quick answer
Is a slow website a server-side problem or a front-end problem?
It is server-side when server response time is the largest measured cause — the browser cannot render anything before the first byte arrives, so front-end work cannot help. The cause may be hosting, caching, the application layer or the database. It is front-end when the delay happens after the HTML has been delivered: JavaScript execution, render-blocking CSS, fonts or oversized images. The scan decides which by ranking causes by measured saving, not by counting findings.
- Hosting problem
- Server response time above 600 ms
- Code problem
- Total Blocking Time above 600 ms
- Asset problem
- Images dominating total page weight
- Finished
- Performance 90+ with passing Core Web Vitals
What to do next: Open the verdict that matches your dominant cause and start with its first action.
The ten verdicts
- Hosting or backendYour server is the bottleneckThis is a server-side bottleneck, not a front-end one. The cause may sit in hosting, caching, the application layer or the database — but it is set before the first byte of HTML is sent, so compressing images or splitting JavaScript bundles cannot move it.Read the verdict
- Front-end developmentJavaScript is your bottleneckThis is a code problem, and it belongs to whoever builds the front end. Your host cannot fix it, and a faster server will not change it.Read the verdict
- Content or designImages are your bottleneckThis is a content and asset problem more often than an engineering problem. In most cases the fix is uploading different files, not writing different code.Read the verdict
- Front-end developmentCSS is blocking your renderingThis is a front-end delivery problem. It is not caused by hosting, and it is not caused by the amount of content on the page.Read the verdict
- Front-end developmentWeb fonts are delaying your pageThis is a front-end and design decision, jointly. The technical fix takes minutes; agreeing that text may briefly appear in a fallback font is the part that takes longer.Read the verdict
- Marketing or analyticsThird-party scripts dominate your pageThis is a marketing and analytics decision before it is an engineering task. Developers can defer these tags, but only the owner of the tag can decide whether it stays.Read the verdict
- No one — this is finishedYour site is already fast enoughNobody owns this. The correct action is to stop, and to move the time into content, offers and conversion instead.Read the verdict
- No one — this is finishedThere is nothing measurable left to fixNo one owns this list. Findings without an estimated saving cannot be prioritised, because there is nothing to prioritise them by.Read the verdict
- Front-end developmentYour site is slow on mobile onlyThis is a front-end problem, and it is invisible from a developer's laptop. It will keep being reported by users and denied internally until someone tests on a mid-range phone.Read the verdict
- Front-end developmentYour site is slow on desktop onlyThis is a front-end and design problem. The desktop breakpoint is quietly shipping content that the mobile breakpoint hides or skips.Read the verdict
Find your own verdict
A scan takes about 30 seconds and names your dominant cause, its owner and the first action — no signup.
Scan your site