How can I improve the load time of my website on Webflow?

To improve the load time of your Webflow website, you should optimize images, reduce unused assets, and minimize third-party scripts that increase rendering time.

1. Optimize and Compress Images

• Use WebP or compressed JPEG/PNG formats for faster loading.
• Resize images to match their actual display dimensions (e.g., don’t use a 3000px image for a 300px slot).
• Enable lazy loading for images by setting the image element to use loading="lazy" (Webflow does this by default on most images).

2. Limit Use of Large Background Videos or GIFs

• Replace looping GIFs with optimized MP4 videos or Lottie animations.
• Use smaller, compressed background videos and keep them under 2–3 MB when possible.

3. Reduce Fonts and Font Weights

• Only include necessary font families and weights in your project.
• Avoid loading the same font from multiple sources (e.g., Google Fonts and Adobe Fonts).

4. Eliminate Unused Interactions and Components

• Delete unused pages, styles, interactions, CMS items, and symbols.
• This decreases your published site size and speeds up initial page load.

5. Minimize Third-Party Scripts

• Remove or defer non-essential scripts (e.g., chat widgets, analytics trackers).
• Place scripts in the Before tag section in Project Settings > Custom Code to reduce initial render delay.

6. Reduce DOM Complexity and Element Count

• Flatten your site’s structure by using fewer nested wrappers or div blocks.
• Reuse components (symbols, combo classes) instead of duplicating complex layouts.

7. Enable Minify Options in Webflow

• Go to Project Settings > Hosting and enable:
• Minify HTML
• Minify CSS
• Minify JS
• These options reduce file size, improving load speed.

8. Use a Fast-Loading Template and Clean Design

• Pick a lightweight template or rebuild your site with minimal design assets and focus on core functionality.
• Avoid bloated templates that come with unnecessary code or scripts.

9. Leverage Webflow’s Global CDN

• All Webflow projects already use a global CDN, but to maximize this:
• Ensure your site is published and not only previewed.
• Avoid too many custom domain redirects that could slow down load times.

10. Use Google PageSpeed Insights and Webflow Audit Panel

• Use Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse Audit to find performance bottlenecks.
• In the Webflow Designer, click the Audit panel under the Project Settings (Performance tab) for quick in-app tips.

Summary

To improve your Webflow site’s load time, optimize images, minify files, reduce unused assets, and limit third-party scripts. Use Webflow’s built-in performance settings and external tools like Google PageSpeed for further guidance.