Page speed refers to how quickly the content of a web page loads and becomes interactive for a visitor. It is a confirmed Google ranking factor and has a direct impact on user experience, bounce rates, and ultimately new client conversion rates.
For AEC firms, page speed is frequently problematic due to the high-resolution photography central to portfolio presentation. Uncompressed project images are the most common cause of slow load times on architecture and engineering firm websites. Images should be compressed, served in next-generation formats like WebP, and sized appropriately for the viewport in which they will be displayed.
Google's Core Web Vitals are the primary framework for measuring page experience. The three key metrics are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) — how quickly the main content loads; Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) — how much the layout shifts unexpectedly during loading; and Interaction to Next Paint (INP) — responsiveness to user interactions.
Targeting a First Contentful Paint under 1.5 seconds and a full page load under 3 seconds should be the goal for AEC firm websites. Hosting on a CDN, enabling lazy loading for images below the fold, and minimising third-party scripts (chat widgets, analytics) are the most effective ways to improve these scores.