Is your website too slow on phones? A big-agency site scored 29 out of 100
I ran Google's own speed test on a well-known Des Moines restaurant's website and on one I built. The difference is the kind of thing that quietly costs a business customers every day.
By Ted Gaunt, Easy Biz Tech, Altoona, Iowa. October 5, 2026.
The short answer
A website that takes four or five seconds to show up on a phone is losing people. They tap back and pick the next business on the list. Most owners never find out, because a visitor who leaves doesn't call to complain.
Price doesn't protect you from this. The slow site in this test was built by a local agency, the kind that typically charges $8,000 to $20,000 for a site like it. It looks great on a big office monitor. On a phone, it's a different story.
The test: same day, same tool
I used Lighthouse, the free tool Google uses behind its PageSpeed scores. Scores run from 0 to 100. Google calls 90 and up good, and anything under 50 poor.
Agency-built restaurant site
- 29 speed score on a phone
- 62 speed score on a computer
- About 4 seconds before the page even starts arriving
- 5.3 seconds until the main picture shows on a phone
- 39 separate scripts loading
Site built by Easy Biz Tech
- 90 speed score on a phone
- 100 speed score on a computer
- About a quarter second before the page starts arriving
- 100 for SEO and 100 for accessibility
- 5 scripts loading
The restaurant's site did a lot of things right. It has the search basics a good agency should include. The problem isn't effort, it's weight. Every visit makes the phone download and run a pile of code before anyone sees the menu.
Why phone speed matters so much for a local business
- Your customers are on phones. Someone deciding where to eat, who to call for a repair, or which church to visit is usually standing somewhere with a phone in their hand.
- Google notices. Google measures how fast pages load for real visitors and uses it when it decides who shows up first.
- AI search notices too. Tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI answers read websites to decide which businesses to recommend. A clean, fast, well-labeled site is easier for them to read and repeat.
- Slow sites leak money quietly. You can't see the people who gave up, so it never shows up as a problem. It just shows up as a slow month.
What actually makes a site fast
You don't need to know the technical side. Here's the plain version of what I look for on every site I build:
- Pages that are ready before anyone asks. The page shouldn't be put together from scratch every time someone visits.
- Served close to the visitor. A copy of the site should be sitting near whoever opens it, not only on one server in one place.
- Only what the page needs. No piles of add-ons, sliders, and extra code just because a template came with them.
- Photos sized for phones. A big, beautiful photo can be small in file size if it's prepared right.
- Search and AI labels built in. The behind-the-scenes labels that tell Google and AI tools who you are, where you are, and what you do.
Do those five things and a small business website can match or beat sites that cost ten times as much. Bonus: there's far less to break, hack, or keep updating.
Check your own site in two minutes
- Go to pagespeed.web.dev.
- Type in your website address and press Analyze.
- Look at the Mobile number first. That's the one your customers feel.
Under 50 means you're probably losing people. 50 to 89 means there's room to improve. 90 and up, you're in good shape.
Rather not mess with it? Text me your web address and I'll run it and tell you in plain English what's slowing it down. No charge, no pitch you didn't ask for.
Website speed questions
How do I check my website's speed on a phone?
Go to pagespeed.web.dev, type in your web address, and look at the Mobile score. Under 50 is a problem, 50 to 89 needs work, 90 and up is good. Or text me at 515-420-0880 and I'll run it for you.
Does website speed affect Google rankings?
Yes. Google measures how fast pages load on real phones and uses it as part of how it ranks sites. A slow site also loses visitors before they ever see your phone number.
Does an expensive website mean a fast website?
No. Price mostly reflects the agency's overhead and design hours. In this test, a site that likely cost five figures scored 29 for phone speed, while a small-business site I built scored 90.
Can a slow website be fixed without starting over?
Sometimes. Settings, image sizes, and extra add-ons can often be trimmed. When the site sits on a heavy foundation, a rebuild is usually faster and cheaper over time than patching it. See websites and care plans.
Want to know your score?
Text me your web address. I'll run the same test and tell you what I find, in plain English.
Or call or text 515-420-0880