Does Your Website Make the Grade in 2021?
As a marketing expert who has studied thousands of websites over the years, I can confidently say that your website grade matters immensely to your online success. Your website is often the first interaction potential customers have with your business. Just like a storefront or product packaging, it immediately shapes perceptions of your brand.
An optimized website that loads lightning fast, is easy to navigate, looks great on mobile, and has relevant, engaging content fuels growth. It attracts more qualified traffic from organic search, converts more leads, and ultimately drives more revenue.
On the flip side, a poorly optimized website hampers your marketing and sales. If your site is slow, hard to use, isn‘t mobile-friendly, has thin content or poor design, you‘re losing customers and revenue with each passing second.
But many businesses struggle to assess their website performance and know where to focus their efforts. That‘s where website grading comes in. We developed the HubSpot Website Grader way back in 2008 to solve this problem.
The goal was simple: provide a free, easy way for anyone to instantly check their website‘s health and get a personalized report on how to improve. We‘ve compiled a huge dataset on website performance in the process.
Recently, I dug into this data to identify trends and derive insights. I compared key website benchmarks from 2015 to 2021 to see what‘s changed. The results were fascinating and underscore the importance of continuous website optimization.
Website Performance Data (2015 vs 2021)
First, let‘s look at how key website benchmarks have shifted from 2015 to 2021 across the 1M+ websites graded.
| Benchmark | 2015 Avg | 2021 Avg | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Performance | 75% | 57% | -23.3% |
| Mobile | 20% | 22% | +8.7% |
| SEO | 49% | 74% | +51.9% |
| Security | 10% | 63% | +530% |
Performance Grades Are Dropping
The biggest surprise was that average website performance has decreased by 23% in this timeframe. This factors in page load speed, page size, HTTP requests, and other key indicators.
You‘d think that with all the advancements in website technology and focus on Core Web Vitals, performance would be improving. However, the opposite seems to be true.
The likely culprit? Websites are more content-rich and interactive than ever. While this provides a better user experience, it can come at the cost of performance if not implemented correctly.
The median website in 2021 takes 4.7 seconds to load according to WebsiteBuilderExpert. Best-in-class websites load in under 2 seconds while the slowest sites take over 11 seconds.
This has major ramifications because page load speed impacts everything from bounce rates to conversions to SEO. A 1 second delay can lead to a 7% reduction in conversions. 53% of mobile site visits are abandoned if pages take over 3 seconds to load per Google research.
Key Takeaway: Performance optimization needs to be a bigger priority. Leverage tactics like image compression, code minification, browser caching, and content distribution networks to speed up load times. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights to assess Core Web Vitals.
Mobile Friendliness Shows Modest Gains
How a website displays and functions on mobile devices is another critical factor. With over 50% of web traffic coming through mobile, a poor mobile experience is unacceptable.
Average mobile friendliness has improved by 8.7% from 2015 to 2021. The standards for mobile experiences have gotten higher so this is a positive trend. However, the average score of 22/30 shows lots of room for growth.
Common mobile issues include poor formatting, difficult navigation, small text, and non-mobile responsive designs.
Google has shifted to mobile-first indexing, meaning they use the mobile version of websites for ranking. Plus, over 50% of B2B inquiries are made on mobile. Delivering a great mobile experience is essential.
Key Takeaway: Prioritize mobile-first design and development. Make sure your website is fully responsive and adjust elements like menus, CTAs and forms for mobile. Tools like Google‘s Mobile Friendliness Test can identify areas for improvement.
SEO Sees Biggest Improvement
It‘s encouraging to see that average website SEO scores have increased by over 50% in this timeframe. Businesses are clearly prioritizing search engine optimization, and it‘s paying off.
The average SEO score is 74%, the highest of the core benchmarks measured. On-page elements like meta descriptions, header tags, and content optimization have become table stakes.
Of course, this creates a more competitive SEO landscape overall. Ranking for target keywords is becoming harder as more companies vie for top spots. Tactics like building high-quality backlinks, optimizing for user intent, and leveraging structured data are increasingly important.
Key Takeaway: On-page SEO is just the foundation. A comprehensive, modern SEO strategy encompassing content, link building, technical SEO, and local SEO is a must. Tools like Moz and Ahrefs can provide additional guidance.
Security Jumps Over 500%
Cybersecurity threats have grown exponentially so it‘s good to see such a massive increase in average website security grades. The jump from 10% to 63% is significant as more websites adopt baseline security measures like SSL certificates.
However, with an average score of 6.3/10 in 2021, many websites have ample room for improvement. A single security vulnerability can be devastating in terms of data breaches, SEO penalties, and loss of customer trust.
Website security standards continue to evolve. Google now factors in elements like Safe Browsing status and HTTPS encryption. Proactive monitoring, patching, and ongoing hardening are essential.
Key Takeaway: Implement security fundamentals like SSL certificates, malware scanning, and web application firewalls. Consider penetration testing services to uncover hidden vulnerabilities. Use tools like Security Headers to assess key risk factors.
How Top Performing Websites Earn High Grades
With the average website grade hovering around 69% (D+) there are clearly many areas for most businesses to improve. Let‘s examine some real-world websites with stellar grades to see what we can learn.
Airbnb – Website Grader Score: 97/100
Airbnb is the gold standard when it comes to website user experience and performance. Despite a highly visual, feature-rich site, it loads incredibly fast thanks to tactics like lazy loading, caching, image optimization, and a lightning quick server response.
The site adapts perfectly for mobile visitors with an intuitive interface. SEO is also a strength with targeted, well-structured content. Airbnb sets the bar for balancing an engaging, content-rich site with best-in-class performance.
Zillow – Website Grader Score: 95/100
Zillow is another example of a complex, feature-packed website that still performs exceptionally well from a technical standpoint. The site uses techniques like prefetching, code minification, and a CDN to deliver snappy load times.
On-page SEO elements like titles, meta descriptions, and header tags are optimized while the site architecture lends itself to clear keyword-based indexing. A fully responsive mobile design and secure HTTPS also contribute to the high grade.
Dropbox – Website Grader Score: 94/100
Simplicity in design and functionality help Dropbox excel. The streamlined homepage avoids needless animations or large media files that could hamper performance.
Clear CTAs, logical navigation and a responsive mobile layout make it painless for visitors to get to key pages and convert. The site also features comprehensive on-page SEO and canonical tags to avoid duplicate content issues.
Wrap Up
Comparing website performance from 2015 to 2021, it‘s clear that continuous optimization is more critical than ever. Performance and security in particular need to be higher priorities for the average business.
I recommend grading your website annually at minimum to gauge progress and get a clear optimization roadmap. You can get a free instant grade and personalized recommendations now using HubSpot‘s Website Grader.
We‘ve also launched a free Website Optimization Course packed with actionable techniques to improve your grade and get more traffic, leads and revenue from your site.
Remember, your website is one of your most valuable marketing assets. Treat it like one. A high website grade is well within reach if you consistently measure and optimize.
