We Analyzed 1,000 Agency Websites: Here’s What Fast Ones Do Differently

Why the speed of agency websites matters

Agency websites are portfolios with a sales goal, so a slow one undermines the pitch before the first meeting. A prospect in Riyadh who waits four seconds for a homepage to load on a phone will reasonably ask what the agency would build for them.

Core Web Vitals are Google’s three field metrics for page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness) and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). A page passes when at least 75% of real visits meet the good thresholds: LCP at or under 2.5 seconds, INP at or under 200 milliseconds and CLS at or under 0.1.

This article sets out how we structure a large audit of agency sites, what the published public datasets already show, and the patterns that consistently separate fast sites from slow ones in the audits we run for agencies and for clients choosing one.

Methodology: how to analyse 1,000 agency websites

A credible analysis of agency websites needs a defined sample, field data from real users, repeatable lab tests and a consistent way to classify causes. Here is the method we use, so you can reproduce it on your own shortlist.

Step 1: build the sample

We build lists from agency directories, award sites and search results for queries such as “web design agency” plus a city name, across the UK, USA and the Gulf, including Riyadh, Jeddah and Dubai. We de-duplicate, remove parked domains and redirects, and keep only homepages that return HTTP 200. Each site is tagged by region, size band and CMS.

Step 2: pull field data first

Field data comes from the Chrome UX Report, which aggregates anonymised real-user measurements for origins with enough traffic. Many small agency sites do not have enough traffic to appear, which is itself useful information. Where CrUX data exists, we record the 75th-percentile LCP, INP and CLS on mobile.

Step 3: run controlled lab tests

Every homepage is also tested three times in Lighthouse with mobile throttling, and we keep the median run. Lab tests explain why a page is slow: request counts, JavaScript weight, image bytes, font files, render-blocking resources and time to first byte. You can run the same test for a single URL in PageSpeed Insights.

Step 4: classify the causes

Numbers alone do not help an agency improve. We tag each slow page with its main cause: hero media, third-party scripts, JavaScript framework weight, fonts, server response or layout shift from late-loading elements. That tagging is where the useful patterns appear.

What fast agency websites do differently

Fast agency websites are not built on one magic platform; they follow the same seven habits regardless of CMS. Each habit below includes the typical range observed in our audits for fast sites versus slow ones.

1. They choose a still hero over autoplay video

Showreel videos at the top of the homepage are common in creative agencies and are the largest single LCP penalty we see. Fast sites use a compressed still image or a short poster frame, then offer the reel behind a play button. Typical hero payload on fast sites: 80–250 KB. On slow sites: 2–15 MB.

2. They ration third-party scripts

Chat widgets, heatmaps, multiple analytics tags, cookie banners, pixel stacks and review badges pile up quickly. Fast sites in our audits typically load two to five third-party scripts on first view; slow ones commonly load 12–30. Heavy scripts are the leading cause of poor INP, as the web.dev guide to INP explains.

3. They keep JavaScript lean

Heavy page builders and animation libraries often ship 800 KB to 2 MB of JavaScript to render a mostly static page. Fast sites usually stay under 200 KB compressed, either through a static-first framework or a lightweight WordPress theme with only the plugins they need.

4. They load fonts deliberately

Fast sites load two to four font files, self-host them, preload the one used above the fold and use font-display swap. Bilingual Gulf agencies face an extra challenge: Arabic fonts are larger, so subsetting to the characters actually used can save 100–300 KB.

5. They respond from the edge

Time to first byte on fast sites is usually 200–600 ms on mobile, because HTML is cached on a CDN close to the visitor. Slow sites often generate each page on an overloaded shared server in another continent, adding one to two seconds before anything renders. For Saudi audiences, choose a CDN with edge locations in the Gulf.

6. They reserve space for everything

Layout shift on agency sites usually comes from cookie banners, late-loading logos in client carousels and images without dimensions. Fast sites set width and height on every image and reserve banner space, keeping CLS under 0.05. The CLS guide on web.dev covers the common causes.

7. They set a performance budget

The fastest agencies we audit treat speed as a rule, not a project. They set limits such as 1 MB total page weight, 200 KB of JavaScript and five third parties, and check every release against them.

Key benefits of fast agency websites

Fast agency websites win more enquiries, rank more consistently and cost less to run. The benefits compound because every service page and case study inherits the same speed.

• Credibility at first click: a prospect judging your technical skill sees it before reading a word.
• More completed enquiries: in our audits, contact form completion on agency sites commonly rises 10–30% after a speed rebuild, mainly on mobile.
• Stronger search visibility: page experience is one of many ranking signals, and fast, crawlable pages are easier for Google and AI systems to process.
• Lower ad costs: faster landing pages tend to improve Google Ads landing page experience, which can reduce cost per click.
• Cheaper hosting: cached static pages need smaller servers and survive traffic spikes after awards or press.
• A live sales asset: your own Core Web Vitals become a case study you can show every client.

“An agency homepage is a live demo. If it loads slowly, the prospect has already seen the product.”
— Best Web Developer performance team

Use cases: applying the findings in Saudi Arabia

These patterns apply in two ways in Saudi Arabia: agencies can use them to fix their own sites, and businesses can use them to judge which agency to hire. Both take less than an hour to start.

For Saudi agencies auditing their own site

Test the Arabic and English homepages separately; the Arabic version is often slower because of heavier fonts and duplicated scripts. Check every image with our free image inspector to see real dimensions and file size, then replace anything over 300 KB above the fold. Remove any tracking tag nobody has looked at in the last 90 days.

For businesses choosing an agency

Run each shortlisted agency’s homepage and two portfolio projects through PageSpeed Insights on mobile. Ask the agency to explain its own scores. A team that can walk you through LCP, INP and CLS on its own site is far more likely to deliver them on yours.

Fast vs slow agency websites: side-by-side comparison

The table summarises the typical ranges observed in our audits of agency websites. Use it as a checklist rather than as benchmark statistics.

If your site sits in the slow column on three or more rows, a focused rebuild usually costs less than continued patching. Our technical SEO service starts with exactly this audit, and our guide to technical SEO and site health explains the wider checks.

Vision 2030 and the next speed standard

Vision 2030 has pushed Saudi digital government services to a high standard, and business buyers now expect the same speed from private-sector sites. Agencies serving the Kingdom will be judged against that benchmark.

• INP pressure: since INP replaced First Input Delay in 2024, script-heavy sites that once passed now fail responsiveness.
• AI search crawlers: fast, server-rendered HTML is easier for Google AI features and chat assistants to read and cite.
• Bilingual by default: Arabic and English versions must both be fast; testing only English will no longer pass client scrutiny.
• Procurement checks: more Saudi tenders ask for performance and accessibility evidence, including WCAG 2.2 conformance.
• Leaner creative: expect motion to move from heavy video toward CSS transforms and small, deferred animations.

Frequently Asked Questions about website speed

What to take from our work on agency websites

Fast agency websites are the product of discipline, not a particular platform: a still hero, few third parties, lean JavaScript, deliberate fonts, edge caching, reserved space and a written performance budget. Every one of those habits can be applied to an existing site within weeks.

If you run an agency in Saudi Arabia, fix both language versions and treat your own Core Web Vitals as a case study. If you are hiring one, test their homepage before you read their proposal.