The only thing worse than no internet is slow internet. Waiting for a web page to load is not only a waste of your time, but it can also be completely unnecessary.
If you find yourself twirling your thumb while the web page of your choice loads, here are some things you can try in Windows 10 if your web pages are slow to load.
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Define “Loading Slow”
Does the site load completely, but is it simply taking a long time? Text loads fast but images take a long time? Page never loads?
Someone could describe all of these situations as slow loading websites, but the root cause of each problem could be different. So try to figure out what part of the web page seems to be slower than usual. That can help point you in the direction of the correct trick to solve the problem.
You’ll also want to see if this is an issue only on your local machine or for your entire network. Try loading the same website on another device and see how fast it loads.
1. Check for Malware, Spyware and Viruses
This step is pretty much. If something is loading slowly on your computer, 99% of the time it’s because something hidden is taking up resources.
You will want to make sure you run a Scan for malware on your system. If you suspect something is already on your device, you might want to scan your system before operating system load evenly.
You will also want to make sure that there are no Malware is running on your routerThis is unlikely but totally possible!
2. Check proxy server
If used correctly, a proxy server can be a really handy way to protect your privacy or to bypass Internet restrictions. However, if configured incorrectly, a proxy server can cause all sorts of problems, one of which is “obviously” slow loading web pages.
You’ll want check your proxy server settings and make sure all your internet traffic doesn’t go through the router through a hacker living in China. Malware and spyware installed on your computer also tend to activate a proxy server on your computer so that they can capture all your internet traffic.
3. Run Speed Test
The first thing you should check is whether your connection is generally slow or is it just affecting website traffic. The easiest way to do this is to search for “speed test“In Google and then select Run speed test button. This will take a few seconds and then tell you the speed of your connection.
The numbers should more or less add up to the speed you’re paying for. If these numbers are very low or much lower than normal, that is a clue that the problem is not with your Windows 10 computer. If possible, run a speed test from your mobile phone or another computer to rule out Windows 10 and your PC as the culprit.
4. Go to Isitdownrightnow.com
This tip is relevant to situations where a particular website or a set of web pages is not working correctly. All you need to do is visit a website like isitdownrightnow.com and check if the website is down just for you or for others. This simple check can save you a lot of frustration!
5. Restart everything
Before you panic, just restart every link in the chain. That means restarting your computer, restarting your router, and (if applicable) restarting the fiber optic connection point.
This is a pretty rudimentary way to try and fix the problem, but since so many mysterious problems can be solved by rebooting it’s a pretty quick and easy thing to try. If web pages are still loading slowly, then you should make an effort to track down the problem, but if it’s rare then don’t worry about it and just perform the restart ritual when it happens.
6. Check your system load
Websites may not seem like something that takes up a lot of system resources, but modern websites can really put a lot of load on your computer. So when a website is performing poorly, you should check how heavily your system is under load:
- Press Ctrl + Alt + Del
- Option Workflow management
- Choose Performance navigation
On the performance tab, see if your CPU, memory, or disk is close to 100% usage. If the system is under heavy stress, it can affect the loading performance of your website.
Close the web browser tabs you’re done with. Close programs you don’t need and generally try to offload the system to see if it helps.
7. Check your network load
If your internet connection is shared with other people or devices, the real problem could be that one of those devices is eating up all the bandwidth! Modern WIFI routers do a pretty good job of ensuring that everyone gets their fair share of available speeds.
However, this can still happen, so to make sure it’s not a local bandwidth issue, disconnect all your other devices from the router and see if the problem resolves itself. can it be solved?
You may also want to consider changing your WiFi password, just in case you have some unwanted guests boost your connection with high-bandwidth apps like Netflix, torrentor download the game.
8. Check Cloud Sync
Do you use it? DropBox, iCloud, Google One or any other popular cloud storage service? You may find your website speed slow due to large or ongoing file syncing.
While cloud syncing local files mostly consumes bandwidth upstream, if you or someone else shared folders in a cloud drive with you have moved large files to the cloud drive , it may start downloading to your system, depending on your settings. So disable or pause any ongoing cloud syncing to see if this is why websites load so slowly.
9. Enable metered connection
Windows 10 can get really greedy with bandwidth wherever you are. Especially if it is downloading a major update in the background.
If you suspect that updates are slowing down your connection, try switching your WiFi or Ethernet connection to measurement connection. This will preserve your bandwidth and total data usage. With the added bonus that only important updates are made automatically. In some cases, you may even want to stop updating completely.
10. Clear your DNS cache
This tip is mainly related to situations where only certain web pages seem to load slowly or not at all.
Your computer caches a list of websites and their IP addresses to speed up access to frequently visited websites. The problem is that this information can be corrupted or out of date. If the IP address in the cache is no longer working, you can try clearing the DNS cache. This will force your computer to get a new correct IP address from the server, rather than scouring local records for that information.
It’s also pretty easy to do:
- Open CMD through the Start Menu
- Type ipconfig /flushdns and press enter
That’s it. You can go back to your browser and try opening the website again.
11. Try a different DNS provider
Although we are talking about DNS, you should know that not all DNS providers are created equal. Some resolve requests to your computer’s IP address much faster with a particular URL. Most people are using their ISP’s DNS servers, but if you shop around there are better options.
The easiest recommendation is Google’s DNS Server. Both safe and fast. You might also consider using Smart DNS offers all kinds of neat tricks to enhance your internet experience. Check out our guide on how change your DNS provider for more information.
Faster! Faster!
Hopefully the five minutes you’ve spent reading these tips will save you hours of thumb-twisting in the future. Usually, trying to figure out the cause of poor web performance can be like flipping a coin, but we’ve covered some of the most common and likely culprits here. As always, feel free to share your own issues and troubleshooting tips in the comments section.
