Manufacturing brands have been named as one of the best for online experiences, according to new research.
Brand communications agency Warbox analysed 1,000 UK websites using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool and Core Web Vitals to reveal the 14 sectors that offer the best – and worst – online experiences.
The manufacturing sector’s websites have a higher than average performance score at 77 when compared to other sectors – although anything between 50-89 needs improvement according to Google. Manufacturing websites also take 181 milliseconds to respond to interactions – nearing the recommended 200 milliseconds.
Elsewhere, the research revealed that despite online retail being hotter than ever, with around £30m spent by Brits on fashion items last year, fashion brands have the worst online experiences with the lowest average performance score of 55. However, the sector’s websites are fast at responding to interactions taking an average of 321 milliseconds.
The research comes as customers are increasingly abandoning sites with slower speeds and a poor UX, but they are willing to pay 80% more for a good online experience.
Sectors with the best websites
The manufacturing sector offers the third best online experience with an average performance score of 77 and its good response time to interactions. The largest piece of content also takes 2.3 seconds to load.
| Sector | Index score | Average performance score | Average FCP | Average LCP | Average INP (milliseconds) | CLS |
| Retail | 419 | 66 | 0.82 | 2.6 | 295 | 0.14 |
| Public sector | 415 | 78 | 0.69 | 1.8 | 170 | 0.10 |
| Manufacturing | 414 | 77 | 0.76 | 2.3 | 181 | 0.10 |
| Transport and logistics | 413 | 72 | 0.85 | 3 | 175 | 0.16 |
| Healthcare | 408 | 78 | 0.79 | 1.2 | 175 | 0.09 |
The research also revealed the sectors offering the worst online experience.
Sectors with the worst websites
| Sector | Index score | Average performance score | Average FCP | Average LCP | Average INP (milliseconds) | CLS |
| Fashion | 384 | 55 | 0.86 | 3.1 | 321 | 0.12 |
| Charity and not for profit | 395 | 78 | 0.85 | 2.3 | 146 | 0.06 |
| Education | 399 | 70 | 0.79 | 2.5 | 288 | 0.11 |
| Marketing | 403 | 79 | 0.76 | 1.9 | 152 | 0.07 |
| Property | 403 | 73 | 0.73 | 2.4 | 184 | 0.15 |
Mark Fensom, director at Warbox said: “In 2025, if your website’s UX isn’t up to scratch, visitors have plenty of alternatives. Websites do need to look pretty but this shouldn’t be prioritised over functionality or accessibility, otherwise you risk being penalised by Google and visitors.
“The data reveals that fashion websites are slower to react to interactions, which is in part the reason why websites are lagging behind. Speed matters and not just for brands trying to outpace competitors. Slow sites, which I’m sure everyone has experienced, are frustrating especially when you’re in the middle of an action.”
How can brands level up their websites?
The research also includes expert insights into how brands can improve their online experience for customers:
- Make sure you’re website is mobile friendly as Google indexes websites mobile-first
- Reduce page bloat by compressing files or shortening scripts
- Have a clear site structure and intuitive navigation to improve the performance of your most important pages
- Optimise any AI chatbots or interactive features for your website and test it on a staging site
- Colour contrast is a key aspect of accessibility guidelines, so make sure your website colours enhance the readability of text.
To read the full research, visit: https://warboxcreative.co.uk/uk-best-and-worst-websites-for-site-speed-ranked/
Methodology
Warbox used five core metrics from Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool to compile an average index score for each industry analysed, based on the UK’s top 100 websites based on traffic figures by sector.
Each of the five metrics are outlined in the glossary above and were given an equal weighting to determine an industry score out of 500 for each.
Glossary
Core Web Vitals are the metrics that Google uses to assess a website’s performance including its speed and user experience. These include:
Average performance score: Score out of 100 given by Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool, which speaks for its overall performance. The best websites will score between 90-100.
First Contentful Paint: FCP measures (in seconds) how long the first piece of content on a website takes to load as a visitor enters the website. The lower the score, the better.
Largest Contentful Paint: LCP examines (in seconds) how long it takes for the biggest piece of content on your website to load. Again, the lower the score, the better.
Interaction to Next Paint: INP is a metric that assesses (in milliseconds) the response time to interactions made by a visitor. For example, if they click on your homepage or engage with a video. A low score is best.
Cumulative Layout Score: CLS measures how much your content jumps or moves while the page is loading. Anything below 0.1 is considered good.
For more articles like this, visit our Leadership channel.
