How we measure speed
The tests behind our home-page speed figures: slow 4G on October 20, 2026, and a fast connection on October 30, 2026.
The slow-4G comparison
A Loreto parish site fully loaded in 2.5 s. The median parish website in our sample took 8.6 s, so Loreto loaded 71% faster.
| Site | Fully loaded | Main content shown | Downloaded |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loreto SitesSacred Heart demo, published at demo.loretosites.com, median of 6 runs | 2.5 s | 1.7 s | 296 KB |
| Parish websites (median)99 of 100 home pages loaded | 8.6 s | 4.3 s | 1.6 MB |
On a fast connection
On October 30, 2026, the same Loreto demo fully loaded in 0.8 s on our unrestricted test connection, the median of 9 visits. Main content appeared in 0.5 s. This is the fast-connection figure on our home page; the 71% comparison and 1/5 data figure come from the separate slow-4G test above.
We used desktop Chrome with a mobile screen (412 × 823 points, device pixel ratio 2.6) and mobile user agent. There was no network or processor slowdown. Each visit used a new browser context with the browser cache disabled; the hosting service could serve cached assets. All 9 visits are included, including the slower first visit. This is a controlled test, not a measurement from a physical phone or a guarantee for every visitor.
How we tested on slow 4G
- Device
- A mid-range Android phone screen, 412 × 823 points
- Connection
- Slow 4G: 150 ms latency, 1.6 Mbps down, 750 kbps up
- Processor
- Slowed four times, like Google's mobile test
- Cache
- Empty on every visit, as for a first-time visitor
- Page
- Each website's home page
“Fully loaded” is when the browser finished loading the page (the load event). “Main content shown” is Largest Contentful Paint, the moment the biggest image or text block appeared. We used an automated Chrome browser with the throttling above. Each parish website was loaded once; the Loreto page 6 times, and we report the median.
The sample
100 Catholic parish websites, the parishes on our own outreach list across several dioceses, built on many common platforms. One site did not finish loading within 90 seconds and was left out, which if anything flatters the parish median. The Loreto page is our Sacred Heart demo, published and hosted exactly as a parish site is, at demo.loretosites.com.
What this does not show
These are lab measurements from one location, not data from real visitors, and websites change over time. A single Loreto page is compared with many parish home pages. Your own results will vary with your photos, your visitors' phones and their connections. We will update this page when we measure again.