Quick answer: In the November 2026 Ontario Trades Web Index, we measured 1,277 small business websites, trade and clinic sites in 48 Ontario towns, with Google PageSpeed Insights. The median site took 8.3 seconds to show its headline on a phone, 93% took longer than three seconds, only 6% scored 90 or better on Google's phone test, 49% of the 1,197 we could check gave search engines no structured business details, and the median page weighed 2.6 MB. The businesses that win treat their website as a revenue system, not a brochure.
Most small business website statistics you find online are recycled. The same few numbers get copied from article to article, years old, often from surveys of a few hundred people.
These are different. Every number below comes from measuring real websites, and every one says how many sites it was measured on.
In November 2026 we ran Google's own phone test on 1,277 trade and clinic websites in 48 Ontario towns: plumbers, HVAC companies, electricians, roofers, dental clinics, med spas and 18 more trades. That's the Ontario Trades Web Index. For a second study, we measured 1,061 business websites built with AI app builders.
Here's what the numbers say.
Small business website statistics at a glance
- 8.3 seconds: the median time a small business website took to show its headline on a phone (1,277 sites).
- 93% took longer than three seconds to show it (1,277 sites).
- 2.5 seconds is the time Google calls good for that moment, known as Largest Contentful Paint (web.dev).
- 60 out of 100: the median score on Google's PageSpeed phone test (1,277 sites).
- 6% scored 90 or better, the band Google labels good (1,277 sites).
- 49% publish no local business structured data at all (1,197 sites).
- 2.6 MB: the median weight of a homepage.
- 12.1 seconds: the median for flooring companies, the slowest trade (53 sites).
- 4.4 seconds: the median for appliance repair, the quickest (15 sites).
- 71% of homepages built with Base44 show fewer than 100 words to a search engine that doesn't run JavaScript (430 sites).
How fast small business websites load on a phone
The headline number is a median of 8.3 seconds before the main content appears on a phone.
That's the wait between tapping a link and seeing what the page is about. Google calls it Largest Contentful Paint, and its guidance is 2.5 seconds or less. The typical small business site in the Index takes more than three times that long.
It isn't a few slow sites dragging the median up, either. 93% of the 1,277 sites took longer than three seconds. Fewer than one in ten made it under that line.
The test simulates a mid-range Android phone on a slow 4G connection. That's closer to a customer standing in a driveway than to an office on Wi-Fi. So a site that feels quick on the laptop it was built on can still keep a phone waiting for eight seconds.
Three editions so far
| Edition | Sites measured | Median headline time | Median score |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2026 | 146 | 7.0 s | 61 |
| October 2026 | 295 | 6.8 s | 62 |
| November 2026 | 1,277 | 8.3 s | 60 |
The November edition measured more than four times as many sites, across 48 towns, so the editions aren't the same sites measured again. Read the change as a wider picture, not as sites getting slower.
Google's phone score: how small business sites rate
Google's PageSpeed Insights gives every page a performance score out of 100. It's the number most owners see when they test their own site.
The median small business site scored 60. Only 6% reached 90, the band Google labels good.
A score of 60 isn't a failing grade on its own. But it sits in the band Google marks as needing improvement, between 50 and 89.
Small business website speed by trade
Some trades are far slower than others. Here's the median time to show a headline on a phone for nine of the 24 trades in the Index:
| Trade | Sites measured | Median headline time |
|---|---|---|
| Flooring (slowest) | 53 | 12.1 s |
| HVAC | 90 | 9.3 s |
| Med spas | 33 | 8.9 s |
| Roofers | 75 | 8.4 s |
| Electricians | 90 | 8.1 s |
| Plumbers | 85 | 7.9 s |
| Moving companies | 53 | 7.2 s |
| Dental clinics | 67 | 6.2 s |
| Appliance repair (quickest) | 15 | 4.4 s |
23% of HVAC sites scored poor on Google's test, against 19% of dental clinics and 3% of med spas. Seven of these trades have a page of their own, with their own numbers, on the industries page.
What search engines and AI assistants can read
Speed is what customers feel. Structured data is what search engines read.
49% of the 1,197 sites we could check publish no local business structured data at all. That's the short, machine-readable block that tells Google a business's name, address, phone number, hours and service area.
Without it, a search engine has to guess. And when someone asks an AI assistant for a recommendation, a site with no structured details gives it nothing solid to quote.
It's one of the cheapest fixes on this list. Half of the sites we measured haven't made it.
How heavy small business websites are
The median homepage in the Index weighs 2.6 MB.
On a slow phone connection, every megabyte is time the customer spends looking at a blank or half-drawn screen. The usual causes are photos saved far larger than a phone needs and scripts the page never uses. Both are fixable without changing how the site looks.
Small business websites built with AI app builders
AI app builders have become a common way to get a site live fast. In a second study, Vibe Coding Statistics 2026, we measured 1,061 business websites built with Lovable, Base44 and v0, and compared them with a random sample of WordPress, Wix and Squarespace sites.
- Speed was their strength. The median phone score was 83 for Lovable, 84 for Base44 and 97 for v0, against 61 for the three traditional builders together.
- What a search engine can read was their weakness. The median Base44 homepage shows 28 words to a crawler that doesn't run JavaScript, and 71% of 430 Base44 homepages show fewer than 100.
- Structured data trailed on every AI builder. Business structured data appeared on 36% of Lovable, 50% of Base44 and 9% of v0 homepages, against 77% of the traditional sites.
So a fast site isn't automatically a findable one. The two have to be built together.
How we measured
- The tool: Google PageSpeed Insights, the same test anyone can run, on a simulated mid-range Android phone over slow 4G.
- The sites: 1,277 trade and clinic websites in 48 Ontario towns, in the edition published November 1, 2026. The AI builder study measured its 1,061 sites on November 5 and 6, 2026.
- Headline time is Largest Contentful Paint: the moment the main content appears, not when the page finishes loading.
- Every percentage names the number of sites it was calculated from, because not every site could be checked on every point.
- No business is named, and nothing measured on fewer than ten sites is reported.
What these numbers mean for your website
If you own one of these sites, the numbers point to three things.
First, test it on a phone, not your laptop. Run the free speed test on your own address and compare your headline time with your trade's median above.
Second, check what Google can read. If your site has no structured business details, a search engine is guessing at your hours and service area.
Third, treat the website as something that brings in calls, not a brochure. A site that takes eight seconds to show anything on a phone loses part of every visit you paid for before it says a word.
The bottom line
The typical small business website in our Index takes 8.3 seconds to show its headline on a phone, scores 60 on Google's test, and half the time gives search engines no structured details about the business. Few owners know, because nothing tells them.
That's the opening. The sites that load fast and tell Google exactly who they are stand out against a field where 93% are slow.
WebCore builds for those numbers: a fast site that answers visitors and turns them into calls, with the search setup done on every publish, from $99 a month.
Test your own site's speed free → webcore.pro
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast should a small business website load?
Google's guidance is to show the main content within 2.5 seconds on a phone. In our November 2026 measurements, the median small business site took 8.3 seconds, and 93% took longer than three.
What is a good PageSpeed score for a small business website?
Google labels 90 or more as good. Only 6% of the 1,277 sites we measured reached it, and the median score was 60 out of 100.
Which trades have the slowest websites?
In the November 2026 Index, flooring companies were slowest, at a median of 12.1 seconds across 53 sites. Appliance repair was quickest, at 4.4 seconds across 15.
How many small business websites have structured data?
About half of them don't. 49% of the 1,197 sites we could check publish no local business structured data at all.
How big is a typical small business homepage?
The median homepage in our Index weighs 2.6 MB.
Are websites built with AI app builders faster than WordPress or Wix sites?
On a phone, usually yes. In our study of 1,061 business sites built with Lovable, Base44 and v0, median phone scores ran from 83 to 97, against 61 for WordPress, Wix and Squarespace together. But many of those homepages show little or no text to a search engine that doesn't run JavaScript.
How often is this data updated?
The Web Index is measured every month, with more towns and trades in each edition. This article uses the November 2026 edition.
Can I cite these statistics?
Yes, please credit the Ontario Trades Web Index by WebCore and link to webcore.pro/web-index.