Bandwidth
Bandwidth refers to the data transfer rate of a server or network, measured in bits per second, which determines the amount of traffic a website can handle. In hosting , it is crucial for performance, as exceeding the bandwidth limit leads to slow loading times or outages; in SEO, high bandwidth has a positive impact on user experience.
Bandwidth is often confused with speed. It describes the quantity, not the pace: how much data can pass through the connection in a given time. For the perceived speed of a website, the response time is usually more important, while for the monthly bill, it's the volume of data transferred.
Consider this: A page with large images can easily weigh in at 4 megabytes. With 10.000 visits per month, that's 40 gigabytes. The same page with images in WebP format and compression comes in at 900 kilobytes, or 9 gigabytes. That's the same content with a quarter of the data volume, and on a mobile network, it saves about two seconds of waiting time.
Back to the glossary