2026 Austin business website report
Austin's speed score looks ordinary. Its main content shows up late.
The median speed score on the 43 Austin business sites that finished our phone test is 62, against 61 in our 31-city sample. Main content took a median of 9 seconds to show, against 7.4. Here is why we'd worry about that in this city, and what we'd do first.
Set Austin's median speed score beside our 31-city sample and you could close the file: 62 and 61. The interesting part is how long the main content takes, a median of 9 seconds against 7.4 on a simulated mid-range phone. The fastest quarter of the Austin sites we tested showed it in 4.4 seconds or less, against 4.7, which is about the same. The slowest quarter took 13.5 seconds or more, against 12.1. 15 of 43 landed in the poor band, 35% against 26%, a gap of a few sites, and bands move with how busy our shared test machine was. So we wouldn't call Austin a slow town. Its pages may keep the reader waiting on the part worth reading, and a speed score won't tell you whether yours does.
This is a modest sample, 43 sites with one lab run each, and no single figure in it would convince us. The main-content gap is the widest speed gap we have here, and it's still a hint. Blocking time, 279 ms against 277, and requests, 100 against 93, are about the same. We think a late first screen is a poor thing to have in this city. 59.6% of Austin adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and our read is that a customer like that compares by reading. Main content is often where the reading is, and a sentence can't persuade anyone until it shows up.
The repair may be smaller than a new website. Start by finding what is holding the page up. If you're on WordPress, as 22 of the 44 sites we tested appear to be, a speed fix may be the whole job. Then give the reader something to do besides dial. Tap-to-call is on 37 of 44 homepages, and a booking tool on 3. Check your own site and see where yours lands.
Measured November 7, 2026
We tested 44 Austin business websites on a phone.
Independent businesses with a Austin street address on their own site. Totals only: we do not name anyone. How we tested.
62 of 100
Median mobile speed score
31-city sample: 61
9 seconds
Until the main content shows
On a simulated mid-range phone. 31 cities: 7.4s
77% of sites
Took over 4 seconds
33 of 43 tested
7% of sites
Let a visitor book online
31 cities: 10%
Scores for Austin are from our own test, described under How we tested.
What it means
Four readings from the Austin stopwatch.
Nearly everybody misses four seconds. Austin's median misses by more.
33 of 43 Austin sites took longer than four seconds to show their main content, 77% against 82% in our 31-city sample. That is about the same. The difference is how far past it they go, with a median of 9 seconds against 7.4 on a simulated mid-range phone. One run per site is a noisy ruler, so call it a hint. Here is what these measures mean if you want to read your own.
Blocking time is a wash.
Total blocking time, the stretch when a page can't respond to a finger, has a median of 279 ms here and 277 ms in the sample, about the same. Browser errors turned up on 19 of 43 sites, 44% against 38%, a gap of a few sites. Neither gives you a reason to buy a script cleanup on our say-so, and one run per site on a shared test machine wouldn't settle it anyway. If your own page stalls on a tap, it needs an audit before it needs anything new.
The phone link is in good shape. The next step is scarce.
Tap-to-call shows on 84% of homepages against 72%, a lead worth only a handful of sites at this size. A booking tool shows on 3 of 44. Among the 12 health and 13 professional-services sites, we found none with one on the homepage. A phone link with no form or booking tool describes 22 of 44, 50% against 45%, and that gap is nothing to lean on. Lead forms show on 16, a count that includes newsletter sign-ups. Adding a booking feature is often a job for the site you already have.
Some of it is fine, so don't pay to fix that.
Tap targets failed on 6 of 43 sites, 14% against 22%, so we wouldn't start by selling you bigger buttons. The median best-practices score is 93 against 79. Our read is that much of that gap comes down to one check, third-party cookies, at 44% against 54%, since that score moves in big steps. Color contrast is the usual failure, 28 of 43 with some text too faint, 65% against 62%, which is about the same. Ask for the specific fixes before anyone quotes you a redesign.
How Austin sites ask for the business
37 Austin sites · 31-city sample: 72%
16 Austin sites · 31-city sample: 31%
3 Austin sites · 31-city sample: 10%
18 Austin sites · 31-city sample: 45%
Most common failures
- Text with too little color contrast65%
- Links with no discernible name51%
- Headings that skip levels51%
- Browser errors logged in the console44%
- Uses third-party cookies44%
- Links with vague text ("click here")28%
Free tool
How does your site compare with the rest of Austin?
Give it your address and you get a graded report in about twenty seconds. It runs its own checks, so its grade isn't comparable with our speed scores. These three you can check yourself, against what we counted in Austin:
- 84% have a tap-to-call link
- 80% have a search description
- 41% tell search engines what kind of business they are
Who does business in Austin
Who pays when the page shows up late.
Suppliers to plants and campuses
IT manufacturing and aerospace, defense and security are among the main industries, and Tesla and Samsung are among the big employers. Our guess is that a smaller firm selling into that world gets checked out at a desk, by someone reading closely. We had too few of these sites to measure as a group.
The site has to: say what you make and for whom on one screen, keep spec sheets and certificates a tap away, and take a written inquiry.
Manufacturing websitesClinics and private practices
Healthcare is a main industry, with Ascension Seton and St. David's HealthCare among the big employers. Of the 12 health sites we tested, 12 have tap-to-call and none show a booking tool on the homepage. Median time to main content is 9 seconds against 7 in our sample. That is a small room, so take it as a hint.
The site has to: take an appointment request after hours, ask only what a first contact needs, and let your compliance adviser decide what a web form may collect.
Healthcare website designLaw, accounting and consulting offices
Business services is a main industry, and we'd expect this buyer to read the page before calling. The 13 professional-services sites we tested post a median speed score of 65 against 64, about the same, and 8.3 seconds to main content against 6.7.
The site has to: name the people, explain the work in plain sentences, and take a first note in writing with a stated time for a reply.
Law firm website designBuilders, roofers and home trades
Real estate and construction is a main industry, and the median Austin home was built in 1994. In our view that puts a lot of roofs and systems at an age where an owner has a decision to make. This group is judgment, since it didn't reach a reportable size in our test.
The site has to: answer repair-or-replace in writing, show photographs of real jobs, and take a request without a phone call.
Home service websitesRestaurants, venues and visitor businesses
SXSW and Rodeo Austin fall in March. Austin City Limits and the Grand Prix fall in October. We'd guess a visitor deciding where to go is doing it on a phone, standing up. We measured no group here either, so this is opinion too.
The site has to: put hours, dates and the next step above everything else, and keep a seasonal page current instead of building a new one in a hurry.
Restaurant website designAustin by the numbers
979,539
Population
Census Reporter — Austin, TX (ACS figures are 2020–2024 five-year; page opens on one-year)$93,658
Median household income
Census Reporter — Austin, TX (ACS figures are 2020–2024 five-year; page opens on one-year)59.6%
Adults 25+ with a bachelor's degree or higher
Census Reporter — Austin, TX (ACS figures are 2020–2024 five-year; page opens on one-year)1994
Median year homes were built
Census Reporter — Austin, TX (ACS figures are 2020–2024 five-year; page opens on one-year)30.3%
Speak a language other than English at home
Census Reporter — Austin, TX (ACS figures are 2020–2024 five-year; page opens on one-year)Businesses online
Statewide, 53% of Texas small businesses use an AI platform (state scope; survey fielded June 2025).
U.S. Chamber of Commerce — Empowering Small Business 2025 (state scorecards)Before you spend a dollar
Decide these before anybody picks a typeface.
- 1
Find out which quarter you're in.
Run Google's PageSpeed Insights on mobile a few times. The middle half of the Austin sites we tested scored from 45 to 75. Below 45, you have company you don't want, and the slow-site page is your next stop.
- 2
Decide what shows first.
If a phone has to fetch a large image or a video before your first sentence appears, the sentence waits with it. We didn't record which element was late on each site, so test your own. Oversized images are the first place we'd look.
- 3
Make every script explain itself.
The median page here makes 100 requests. Our advice is to list what loads, ask what each item does for you, and remove what nobody can answer for. On WordPress, the plugin list is where that conversation usually starts.
- 4
Write for somebody who will check.
With 59.6% of adults 25 and older holding a bachelor's degree or higher, we'd drop the adjectives and state the facts: what you do, for whom, and how you'd go about it. Proof of the work reads better than a claim about it.
- 5
Put the platform on trial last.
WordPress sites here post a median speed score of 60 against 62 in our sample. The 15 sites we couldn't tie to a known platform post 60 against 62. Those are small gaps on small groups, so software alone doesn't look like the answer to us. Read our comparison before you pay for a move.
Local marketing
Buy attention after the page can hold it.
Search opportunities
Questions that deserve a written answer.
Our read of what buyers here need answered, not search-volume figures.
“Should I repair or replace a roof on a 1990s house in Austin?”
The median home here dates to 1994. A plain page on when you'd repair and when you'd replace is a page a careful owner may actually finish.
Roofing websites“Can I book a doctor online in Austin?”
Of the 12 health sites we tested, none showed a booking tool on the homepage. A practice that can say yes has an easy page to write.
Healthcare websites“What is open near Zilker Park during ACL?”
The festival runs two weekends in early October. A page with your hours and how to reach you, kept current, answers it for very little money.
Restaurant marketing“What does a bookkeeper charge in Austin?”
Our view is that a reader who wants a number will keep looking until somebody gives one. A range and an explanation count, if your firm is willing to publish them.
Financial services websites
What it costs
The prices, for people who read to the end.
A website up to 70 pages runs $1,500 to $5,750 at a fixed price, set by page count, and online stores start at $2,500. Repairs start at $149, and if your site's trouble is a late first screen and not a bad design, we'd read that list first. It is the same price list in every city, and it's published, so you can compare before you talk to anybody.
Website, up to 10 pages
$1,500
fixed price
Website, 11 to 20 pages
$2,250
fixed price
Website, 21 to 50 pages
$3,750
fixed price
Website, 51 to 70 pages
$5,750
fixed price
- Online storeFrom $2,500
- Web app, portal or integrationFrom $575***
- Mobile appFrom $3,750
- SEO, local marketing or PPCFrom $575 a month***
***Pricing depends on complexity. ***Pricing depends on complexity, setup and budget. Ad spend is paid to the ad platform directly.
See every priceThe Austin playbook
Getting the words up sooner, in order.
- 1
Time your page.
Open it on your own phone with a stopwatch, then run Google's PageSpeed Insights on mobile. Hold that score, not the grade from our health check, against the median of 62. Scores move between runs, so take more than one.
- 2
Shrink what's on the first screen.
Only 11 of the 43 sites we tested came in under 2 MB. Start with your largest images, then see whether anything above the first sentence can go.
- 3
Quiet the scripts.
Median blocking time here is 279 ms, about the same as our sample, so do this if your own test says to. Remove what you can't account for, one item at a time, and test after each. If you're on WordPress, that work has its own page.
- 4
Add a next step for people who aren't ready to call.
Keep the phone link and put a short form or a calendar beside it. All of our website packages list lead form capture and online booking, and a custom tool is there for what those can't do. Then send yourself a test, because a form can fail quietly.
- 5
Write for the calendar.
Clean up your Google Business Profile, then look at March and October. If SXSW or Austin City Limits brings you business, a seasonal page kept current beats one rushed out the week before, in our opinion.
Recent work
Modern builds we've shipped.
Precision Leak Detection
Leak Detection
A WordPress leak-detection site rebuilt on Next.js, built around the one promise a homeowner with water under the slab wants to hear: found today, marked to the spot, and written down.
Bleuwave (Home Services)
Multi-Trade Brand Hub
The parent brand hub tying HVAC, plumbing, and electrical together in one highly interactive site.
LeadBolt
SaaS · Speed-to-Lead for Contractors
Software that answers every contractor lead in under a minute, so the crew on a roof still wins the job that came in while they were up there.
Bleuwave Commercial HVAC
Full-Stack Build · Commercial HVAC & Chillers
A commercial HVAC site rebuilt on Next.js, written for the facility manager whose building is down at 2 a.m., with a knowledge base deep enough to find the exact machine on the roof.
They made the technical side feel clear.
We talked about goals first — then platforms, content, search, and automation.
Simply amazing!
They took our outdated website and transformed it into a modern, user-friendly platform that truly represents our brand.
Start here
Tell us what you need in Austin.
Pick what you want and the price appears on the spot. The developer follows up, not a salesperson.
Prefer to talk? (480) 525-7582.
See what your project costs. It takes about a minute.
Rather talk? (480) 525-7582. 0% financing on any project, 25% down. See all pricing
Austin website questions, answered.
What exactly did you test in Austin?
The homepages of 44 independent businesses from public OpenStreetMap listings, on a simulated phone, with one lab run per site. We screened 71 listings and left out the ones we couldn't reach, couldn't tie to an Austin street address, or that weren't really businesses. 43 finished the speed test. That is a modest sample, so use it as a benchmark and not as a grade on anyone.
What is the 31-city sample?
1274 independent business sites across 31 US cities, tested the same way, with Austin's own sites among them. It isn't a national average and it doesn't stand for the country. It gives Austin's figures something to stand next to. Gaps of a few points may be noise, and we've said so where we think they are.
My speed score beats the Austin median. Am I fine?
Maybe. 5 of 43 sites reached the good band, so beating the median still leaves plenty of room. A score blends several measures, so look at how long your main content takes as well. Here's how to read them.
Will a faster site bring in more customers?
We can't promise that, and we'd be wary of anyone who does. We measured websites, not sales. Our opinion is that a page people can read sooner has a better chance with them, and that you should count calls and forms before and after, so you aren't taking our word for it.
What does a website cost for an Austin business?
Our published prices are $1,500 to $5,750 for a site up to 70 pages, online stores from $2,500, and repairs from $149. The whole list is on one page. Austin pays what everyone else pays.
Is my business in this report, and how do I test my own site?
This report gives totals and names no one. For your own numbers, Google's PageSpeed Insights runs on Lighthouse, the engine we used, so its mobile score is the one to set beside ours. The free Website Health Check is a separate graded report with its own checks, useful in its own right and not comparable with these medians.
Method
How we tested.
We started from OpenStreetMap business listings, independents only, screened 71 candidate sites in a shuffled, evenly mixed order, and kept 44 independent businesses that publish a Austin street address on their own site. We left out national chains, referral sites, parked or broken domains, and sites that block automated tests, along with anything we built ourselves.
Each homepage got one run of Google Lighthouse 12.6.0: mobile form factor (412 x 823 screen emulation), Lighthouse default simulated throttling (150 ms round trip, 1.6 Mbps throughput, 4x CPU slowdown), headless Chrome, one run per site. 43 runs completed. A second pass in headless Chrome looked for tap-to-call links, forms, booking tools and search markup, on the homepage only, so a form on a contact page or an email link doesn't count. A form with an email, phone or message field counts as a lead form, which means a newsletter sign-up can count too. Business markup means JSON-LD naming one of the common local-business types, so another format or a more general type isn't counted. Testing ran on November 7, 2026, several sites at a time on one machine.
A lab test is one controlled load, which makes sites comparable with each other. It does not measure any real visitor's experience, and one run per site carries noise. Tests ran several at a time on one machine, and a busy machine lowers speed scores and lengthens blocking time, so we reran the tests taken when it was busiest. Read those two figures as rough, and small gaps as noise. Listings skew toward businesses someone has bothered to map, so read this as a careful sample, not a census. The comparison figures are 1274 sites across 31 US cities, tested the same way, and they include these Austin sites. Our Mesa report found its sample through web searches and ran one site at a time, so its figures aren't directly comparable.
- Candidate sites screened
- 71
- Austin businesses kept
- 44
- Speed runs completed
- 43
- Tested
- November 7, 2026
- Speed test
- Lighthouse 12.6.0
Sources for the facts on this page
Beat the Austin median.
Fifteen minutes, plain English, and a number in writing. If we are not the right fit, we will say so.