Page load time is a big part of user experience. But in efforts to achieve a more aesthetic and modernized look, it often takes the back seat.
While visitors appreciate nicely crafted web pages, over-designing can bog down a site.
Do your pages load in 2-3 seconds or less? If not, you’re risking lower time on page and session duration. The less time users spend on your site, the less likely you are to make a conversion.
If your web pages slow to load, you’re also risking your website’s ranking.
Keep consumers happy with a quick website. Don’t let seconds be the downfall of your business!
Read on for information about optimizing your site for quick page loads.
Know Your Speed
Before making drastic changes to your site, know its speed first.
Google offers a free web-based tool called Page Speed Online. The test analyzes web and mobile speeds. If the site ranks below 80, you’ll want to make some changes.
Below are 3 tips that will reduce laggy page loads.
1. Compress and Optimize
File compression is an easy way to reduce the overall size of your website. For web files, ask if your web host uses GZIP compression.
The good news is compression doesn’t degrade the quality of your files, so your video about DIY car repairs or wall mount tv installation will remain crisp and clear.
In combination with compression, you’ll also want to optimize. Image optimization also helps with reducing file size. This includes:
- Saving files in their proper dimensions
- Using the proper image file format
- Avoiding heavy use of images
When creating images, ensure they are saved for the web.
2. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Chances are you host all of your files on a local server. While this setup is ideal for you, it’s not the most ideal for visitors outside of your local area.
By using a content delivery network, your files are hosted on several servers located around the world.
This means that users from other countries download files from a local server. In turn there’s less bandwidth usage and web requests.
With bandwidth spread across many servers, there is minimal risk of server overload. CDN is also beneficial in that it can help prevent:
- Traffic spikes
- DDoS attacks
- Protection against web exploits
3. Enable Browser Caching
Web pages slow to load? If so, enabling browser caching can trim a few seconds off of page load time.
Browser caching reduces the amount of HTTP requests.
When someone visits your website, certain elements of the page are stored in cache. The next time the site is visited, the page loads without sending an HTTP request.
Cache resources such as:
- Image files
- CSS files
- JavaScript and other script files
- Media files
Web Pages Slow to Load? We Can Help
Having awareness of the state of your website is a must. If your website is slow or down, you’ll need to know about it.
At SiteUptime, we provide around the clock monitoring. When your site goes down, we’ll notify you instantly!
Don’t leave your site’s availability in the air!
Contact us today for top notch monitoring services.
