With over 50 percent of all web traffic coming from mobile devices, making sure your business website is responsive should be a priority.
Failing to take mobile optimization serious can cause you to miss out on a number of quality sales leads. Rather than trying to take on this optimization process alone, hiring professionals to help out is essential. If you are unclear about what web design and SEO professionals can do for you, be sure to read more here.
One of the main concerns you should have when offering consumers a mobile website is keeping it fast and reliable. With the following tips, you should have no problem keeping your responsive website lighting fast and free of functionality issues.
1. Start You Mobile Optimization With an Audit
While page load speed relies heaving on the code used to construct your website, it also has a lot to do with your server.
The longer a server waits to respond to a request from a mobile browser, the slower the page will ultimately load. Altering the server settings can help to increase the page load speeds.
The team at Google recommends that a developer sets the server to transmit the first byte of the resources it holds within the first 200 milliseconds of a browser’s request.
When trying to improve server response time, a developer will need to focus on things like improving software configuration and choosing the right web hosting platform.
Reducing the number of resources required to view the webpage can also help reduce the time it takes to load for mobile users.
2. Avoid Page Redirects At All Cost
A redirect is basically a set of instructions that takes mobile visitors from one page to a different location on the site.
Every time one of these redirects occur, it leads to pages loading slower. This can be very problematic for mobile users because they are using less reliable networks than typical desktop users.
The main thing a developer needs to do when attempting to fix these issues is to get a breakdown of how many redirects are on the site. Once they have this information, they can use a variety of tools and plugins to address these issues effectively.
3. Keep an Eye on Round-Trip Times
Another important part of the mobile site optimization process is assessing the round-trip times (RTT).
Basically, the RTT is the time it takes for data to be transmitted and returned from a mobile device. The best way to measure this is by pinging an address.
If these times are relatively slow, developers will need to find a way to streamline the data transmitting process. Making sure resources are transmitted without any excess weight can improve RTT substantially.
4. Make Sure Above the Fold Content Loads First
You will also need to make sure that the content a mobile user sees first loads the fastest.
In order to do this, you will need to get a developer to code your pages to send the most data to these sections first. Regardless of if the page in question is incomplete or not, you have to make sure above the fold content is instantly visible for users.
Many websites have been penalized by Google for failing to load above the fold content first. Generally, Google recommends that websites with this problem “prioritize visible content” in order to fix this issue.
5. Properly Structure HTML Files
One of the best ways to bring an interactive element to your mobile web pages is by using JavaScript.
However, you need to be aware of the fact that JS code will not allow other downloads to start until it is finished loading. The best way to avoid page load issues caused by JS is by moving all of the script using this program to the bottom of your page.
Using Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) will allow developers to detail how their HTML elements load. By using these stylesheets, it will give users the illusion that the page is loading faster.
Implementing the use of CSS in your page code will allow a browser to display your content as soon as possible.
6. Be Mindful of Page Weight
The more data and page weight will typically cause your pages to load at a much slower pace on mobile devices.
This is why hiring a developer who knows how to minimize and optimize the page assets is a must. One of the first things most developers will do when faced with slow page load speeds is to minimize and optimize CSS and JS files.
The term “minification” refers to the elimination of irrelevant or redundant page data. Generally, eliminating these elements will not affect how the page displays information and graphics.
There are a number of tools that can be used to discover and eliminate unnecessary page data.
7. Compress File Sizes
A developer will also need to focus on compressing file sizes to reduce page load issues.
While reducing the original size of the code can help, an additional decompression step actually adds to the speed of mobile page loads. Tools like gzip are used by developers all over the world to reduce page weight while increasing load speeds.
Seeking Out Professional Help is a Must
If you are having problems with your mobile website, the only way to optimize it is by working with seasoned developers. With their help, the mobile optimization process will be much easier and far less daunting for a business owner.
Are you looking for more tips on how to optimize your existing website? Be sure to check out the helpful and informative web design blogs we have published.
