Website performance matters a lot in a world where people want instant gratification and results. Not many are willing to wait more than two seconds for a site to load. A slow-loading page gives visitors a negative perception, whether you like it or not.
Factors Affecting Website Performance
A website is a combination of many features that work together. Essentially, any one segment can affect site speed, and it’s important to know how everything can be optimized with a website performance check. Here are the main elements affecting performance:
- Total Page Size
Understand that the more code, images, embeds and such you have on your page, the longer it will take to load.
- Images
Always resize image files before including them on your site, and ensure you stick to JPG, PNG, GIF, and SVG extensions.
- HTTP Requests
Reduce your load time by managing your HTTP requests and beware of third-party resources.
- Caching
Browser caching aids in the quick loading of pages, because website data like HTML files and images stay on the user’s device temporarily. When they return, the browser doesn’t need to request for this data again, saving time and bandwidth.
- File Compression
Compression delivers information by making files smaller before transfer. This way, sites load quicker, and there’s no risk of data loss, making it highly beneficial for performance.
- Deferring or Removing Render-Blocking Code
By removing unnecessary CSS or JavaScript, your site may appear to load faster. This is because such code loads before the rest of the content.
- Hosting
Shared hosting might be tempting, but splitting resources will affect your site’s performance.
- Server Locations
A content delivery network (CDN) is a group of servers located worldwide that hold your website files, helping deliver them faster to users.
- Redirects
It’s best to avoid 301s if you’re looking for high performance, as each redirect increases load time.
Time for a Quick Audit?
Don’t make your visitors wait. If you’re wondering how to optimize your pages for speed, a quick website performance check will do the trick.
