Slow-loading web pages are the biggest turn off when it comes to conversions. Page loading time is a crucial part of the user’s experience, and even a few seconds of delay can lead to page abandonment. In fact, studies show that 47% of the users expect a web page to load within two seconds or less and around 40% traffic on a page bounces if the page doesn’t load in three seconds.
Furthermore, loading time also affects customer loyalty. 52% of online shoppers state that a quick loading page affects their loyalty to a website. The statistics show that EVERY second counts! Therefore, it is important to design a website that is not only easy to navigate but also optimized to be fast. Here are a few basic tips to tweak your website to increase its speed and performance.
Assess Your Website Speed
Before you set out to optimize your website, the first thing you need to do is determine the current loading time and set new performance goals for your website. There are different tools that you can use to assess the loading time of your website. Offered by Google, Google Pagespeed Insights is one of the most popular tools that you can use. It runs various performance tests on your website to help you set and reach performance goals.
The best part is that it is free and work equally well for desktop and mobile websites. Some other tools that you can consider using include YSlow, Performance Budget Calculator, and Pingdom.
Bring Down the Number of HTTP Requests
Did you know that a major portion of the loading time of a webpage is spent downloading different parts of the page? A separate HTTP request is sent for or every element on the page, including images, stylesheets, scripts, etc. This means that the greater the number of on-page elements, the greater the number of HTTP requests. And the greater the number of HTTP requests, longer the loading time.
So, if you are trying to bring down the loading time, start by minimizing the number of HTTP requests your site makes every time a page is loaded. You can use your browser’s Developer Tools to determine the number of HTTP requests your site make and then think of appropriate strategies to minimize it. The easiest way to do that is to look through the files and get rid of all unnecessary files and elements.
Minimize the Server Response Time
A Domain Name Server or DNS is the server where IP addresses and their respective hostnames are stored. When someone types in the URL of your website in the search engine, the DNS looks for the IP address associated with the URL. The IP address specifies where to find the website, allowing the user to access your website.
This means if the DNS takes a long time to determine the IP address associated with the URL of your website, the users will also have to wait for a long time. This can translate into a higher bounce rate. Therefore, it is important to do a little research to make sure you are using a fast DNS. If you find that your DNS is the problem, it is advisable to switch to a faster DNS provider.
Consider Your Hosting Options
There are three main hosting options that you can consider for your website. It is essential to take your time and do some research before you choose a hosting plan as it will have a direct impact on the loading time of your website. To understand hosting comes into play, first, let’s take a look at the hosting options available.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is relatively cheaper than the other options. It is a viable option for websites with low traffic. However, it is important to understand that if you opt for shared hosting, you can expect your site to be affected by the spike in traffic on other sites that are on the same server. In other words, if another site on the same server is using the shared resources, like bandwidth and disk space, due to increased traffic, the loading time for your website may increase.
VPS Hosting
If you opt for VPS hosting, you will still share some resources with other websites on the server but you will also have some reserved portion of resources that will be dedicated to your website only. This is a good option for websites with high traffics.
Dedicated Server
Dedicated server hosting means that your website will have a dedicated server. In other words, it will be the only site hosted on a server. This kind of hosting is more expensive as compared to others and is suitable for websites that experience a very large number of visitors on a daily basis.
Choose a suitable hosting plan based on the kind of traffic you experience on your site. Most people start with shared hosting and eventually upgrade to VPS once the traffic increases.
Minimize File Size
This one is no brainer – the larger the size of your files, the more time they will take to load. Therefore, running a compression audit to check and minimize the size of files can help you bring down the loading time of your website. You can use GID Network or any other suitable tool of your choice to run a compression audit. Minimize the file size without compromising on the quality to lower the loading time of your website.
Use these five basic tips to reduce the overall loading time of your website. It is best to keep the loading time within 3 seconds to minimize the bounce rate of your website. A higher bounce rate can also affect your Google ranking. Therefore, it is essential to take measures and bring it down.
It’s time you stop losing traffic due to slow-loading webpages and experience a higher conversion rate. Remember, a single second delay can cost you more than you can imagine. When it comes to online conversions, every second counts!
About Author:-
Richard Kearsey is a digital designer at Emerald Colour – a leading brand design agency in London that offers various services, like website design, animation, bespoke exhibition stand design, etc. He loves creativity and enjoys experimenting with various design techniques for both web and print. He also enjoys sharing his thought on latest design trends and upcoming marketing ideas.
