Improve Site Load Time with these Helpful Tips
How well is your business website performing?
Having a website is crucial, but too often, business owners get busy and forget about their website’s performance. Having a digital marketing agency in New Orleans is helpful because you get a team of experts that specialize in specific areas. But there are still a few things you can do to ensure your site is running fast and smooth.
Below are some of our best tips for improving site load times. With a faster site, you can improve customer satisfaction, build better relationships and increase conversions.
Minimize HTTP Requests
According to Yahoo, 80 percent of a web page’s load time goes to downloading the different parts of the page. An HTTP request is made for each of these elements, so the more components you have, the longer it will take for your pages to load.
Here are some of the ways to minimize HTTP requests:
- Check how many HTTP requests your site currently makes
- Remove unnecessary images
- Reduce file sizes for remaining images
- Set your website to load JavaScript files asynchronously
- Combine CSS files together
Reduce Server Response Time
How long it takes to look up your DNS, or domain name system, also influences how quickly your page loads. If your DNS provider is slow, it’s time to upgrade to a new one. You can use a tool like Namebench to test your computer and get the fastest DNS settings for your location and current connection.
Choose the Right Hosting Provider
When you first launched your website, you may have chosen the cheapest hosting option. But now that your business is more established, it may be time to look into a better hosting plan. We recommend VPS hosting where you still share a server with others but you get your own dedicated portion.
Run a Compression Audit
Your files should be as small as they can be without sacrificing quality. The smaller your files, the faster your site will load. Use the GIDNetwork to run a compression audit and identify areas where you can compress files. Then use Gzip to replace large files with smaller ones. It works well with both CSS and HTML.
Enable Browser Caching
When you visit a website, the elements on the page are stored in a cache. This way, when you return to the same site, the page can load without having to send an HTTP request. This makes load times much faster. Be sure that you enable browser caching so that your visitors can enjoy faster speeds.
Reduce Image Sizes
Images directly impact speed, so the larger the files, the slower the load times. Rather than removing images, you can reduce their size. This involves cropping images to the correct size and enabling compression.
If you’re looking to improve your website’s performance, contact our digital marketing agency in New Orleans today. WSI Star Web Solutions will help you get your site running flawlessly without compromising quality.