The way in which your website performs will determine whether it is a success or failure. Your website is the gateway to your business. In today’s marketplace, users expect to get what they need as quickly as possible.
According to Creative Brand Design, a web design and development firm, you have to do all you can to ensure that your website is up to speed and fully meets the requirements of your business. Let’s have a look at some recomendations that can help you make sure that happens:
Code Your Site With Mobile-first in mind
Over the past ten years, mobile phone usage has increased dramatically in the online world. As far as website owners are concerned, mobile users are today their top priority. You need to make sure that your website is optimized for mobile-first.
Any online enterprise that does not prioritize mobile access will rapidly lose market share to rivals. If people cannot see your site clearly and quickly, they will look elsewhere. There are no second chances!
Make sure you code for mobile users first, and then filter through to your desktop site.
Reduce Image Sizes with the Correct Format
Most likely, your website has many images, and possibly gifs, videos, and audio files too. If so, you need to think about optimizing them. The more images you have, the longer it will take for them, and ultimately the whole webpage, to load.
Commonly, there are three image file formats – JPEG, GIF and PNG. You should only use JPEG for real photos that have smooth gradients and colour tones. Only use use GIFs or PNG images for charts and logos.
Reduce HTTP Requests
Every JavaScript file, CSS, or image on your site requires your visitor’s browser to make an HTTP or HTTPS request to the server. Making many requests like this will reduce your site’s load time. Remember that slow speed can be the kiss of death for your online business. Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help reduce the number of requests.
You can combine both CSS and JavaScript files by creating one master file for all the CSS files and another for all of the JavaScript files. Where possible, you should also use CSS instead of images, as this will remove the need to use images for horizontal lines – visitors will not need to wait so long for them to load.
GZip Compression
You can also enhance the performance of your site by enabling Gzip compression. Compression allows the website’s sever to provide smaller files. These files load much faster for online visitors. The process can shrink files considerably – up to 80%, resulting in faster page load times and lower bandwidth consumption.
Hopefully, after reading this article, you now know what to do to improve your website’s performance. Good luck!
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Interesting related article: “What is a Website?”