When it comes to performance, speed is everything. The same can be said about your website loading time.
Who cares? Well, many folks do. And you should, too.
More importantly, though, search engines care the most. If your website loads slowly, it might work against your rank due to a poor website experience.
If your competitors have faster websites, better content and a pleasing design, they’re more likely to have their website shown before yours.
Visitors are likelier to stick around if the website loads efficiently and is a good experience overall.
It’s not something everyone is aware of or necessarily cares about. Still, generally, you aim to have, at the very least, your main landing page or “homepage” load in and around under 3 seconds as a goal to shoot for, with some exceptions to the rule.
The same can be said about any other page on your website, too. It’s an ongoing pursuit.
With growing internet traffic shifting towards mobile today, your website needs to be a lean, mean loading machine.
How to test
Several free online tools will provide an overview audit that can give insight.
Remember, they are not 100% accurate, but they provide a good scope of items for you to look through and investigate.
Here are a few below as a good place to start:
You usually aim for around an 80+ or a B- and up.
As a fine place to start, these tools will point you in the right direction. They provide you with an overall score and suggestions/recommendations on areas to look at.
Remember, it is an overview/guide, not a how-to or implementation service.
We’re not exactly aiming for a “perfect score” so much as treating these tools as a useful guideline of where we could potentially improve things.
Website Host
The platform that you are on is likely the best place to start. There may be little room for improvement if you’re on a slow web host.
This fundamental consideration determines what, if anything, you can do to speed up your website overall as a natural first step.
Usually, you can migrate to a different web host or upgrade your account.
If you’re limited to a system that does not have many options, you’d have to consider changing systems or making the most of what you have.
CDN
A CDN (content delivery network) system delivers your website assets accounting for a location that will provide a good experience in North America or Asia.
Third-party managers like Cloudflare and AWS handle this kind of delivery network.
Many web hosts include a built-in option for seamless integration, but others do not.
A variety of third-party tools are available as well.
Caching
Website caching is a process that stores your website files in a way that content can be accessed quickly. Once the files are generated, they are stored on the server for quick access.
If you load a website on your browser, it stores things locally and speeds things up considerably.
This is why you sometimes need to refresh your browser to load the latest version of a website.
Images/Media
Your images should be formatted correctly for the web. What this usually means is something that is 72 DPI, a reasonable width and height and overall file size.
When working with multiple media types like JPG, PNG, GIF and so on, you must ensure they are compressed to a degree where quality is not degraded.
Depending on the situation, using the correct file type is also essential.
JPG is the most common and can be compressed relatively well. PNG is used more sparingly for transparent use cases and crisper graphics required but is usually a larger file size. GIF is also used in a limited fashion for simple looped animations.
There are various types of motion, animation, and video that you need to consider when to use and how much on the page so as not to overload things.
Vector formats like SVG are beneficial because they are scalable and relatively compressed file types. This works well for things like icons, logos, graphics, etc.
There are formats like WEBP that are even further optimized.
Knowing what size and type of media file you need to use is critical.
Mobile
Today, with so many devices, it’s critical to keep a streamlined experience from your desktop to your phone.
With basic analytics, it’s easy to determine how much traffic your website gets from what type of device or screen size.
What looks and works well on a desktop may not translate perfectly to mobile.
Adjustments and considerations should be implemented so the overall experience is good no matter what screen you’re on.
Scripts
One of the typical types of optimization issues is the amount and size of scripts.
Compressing and condensing your scripts as much as possible helps reduce the number of requests being made, speeding things up considerably.
This goes for mainly CSS and JS and minifying where possible.
Reliance on third-party providers through external links can add to your burden. And not to mention potentially causing issues if the service goes offline.
Accessibility
Some countries and companies must provide a good experience for many different user types.
Especially those who may need assisted technologies to browse your website.
Accessibility is, at the primary level, ensuring you have adequate contrast for text legibility and accurate descriptions of images, etc., that will allow your website to reach a wider audience.
Best Practice
Beyond your overall performance and speed, following sound design principles, including layout, writing, and SEO, will ensure your website experience stands out and is memorable overall.
No amount of optimization can make the experience better if it is not structured in an aesthetically pleasing way.
Thus, it is the balancing act of how much load time you are willing to sacrifice to put unique content out into the world.
Delivering a streamlined experience is not a matter of option; today, it is a matter of expectation.
The only other consideration that could affect things significantly would be internet speed. We focused on things that are within our control.
Having a good website experience for your sake and visitors is in your best interest.
Don’t ignore or put optimization on the back burner. It’s a vital part of your website!
