One of the factors that point to the success of a website is site speed optimisation. Poor website performance has disastrous consequences on the bottom line of a client’s brand. One such factor that kills website performance is the torturous wait for a page to load. Patience is not a virtue when it comes to online search activities as is conveyed in this statistic: A one second delay in waiting for a web page to upload can result in reducing the user’s experience as much as 16% with a 7% percent reduction in the conversion rate.
How can load speeds be improved to receive the highly sought after benefits such as quality searcher engagement and maximum conversion rates? Site speed optimisation comprises of several technical strategies. Here are 4 to get started with:
- Remove excess page weight
Minimising data and assets on the page is one of the more popular ways to improve a web page’s loading times. The process of minification gets rid of irrelevant data.
- Enable browser caching
By enabling browser caching, every time a searcher returns to the same web page they do not need to wait for it to upload as the files are stored temporarily in their browser history.
- Ensure images are optimised
This simply means that the right format is used for images displayed on a website. PNG formats are excellent for graphics and saturated images. JPEGs work better for vibrant photographs.
- Reduce URL redirects
Another factor that increases the waiting time for a page to load are redirects. A URL redirect generates an extra HTTP request that adds on to loading times. To avoid this issue keep only those redirects that are essential for technical purposes.
Improving site speed is one of the best practice techniques in website development. For more information on this and other digital marketing-friendly practices speak to a customer representative at Globital Canada, the top service provider in wholesale web development.