Last Updated on March 4, 2024
Of all the tips to speed up websites, the most important is to get a good web hosting service. A well configured server will solve most if not all your problems. That being said, fancy pages can still take a long time to load. Here are some suggestions to make those pages appear faster.
1. Cache Management
Expires headers tell a browser to get a site from the cache if possible. Large files are kept in the cache, so a web page will pop up more quickly when reloaded.
2. Use Keep Alive Signals
A Keep Alive Signal is used for transmitting signals to verify if a link that was visited is functioning. The link is assumed down if there is no reply. A new path is utilized for data routing. This aids in latency reduction.
3. Use Gzip
What this software does is boost speed and reduces the site load. Gzip also lowers the size of an HTTP’s response. All the major browsers support it.
4. Cacheable Redirects
This is one of the most effective ways to reduce web page lag times. Cacheable redirects make websites load quicker on a user’s next visit. The validity has to be 24 hours with cache control and a user agent.
5. CDNs
CDN (content delivery network) consists of web servers set along different areas. The objective is to deliver content consistently. Programs that can do this for you include MAXCDN and Amazon CloudFront.
6. Keep Redirects to a Low
One of the best tips to speed up websites is to keep redirects to a minimum. Use only when it is absolutely necessary.
7. Get Rid of Unnecessary Query Strings
The same thing with query settings; keep them to a minimum.
8. Character Set Specifications
HTTP headers need to have specific character sets. Implementing the right codes will go a long way towards speeding up a site.
9. Keep Code Usage to a Minimum
Get rid of white spaces, worthless empty elements, CDATA sections, HTML comments and other extraneous material. Stuffing your site with code increases the loading time significantly because the browser has to process more data.
10. Remove Dead Links
Bad requests and many other errors are due to dead links. Your site will spend a lot of time trying to contact these links to no avail, so get rid of them.
11. Consistent URLs
A resource shared on several pages need to have one URL resource. Different URLs will pack the cache quickly. A full cache will prevent a browser from storing more files.
12. DNS Lookups should be minimized
Until the DNS is found, a user’s browser will not do anything else. Keeping the lookup down will reduce the time it takes to load pages.
13. Determine Image Size
Height and width tags have to be included with all images. Unless you specify the dimensions, it will take a browser much longer to finish loading a page.
14. Optimize Images
There’s a reason why JPEG is used on the web; they compress the file size without losing quality. Don’t put megabyte size images on a page or they’ll take forever to load. Place the images in different pages if they are really necessary.
15. JS Bottom, CSS Top
Set the style sheets at the document head. This will stop progressive rendering. This setup will prevent browsers from loading unnecessary material. JavaScript have to be kept to a minimum or down as they often cause a lot of errors.
There are other tips to speed up websites. You should avoid putting unnecessary plug-ins, controls and animation. Strive to keep the site clean and easy to navigate.
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