Speed Always Wins: Simple Tips for Web Optimization

Remember that in a world where you have to rise above others, you need to focus on the things that really matters to make your business boom. And a part of this, my friend, is usability. Since there are a lot of webpages that are vying for the virtual audience’ attention, the least you could really do is provide the worst navigating experience to your visitors. No matter how great your content is, it will never be enough to attract traffic and turn visits into leads without usability.

It is undeniable that speed plays an integral part in one’s navigating experience. Since the audiences are left with so many options, they can literally forget your site once your pages take ages to load. This should never happen. Instead of focusing on web design or upgrades alone, it is now time to go back to the basics and optimize your webpage. In a recent webinar, Theresa Baiocco of ConversionMax, along with Convert talks about using conversion optimization for PPC and landing pages.

G-Zip Compression

Remember when you had to zip your files and compress them into a single folder to make its transfer easier? You can do this on your website too. Heavy data can really take ages to transfer, and this could affect your page’s loading time. Since the data is being read by the server before it is loaded, G-Zip encoding could really help. Remember, the lighter the data is, the easier for it to be loaded. Simplify everything that you can in your site to make sure your page would function optimally.

Keep Your CMS Software Up-to-Date

Updates can knock on your door—or more appropriately, on your system—at any given time. Keeping your software upgraded can optimize speed and usability. If you are utilizing CMS, it is best that you keep your software updated. However, never test the upgrade on live websites. Rather, test the update on a separate server first. This would help you fully understand the features and specs of the new system before fully applying it into your site.

Get Rid of Unnecessary HTML and CSS

No one wants to run a heavily coded website because this would definitely result to a slower loading time. Yes, [HTML and CSS are necessities, but if you found areas in your page where there is unrequired HTML or CSS, it is best that you eliminate them.] Also, inspect your site on probable customized settings that you might not need anymore. Delete it if you can, or simply compress them in a single folder.

Ditch Text Graphics

I understand if you feel the need to use text graphics to make your page look more attractive to the visitors. We are living in a very visual world after all, and it is easy to assume that anything that looks good can absolutely become an asset in any business. However, this is not the case for text graphics. Basically, including this in your site would mean more web page size which could lead to a slower loading time. In the like manner, text graphics are no good for SEO. This means that it is best that you use text styles in CSS instead and make sure that your web design is already pleasant enough to attract your target audience.

Image File Format: Stick to the Standard

Image files such as JPG, GIF and PNG may be standard, but they are best for ensuring that your pages won’t take long before it loads. Web optimization is definitely any virtual entrepreneur’s ladder to success. No matter how great your content is, remember that speed is one crucial factor that could create a big impact in your success rate.

“Web optimization is a vital part of web development and maintenance but also something often overlooked by webmasters. Just think of the money you can save, and how it can potentially help increase your readership and traffic when they are properly done.” – hongkiat.com

As mentioned in the link above, there are several ways to speed up your load time through your web host. Here are few basics that you can use to increase your speed and optimization:

• Choose a decent web host
• Host assets separately
• Use Compression with GZip
• Minimize Redirects
• Reduce DNS Lookups

If you want to find out more about this or the webinar, you can check out the entire webinar here.

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