There is nothing worse than a website which takes 348490220104 years to load. Everyone agrees that a website which takes too long to load will cause them to leave before they even get to the homepage. As well as humans not liking long load times, search engines also detest them. If you have a slow load time you face the risk of being penalised and ignored from search results. With your search result being paramount to the success of your business, it is essential you put every precaution available in to prevent this from happening. In this blog, we give you the guidance you need to make your website load quickly!
Have a good hosting service
One of the simplest ways to increase load time is to have a good hosting service hosting your site. Cheap plans are not ideal if you wish to portray yourself as a professional business that can provide the product/service that customers have been looking for. Whenever someone clicks on your website, it will then connect their computer to the site’s server and present the web pages to them. It is the ability to connect which determines how fast or slow this process may be. By having a trustworthy hosting service you can ensure load time will not be affected by an improper connection.
Reduce content
The size of your content can cause a delay in the computer retrieving the data on site. If the content has large files, the computer will need longer to successfully retrieve and present the information to the searcher. Therefore, whenever able reduce your content file size whilst keeping the quality. Although load time is paramount to success, the quality of your content is also important so do not sacrifice poor content for the sake of a fast load time- find a balance.
Have smaller/compressed images
Similar to your content, images can be very large files. With visual content being an essential part of your brand, it is important that they are on site but are compressed to an appropriate size without loss of quality.
Do not have videos directly on site
Videos are one of the largest files you can have when they are directly uploaded to the site and will be directly impacted in regards to load time. Why not upload to a video hosting platform such as YouTube or Vimeo then plug the link into your site? This will have a significantly lower file size and not affect quality- a win-win!
Reduce the number of redirects you have
Although necessary when you move or delete pages, too many redirects can significantly harm how long it takes your site to load. If too many are on your site, the more your site will have to make requests to gather the page’s information, therefore, will take longer to fully appear to searchers. In particular, mobile visitors will be affected by the most, with the majority of people using their phones to surf the net it is essential you are not doing anything to jeopardise their experience.
WordPress sites- Do not overuse plugins
If you have a WordPress site you may love a good plugin. However, too many can mean your website is having to work harder to load information, therefore take longer. Always research the plugin and determine how necessary it is to the website’s success. Then test the plugin to see if it affects your load time, and eliminate if not positively benefiting you.
For further insights and guidance, we invite you to explore our blog at 07hm.co.uk/blog. Here, you’ll find a wealth of information tailored to the needs and challenges of SMEs navigating the digital landscape. Additionally, if you have specific questions or need personalised advice, don’t hesitate to reach out to us via email at info@07hm.co.uk or telephone on 01702 410663.
