Hey there! Nowadays, people want everything on the internet to be lightning-fast. Waiting for a website to load or a video to play is just not something we have the patience for anymore. That’s why it’s crucial to optimise your website’s speed. To keep up with the demand for instant results, you need to make sure your website performs at its best. I’ve put together a checklist to help you meet modern customer expectations. Below, I’ll give you some general pointers, but in the final blog post, we’ll dive into more details using language that’s easy to understand.
Optimizing Images:
Let’s start with images. It’s super important to make sure all the images on your website are optimized to prevent them from slowing down your site. If your image file sizes are too large, it can lead to slow loading times or even drive visitors away. You have a couple of options to tackle this issue. You can manually optimize your images using software like Photoshop. Or, if you prefer a simpler approach, you can use a plugin that takes care of the optimization process for you.
Text Matters Too:
Now, you might think that written content doesn’t impact website speed, but that’s not entirely true. Certain font settings, effects, or custom fonts can actually cause delays in loading time. Making small changes, such as locally loading fonts and reducing the number of fonts you use on your site, can make a noticeable difference. By simplifying the text elements on your website, you’ll help speed it up.
The Impact of Videos:
Do you have videos on your website? They could potentially be slowing down your site. Typically, websites that try to load large videos directly from their own servers experience slower loading times. To avoid this issue, consider setting your videos to “lazy load.” This means they will only load and play when a user clicks on them. By doing so, your website won’t waste time pre-loading a large video, ensuring faster loading times.
Choosing the Right Hosting Provider:
The hosting company you choose can have a significant impact on your website’s speed. While a cheap shared hosting provider may seem tempting with its low cost, it’s unlikely that your site will load quickly on such a platform. Instead, consider using specialist hosting companies like Brixly. These companies optimize their servers and technology specifically to help websites load as fast as possible. Investing in the right hosting provider can greatly improve your website’s speed.
Clean Up Your Website:
Don’t forget about the little things that can clog up your website speed. For example, do you have an excessive number of plugins? Are they all necessary? Take a closer look at the plugins and extensions you’re using and see if any can be optimized or removed altogether. Remember, the less your website has to process, the faster it will load. Cleaning up unnecessary elements will help improve its speed for your visitors. You can use plugins on WordPress like Asset Cleanup to disable plugins on certain pages that are not being used.
Wrapping Up:
To meet the high expectations of modern internet users, optimizing your website’s speed is crucial. By following this checklist, you’ll be able to make the necessary improvements to ensure a fast and efficient browsing experience for your visitors. Remember, it’s all about optimizing your images, simplifying your text, managing your videos wisely, choosing the right hosting provider, and cleaning up any excess clutter.
You can test your website performance and load time using a tool like Google PageSpeed Insights which will test all your core web vitals and give you insights to improve your loading times.
Start implementing these strategies today, and watch your website thrive in the fast-paced online world.
Contact Jennings Media today for support in upgrading your website speed.
