Make your website faster by optimizing load time, reducing file size, and improving user experience for better SEO and conversions.
Thomas Haurum
Is there anything more frustrating than landing on a slow website as a user? Probably not.
Our patience is limited when looking for information or products online. If we end up on a site that loads slowly, we simply move to the next one.
Poor speed only brings problems. It creates an unpleasant experience for the user and, by default, for you as the owner. You risk losing potential orders, and Google can see when users quickly leave your site.
How do you prevent this? Simple: put much more focus on speed optimization.
Speed optimization is a complex discipline involving both theoretical and technical knowledge. But why is everyone talking about it now?
As Google adjusts its algorithm for better results, speed has become increasingly important. Recently, Google announced your website speed is now a direct ranking factor. Will you be penalized if you neglect speed? – All signs point to YES.
Beyond Google’s algorithm, speed has an immediate function: making your users happy. Studies show you gain or lose users within the very first second. Consequences for a site with over a second of ‘waiting’ include at least:
It’s that simple. Loading speed impacts experience, conversion rate, and results.
In other words, there are no excuses. Get to your keyboard and make your website fast! It’s a must if you have digital ambitions.
In this article, I show the basic steps for good website speed.
At the start, it’s good to see how your website performs. There are many tools to analyze and pinpoint the exact issues. I personally prefer GTmetrix. It’s free, comprehensive, and very easy to use. The interface is intuitive and gives a 1 to 100 score, as well as grades for each parameter so you clearly see problem areas.
The optimization process depends heavily on your site structure—and, of course, your technical knowledge. Most open-source CMS platforms offer optimization plugins to save money on developers.
If your site is like most, you’ll find the same usual optimization opportunities to start with. Here they are.
Plugins can enhance the look and functionality of your site, but are often the main culprits for poor speed. In short: the more plugins you have, the more file calls are made. This slows down the browser. Besides the number, plugin quality matters too—there’s a big difference in how well they’re coded and compressed. Poor plugins are also security risks and can result in site loss.
Recommendation: only install essential plugins for your business. Ditch the flashy but useless ones.
A fundamental step is to always compress your images. There are two aspects: cropping (width/height) and compression (KB/MB). Always consider and apply both.
Cropping
First question: where will you use the image? If it appears in a large slider, your upload size must match. If you don’t know the right size, you can:
You’ll see the actual size and the size it’s displayed at.
Now you can resize your image as needed.
Compression
Many people don’t want to lose product quality, understandably. But you can compress images with no visible loss of quality. You can use lossy or lossless compression. Basically, file size is reduced by decreasing color numbers. Visual difference is hard to spot, but file size impact is major.
If you use WordPress, you can use the Smush plugin for automatic compression. Otherwise, use TinyPNG.com before uploading.
Every time you call a file, your browser sends a request to the server. Usually there’s slight delay, reducing speed.
A Concrete Example
You’ve had your online store for over 5 years and been advised to install various tools: MailChimp, SleekNote, Pixels, Analytics, Hotjar, CrazyEgg, Messenger, LinkedIn Conversion Tracking? Plus 3 fonts for text, another for headings, italic for testimonials. And over 17 JavaScript files for all sorts of special effects. But in the end, your site is slow.
Reevaluate and prioritize requests
Do you really need all those fonts? Are you even using LinkedIn Tracker? Remove anything that doesn’t provide real effect or heavy use.
Combine CSS and JavaScript files
Instead of 5 JavaScript files, group them into one wherever possible. You can ask a programmer or use a plugin. For WordPress, I recommend Autoptimize.
You’ve probably heard of cache but aren’t sure what it does. Simply put, cache stores data from visited sites. The first time you visit wemarket.ro, the browser loads everything from the server. Next time, some data is already stored locally and loading is much faster.
If you haven’t enabled caching yet, no worries—there are plugins for most CMS platforms.
Few know, but PHP version significantly impacts site speed. Host companies handle changes (e.g., Unoeuro, One.com, SurfTown).
PHP versions typically range from 5.0 to 7.4.
Our recommendation: use the latest version. However, some updates might change your site display.
You can ask a developer for help with PHP upgrades and the other quick recommendations in this article. It will benefit both you and your visitors.
Also Read:
Google launches better options for split testing
Why did Google shift to Mobile First indexing?
WeMarket has substantial experience in new website design—read more here.
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