What can affect the site’s performance? The first thing that comes to your mind is lousy website developers. Only professional know the secrets of high-speed platforms and apps. Websites built with Node.js become increasingly demanding and a good option when your web resource is slow.
The average page loading time on fast hosting is 1-2 seconds. But, as we describe in this article, this time depends very much on three main factors:
- How long do you have to wait for the server’s response;
- How fast is your connection to the Internet;
- How quickly is the site generated in the client browser?
Non-Optimized Images
The loading of the site page depends on its size, which, in turn, is formed from code files, pictures, videos, and other files necessary for the site to function. The longer the page takes, the higher the probability that you will lose a visitor who is not ready to spend time waiting. Also, page loading speed affects ranking, so special attention should be paid to this moment. Pictures are the first thing that can be compressed in volume without losing quality.
How to Solve the Issue:
It would be best if you dealt with such pictures at the loading stage:
- The main working format will be changed. PNG should be replaced with JPG (small icons and icons may still need to be changed). You can also use WebP, a modern compression format, without losing quality from Google. However, with WebP, images are only sometimes displayed correctly on Apple devices. Therefore, it is better to choose a universal JPG.
- Use compression and optimization services before uploading to the site. We recommend using third-party platforms for size optimization and not installing plugins on the site since active plugins negatively affect page loading speed.
- Review and optimization of old images. The search for large illustrations can be automated to save time.
It is essential to include requirements for the size and format of illustrations in the editorial policy for content managers and other site operators to avoid doing the same work twice.
No Caching
Website caching is one of the most valuable technologies. Its use makes sites extremely fast, which leads to improved SEO and increased user satisfaction. Not to mention the higher conversion that the Internet cache gives.
By setting up caching, you will significantly improve the site’s performance. You can cache different entities – from HTTP and database requests to images. Just don’t overdo it. Caching causes an increased load on the web server!
Lots of Advertising
Of course, advertising helps monetize a high-traffic site. But it should not affect the productivity or convenience of users. Each advertising banner is an additional HTTP request and sometimes calls to scripts, which take a lot of time to process. Pop-ups, inter-page transitions, and automatic loading of video ads can create hundreds of HTTP requests that your server hosting the site cannot handle.
How to Solve the Issue:
Advertisements are extra HTTP requests that slow down page loading. Use them only where they will work and “pay off” their weight.
Too Much Information in the Database
Redundancy is an extensive array of useless data. This is a fairly common phenomenon. For example, plugins for WordPress store an impressive amount of information in the database, which remains there even after the plugin is removed. The database grows and works more slowly, affecting the entire site’s performance.
Scripts Conflict with Other Page Elements
If the JavaScript code is incorrectly configured or addresses non-existent elements, it can negatively affect the site’s loading.
Often this happens due to an error in the code. The person who wrote the ego made a mistake in the meaning, wrote an extra number, or incorrectly indicated the class. A site or web application trying to fulfill a person’s request simply “gets stuck” when faced with an unexpected logical or syntactic error.
In this case, intelligent code analysis and refactoring are needed. Only a human can correct such a mistake.
You can use the Pingdom, Web Page Test, or GTmetrix services to check whether the scripts connected to the site affect the page loading speed.
Viruses
This happens rarely, but it does happen. The server can also be infected with a virus and the local computer, especially if your VDS is running on Windows. On this OS, the word “infection” is much easier. But even Linux is not 100% protected.
Viruses on the server and a regular PC can consume part of the resources and will noticeably slow down its work. The solution is an antivirus. You can check the site using a unique online service. But you must install a professional solution to complete a comprehensive cleaning and remove less common threats. It can find suspicious scripts, unprotected directories, and strange redirects.
How to Choose a Website Developer, so that Exclude Mistakes
The Studio Has its Website and Dynamic Pages on Social Networks:
The web studio creates websites and develops projects, but it does not have its website – you must agree that this is at least strange. The studio should have its website and its dynamic pages on social networks.
Availability of Portfolio and Reviews:
Like any business, one of the essential criteria of a sound studio is a portfolio with an analysis of completed works. Carefully familiarize yourself with the presented cases, read the reviews, and check their relevance (you can write or contact the people who left a review). Be sure to analyze the portfolio – look for works similar to your idea. If they are executed qualitatively, the studio has experience running projects similar to yours. And this is already a big plus!
To Conclude
Many factors influence the website loading speed: poorly optimized images, many HTTP requests, bulky code, problems with frameworks, and advertising. And these are only some of them.
It is not always easy to determine what causes the site to slow down. But finding the root of the problem is significant. Because its solution will allow you not to lose money due to failed clients, every millisecond can matter in our time.
