Having an appealing and informative website is vital for any business trying to compete in today’s marketplace. Some business owners get so fixated on the look of their website that they forget to test it for functionality.
In a recent poll, nearly 50 percent of the online consumers polled claimed they expected a website to load in 2 seconds or less. If your website is loading slowly, it may lead to you losing out on valuable sales leads.
If you adequately test website performance, pinpointing issues with slow loading early on will be easy. The following are just some of the most common reasons for slow loading websites.
1. The Images on the Website Aren’t Optimized
The first thing a visitor to your website will notice are the images. Having high definition images that are both relevant and appealing is essential. However, failing to optimize the images you have may lead to slow page load speeds.
The larger the image file size is, the harder you will find it for your pages to load quickly. Luckily, there are a variety of programs on the market that allow you to compress image file sizes with ease. Generally, any file size that is larger than 1MB will need to be compressed.
2. Issues With JavaScript Can Slow Things Down
When web designer needs to add dynamic content to a website, they usually take advantage of JavaScript plugins. While these plugins are very helpful, they can be a problem when used incorrectly.
In most cases, it will take a great deal of time for JavaScript to be loaded for a user. Using a variety of API calls to render the JavaScript data should be avoided due to the slow page load speeds this will produce. By allowing a programmer to audit your JavaScript scripts, you can figure out what elements can be removed for better performance.
3. You Have to Use Caching Techniques
If you are looking for a way to speed up your website, then using caching is a must. Being able to store commonly used data points in the cached memory reduces the amount of work your website has to do when loading. This means that the site will load much faster.
Using both HTTP caching and server-side caching is a must when attempting to increase the performance of your website. Everything from database queries to images can be saved in cached memory.
4. Too Many Ads Can Be Problematic
One of the main goals most entrepreneurs have when building a website is finding ways to generate income with this tool. The best way to do this is by running ads that appeal to your website visitors.
Running ads can be beneficial and lucrative, but this should be done in moderation. Having too many ads on your website will not only make it run slower, it can also make your site look a bit spammy. Instead of letting ads take over your site, you need to find the right balance between functionality and advertising.
5. It May Be Time to Find a New Host
There are times when a slow loading website can be caused by a bad host. Skimping on the quality of your web hosting to save a few dollars is always a bad idea. While you may have to pay more for quality hosting, it will definitely be worth it in the long run. Selecting a hosting provider that offers things like performance optimization services is a must.
Neglecting to fix your slow page load issues in a hurry can result in a lot of lost revenue. With the help of a web development professional, you should be able to pinpoint the cause of this problem in a hurry.
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