Ten Easy Ways to Increase Your Website’s Page Speed

Page loading times are crucial to a website’s success. Search engines factor it into their ranking results, and 40 per cent of site visitors typically abandon a site that hasn’t loaded within three seconds.

Here are ten simple yet effective ways to increase page speeds:

1.     Compress graphics. Photos can be reduced to a fraction of their original file size, without looking pixellated. Specify image dimensions too, to save processing time.
2.     Simplify coding. HTTP requests are needed for each stylesheet, script and image. Less is more, so reduce scripts and streamline elements wherever possible.
3.     Abolish redirects. Building on the last point, 301 redirects involve extra HTTP requests that extend loading times. Choose responsive site frameworks instead.
4.     Enable browser caching. Regular visitors to your site won’t always need to load every page in full. Browser caching will store key attributes for quicker access in future.
5.     Learn how to minify. Empty elements, whitespace and HTML comments still matter. Increase page speed with tools like YUI Compressor for CSS and JavaScript.
6.     Streamline homepages. These are typically the first port of call for search engines and customers/visitors alike. Eliminate auto-playing media, and keep text/images concise.
7.     Delete plugins. It’s easy to get carried away with WordPress plugins, for example. Place substance over style by removing anything that’s not essential to increase page speed.
8.     Choose an efficient theme. Another WordPress tip is to choose a minimalist template. Don’t let form dictate function. Many responsive frameworks are designed for download speed.
9.     Tidy databases. Sites needing to interrogate databases will slow down with every revision, macro and extra sheet. Clean up databases to accelerate interrogations.
10.  Use powerful servers. At UK2, we’re committed to rapid content delivery. Our powerful global servers increase page speeds, boosting SEO and audience retention.