Did you know that website loading speed is now one of the criteria used in SEO? So, to get a good ranking on Google, you need to make this aspect a priority. But how can you effectively optimise your website's loading speed? We will provide some answers to this question in the rest of this guide.
As you can see, the faster your website loads, the higher it will rank in Google's search results. Add to that the fact that when internet users decide to click on your page, they usually wait only 3 seconds before deciding to move on to another one.
Make a diagnosis
Before writing a prescription, a doctor always begins by making a diagnosis to find out what is wrong with their patient. The same applies to you if you want to optimise your website's performance.
To make things easier, you can use specialised tools such as Pingdom, which will help you get an overview of your website's current situation. Once you have completed this first step, you will have a roadmap of sorts showing you the next steps to take.
Choosing the right accommodation option
There are two main types of hosting: shared hosting and dedicated hosting.
- Shared hosting: here, your website is hosted on a server alongside several others.
- Dedicated hosting: in this case, only your website will be hosted on the server.
Needless to say, of these two solutions, dedicated hosting will be more expensive and offer better performance. However, if you have a newly launched website with few pages, shared hosting will be more than enough to start with. Once your website has enough traffic, you can opt for a dedicated server.
Compress the images on your website
According to a study conducted by Imagify, images generally account for approximately 62% of a website's weight. This is why it is important to compress them before integrating them into your site.
Don't worry about the final rendering of your images after compression. There are many tools available that can reduce redundant image data without affecting the final rendering. These include Tiny PNG and Tiny Jpeg. As a guideline, you should always aim for a maximum size of 1 MB for full-screen images.
Enable GZIP compression
GZIP is an application used to compress and decompress HTML and JavaScript web files. It cannot be used on images, only on web pages. Once you activate it on your server, the browser will simply serve your visitors the compressed files.
Use a CDN
A Content Delivery Network is an international network of servers that, once connected to your server, will distribute your website content locally. It also aims to cache files that do not require urgent updating.
By using a CDN, you will be able to handle traffic spikes, protect your servers, and reach targets all over the world.
Caching elements of your site
Caching a website is an essential step in optimising your website's loading speed. It involves several steps and must always be tailored to your specific situation.
Once the caching system is activated, it will temporarily store repetitive elements of the website. This will enable servers to quickly deliver files to visitors.
There are two types of cache that can be used to speed up the loading of your website: the first is related to the technology used by the website, while the second depends entirely on the server you are connected to.
Selecting a responsive design template
A theme is said to be responsive design when it adapts to all devices without pixelation issues. Believe it or not, this solution is the most reliable way to ensure your website displays correctly regardless of screen size.
A responsive website takes into account elements such as:
- Navigating and scrolling through pages;
- Resizing the website pages to fit the medium;
- The reframing of visual elements;
- Ease of reading.
When your website has a responsive design, it improves the user experience and contributes to better search engine rankings for your site.
Minify your code
Before choosing the coding language for your website (HTML, JavaScript or CSS), it is important to bear in mind that it takes up a lot of space and can slow down the display of your site. This is because the browser needs to decrypt the code before displaying your page, and the longer the code, the longer it will take to display.
When we talk about minifying your code, it is primarily a matter of removing empty spaces, line breaks and separators that are generally used by the developer in charge of building the site, to make it easier for someone else to understand their work if they are ever replaced.
Place scripts below the fold
Many developers still place scripts above the fold on their websites. What they don't realise is that by doing so, they are forcing users to wait, which can cost them dearly in the long run.
The solution to avoid this situation is to place external files at the bottom of the page and before the tag. This way, users will be able to access your site's content as they scroll down.
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