How to Improve Website Performance and Page Load Time
Many search engines favorite fast-loading websites and consider them user-friendly. As we know, SEO is a long-term strategy; it could take weeks to see results. Thus, start as early as possible and stay on top of your game. Sticking with SEO strategies for organic growth is cost-effective and still the best approach a website owner can take. Here are three steps to improve your website’s performance right now. (Please note Elements Web Development offers all these services as part of service packages)
1) Optimize Images On your Website
Optimizing images for the website is crucial to improving website speed and user experience. Large images can slow down your website’s loading time. Smaller images help files load faster and reduce memory usage. Optimize your images by compressing them and reducing their file size to improve website performance. Use tools such as Photoshop, Canva, TinyPNG, and GIMP.
Alternatively, you could also use WordPress plugins to optimize your images. Here is a list of WordPress plugins for image optimization: Imagify, Shortpixel, Smush, Optimus, and EWWW Image Optimizer. If images are an essential part of your website, consider using online tools or software like those listed above to optimize for the web before uploading it to your website. You have more control over file size and image quality when using online tools and preparing images for your website.
Different image formats are designed to optimize different types of images, and using the wrong format can lead to larger file sizes, slower loading times, and lower image quality.
JPEG and PNG are the two most favorable formats for image optimization on the web.
JPEG is a compressed format best suited for photographs and complex images with many colors and gradients. When considering converting images to JPEG files, the images are compressed to a smaller size without losing image quality, making them ideal for web use where file size is a concern.
Google has an extensive article regarding different image formats. Read more about JPEG on Chrome Developer Relations.
PNG is a lossless image format that supports transparent backgrounds, making it ideal for images such as logos, icons, or graphics with text overlay. PNG files tend to be larger than JPEG files, but they maintain high image quality and are a good choice for images that need to look sharp and clear, especially if they include text. Read more about PNG on Chrome Developer Relations. Choosing the appropriate image format can significantly affect your website’s load time and overall performance.
2) Improve the Content of Your Website
When it comes to article or blog writing, consider what your customers are looking for and write persuasive content to help your customer make a decision. Keep your content simple yet engaging so your customer finds your article interesting and reads the article till the end. Encourage your customer to keep reading by providing helpful tips, lists, and steps. Provide additional yet related information so the customer finds possible answers to all the questions. Consider beneficial guidance, suggestions, or other information the customer needs to decide on your services or products. For example, if you run a unique breed website, write an article about the breed, the breed’s characteristics, special features, diet, and essential products the breed needs to thrive. Write a step-by-step guide on after-adoption scenarios. Suggest helpful tips for getting other pets and family members to integrate flawlessly with new family members. Finally, list all the dietary restrictions, list of ideal pet toys and special care instructions, etc. Above suggested topics should keep your customer busy reading on your website.
3) Keep Your Website Up to Date
Keeping your website updated with the latest version of your CMS, plugins, widgets, and other software can improve website performance significantly. Updated software reduces security vulnerabilities. Increased competition caused by the speed of technological advances makes it hard to keep up with all the changes. Nevertheless, it is critical to stay current to stay on all of your updates. For example, often check your plugins page and themes for the most recent updates. Verify that all installed plugins are activated. If the plugin is inactive, you probably do not need it anymore. In this case, deleting all the idle and inactive plugins is the best approach since all these plugins are possible security issues. Elements Web Development offers several support and maintenance packages that might help you with all your updates.