Today’s web users are busy people and they don’t like to waste time, so making sure that your site loads and runs speedily is an increasingly important part of website design. Many ecommerce businesses and businesses that rely on their online presence lose huge numbers of potential customers simply because their websites are too slow. If a web user has to wait too long for a page to load (or if the page slows to a crawl while they’re trying to view it), they are likely to navigate away from that page as quickly as possible. However, there’s no need to panic; there are steps you can take to ensure that your website is fast enough for modern users.
1. Change your image file formats
All good websites use images to draw their customers in. However, images can sometimes slow a webpage down. This happens because the file size of each image is simply too large. It’s therefore worth checking that all the images that you use on your website are saved in a format that doesn’t use up too much data. If necessary, convert your website images to a format with smaller file sizes. You’ll be surprised at how much this can speed your website up, especially if it uses a lot of images.
2. Change your video player
Videos are an increasingly common feature of websites. However, if web users have to wait for a long time for a video to load, they may get bored or become impatient and leave your site. This problem will be exacerbated if the video’s slow loading-speed is affecting the speed of the rest of the page. It’s therefore worth considering whether you’re using the right software for playing your videos. Not all video players are equally speedy, so it’s worth doing your research and choosing one that will help your videos load rapidly.
3. Reduce your clutter
Superfluous graphics, widgets, images and other features can seriously slow down the rate at which each of your pages loads and runs. Simply removing features that aren’t really adding anything to your website can really speed your site up. What’s more, removing these features will also have another positive effect: it will give your site a cleaner, more appealing aesthetic.
Nowadays, the speed at which a site runs is a vital part of its design. Don’t be left behind by faster websites – make sure yours is up to speed.
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5 website improvements every business can make in the next week to get more leads
