We all know how frustrating it is when we click on a link and the page takes forever to load. We’ve become so accustomed to fast-loading pages that anything less feels like an eternity. That’s why page speed is so important – not only for the user experience but also for search engine optimization.
According to SEO Christchurch service expert, there are a lot of factors that contribute to a slow loading page, but fortunately, there are also a lot of things you can do to speed things up.
Why Is Page Speed Important?
Slow website speed can be frustrating for both you and your visitors. SEO Christchurch experts mention that the speed with which a website load is an important factor in its usability.
Page speed is one of the 200 ranking factors that influence a website’s position in organic search results, and it undoubtedly improves user experience.
With so many other websites in your niche, the competition to earn site traffic and keep visitors impressed with rich usability is becoming increasingly important. If your website does not load quickly, you will most likely lose visitors to your competitors in a matter of seconds.
A quick page load time can also help your website’s crawl rate. The faster pages load, the more pages Google can crawl at the same time. High page speed can also increase the crawl demand for your site, which means Google will want to crawl more pages.
How to Reduce Page Load Time?
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Optimize Dependencies
Plugins: A site that requires plugins may cause your page to load slowly. However, always check to see if a better alternative to the plugin exists, such as using a CMS with built-in social plugins.
Tracking Scripts: While it is important to monitor your website’s traffic statistics, using multiple tracking software may slow down page load time.
CMS Software: If you use a CMS such as WordPress, it is recommended that you check for software updates on a regular basis but do not load these on a live website. Perform upgrades on a separate server first to test them. Keeping up with software updates also helps a site’s speed.
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Optimize Caching
Webpage caching is another type of caching that can be used to improve page loading times. This technique allows the browser to save a variety of information, such as stylesheets, images, and JavaScript files, so that the page does not have to be reloaded every time a user visits it.
These files can be retrieved from the cache rather than downloaded from the network on subsequent page loads. This reduces bandwidth and hosting costs as well.
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Neglect Inline JS and CSS files
It is best to practise keeping your website’s JS and CSS in separate files. When the page loads, the browser externally caches these files, reducing the page load time on subsequent requests. Furthermore, having the JS and CSS files outside of the site allows for easier site maintenance.
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Reduce HTTP Requests
CSS Sprites can be used to reduce the number of image requests. Using the CSS background-image and background-position elements, you can combine multiple background images into a single image. Incorporate inline images into cached stylesheets. Similarly, combine all of your javascript files and CSS files into a single file. If you need assistance identifying redirects that are incorrectly configured on your site, you can contact a reputable SEO Christchurch agency expert.
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Leverage A Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A Content Delivery Network (CDN), also known as a ‘content distribution network,’ is a network of servers that can aid in the speed of page loading. This can improve performance by shortening the distance that data requests must travel between browsers and your host’s servers. A CDN reduces network latency and produces lower TTFBs by loading content for a web page from a server close to each visitor.
Conclusion
Eventually, significantly reducing page loading speed improves not only your website’s overall performance and user experience but also its SEO. Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to reduce loading times.
But keep in mind that every second your web pages take to load increases the likelihood that your visitors will leave. How long can you keep running your business while losing leads?