Learn about Ways to Improve Your Website Speed

Website speed is considered as one of the important factors upon which a website success and ranking on Google search results depend on. It directly impacts the user experience, and it is closely linked to Google's ranking process. In this article, we will discuss the importance of website speed and provide you with some ways to improve it.

What is the importance of website speed, and how does it affect search rankings?

Website speed is associated with several aspects that directly influence the site's ranking and appearance in search engine results. Some of these aspects include:

- User Experience:

Faster loading enhances the user experience and the overall satisfaction with the website. Users prefer fast websites that provide content and services instantly. They are more likely to interact and benefit from the content and services of fast loading websites. On the contrary, users are more likely to leave a site that takes a long time to load without viewing its content. This increases bounce rates and reduces the actual time users spend on the site. In such cases, Google assumes that the user experience is poor, which negatively impacts the site's ranking and appearance in search results.

- Search Engine Algorithms:

The loading speed of a website, on both desktop and mobile devices, is one of the factors that Google's algorithms take into consideration when ranking the site and determining its appearance in search engine results. Google gives priority to websites that load quickly and provide a better user experience. It lowers the ranking of slow websites, or even hides them from search results.

- Search Engine Crawling Capability:

Slow website loading may affect the search engine's ability to crawl to the site and understand its content, hence, affect its ability to index it correctly. This negatively impacts the content's ranking in search results and the user's ability to view it and benefit from what it offers.

How can I increase my website speed?

There are several measures you can take to increase your website speed and improve its ranking and appearance in search results. Here are some of them:

1. Optimize Images:

You can optimize the images you use in your website by doing the following:

- Compress Images:

Large-sized images take longer to load, slowing down the overall website speed. Compressing images reduces their file sizes and the storage space they occupy, which positively affects page loading speed. There are various online tools that can help you compress your website images while maintaining their quality to a great extent.

- Save Images in JPG or SVG Format:

JPG and SVG file formats are smaller compared to other formats like PNG. Saving your website images in these formats will speed up the loading process and improve the user experience on your website.

- Avoid Using Animated GIFs:

Animated GIFs take longer to load compared to static images, affecting the overall website speed. This is due to the fact that animated GIFs are relatively large in size compared to static images; they contain multiple frames, and some of which even contain complex details or colors. Therefore, using them contributes to slower loading times.

2. Code Cleanup:

Cleaning up the code involves simplifying the website code to make it easier to read, understand, and maintain. This includes removing unnecessary or unclear comments, eliminating repetitive code, and improving page structure by looking at the logical order of the code, and ensuring the use of appropriate formatting. Code cleanup reduces file sizes, accelerating the website loading process.

3. Lazy Loading Technique:

Lazy loading is a technique that delays the loading of certain content on a web page, usually used for images and other media files that do not appear immediately in the initial view of the website. This technique identifies non-essential content, delaying its loading until it is scrolled to or becomes visible on the screen. Lazy loading improves the initial loading time of the page, enhancing the user experience and overall satisfaction.

4. Caching:

 Caching involves storing a copy of some website content temporarily, allowing users to access and retrieve it quickly upon revisiting the site without the need to reload it from the original server. Implementing caching technology increases website speed and reduces the time returning visitors need to load the content.

5. CSS, JavaScript, and HTML File Compression:

 Compressing CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files involves removing unnecessary elements such as spaces, lines, and comments from the code of these files. This process reduces the size of these files, and the amount of data users need to download, resulting in increased website speed.

6. Fonts Optimization:

The variety of fonts used in website content can affect its loading speed. The more font types, sizes, and colors used, the larger the size of their files will be. This slows their loading process and negatively affects the overall website loading speed. Therefore, minimizing the variety of fonts used for the content, and trying to stick to a small and clear one will reduce the size of fonts’ files and positively impact the overall website speed.

7. Content Delivery Network (CDN):

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) consists of interconnected servers that work to accelerate the loading of web pages containing large amounts of data. A CDN increases file downloading speed for users located in geographically distant areas from the website's original server. By storing the content of the website on CDN servers geographically closer to the user, website speed is increased, providing a better user experience.

8. Monitoring Plugins and Improve them:

Using plugins on your website may impact its speed. It is advisable to regularly review these plugins and deactivate the unnecessary ones, or those negatively affecting site performance. Removing unnecessary plugins improves website loading speed and enhances user experience.

By implementing these measures, or some of them, you can make a noticeable difference in your website's loading speed. This will be significantly reflected in enhancing the user experience, and the site’s ranking in search results. These two aspects are considered important to increase users’ access to the site, their ability to benefit from its content and services, and consequently, its success and ability to make you profit.