This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Alex Sanders
We’ve all had the experience of dealing with a website that refuses to load in a reasonable amount of time. If you’re like most people, you probably abandoned that site. It’s only natural, given our modern expectations that websites load almost immediately.
But what if that slow-loading website is yours? What could be responsible for your sluggish site? And what’s the best way to fix it?
The Impact of Site Speed
According to Website.design, website loading speed is one of the most important variables to optimize on your website. If your website loads slowly, it could discourage people from visiting. It could cut each visit short – and even if your users stick around, they may have a bad experience, ultimately resulting in a blemish on your brand’s reputation.
To make matters worse, site speed plays a significant technical role in search engine optimization (SEO). If your site loads too slowly, or if there are interruptions when a visitor reaches your website, it could be detrimental to your SERP rankings.
The Usual Culprits
So why is your site loading slowly?
There are several possibilities, such as:
- Internet or device issues. Let’s start with the obvious. There’s a chance that nothing is inherently wrong with your website – its slow loading times could be an issue with your internet service or the device you’re using. If your computer is running slow, or if there’s a slowdown in your internet download speed, your website could be an unfortunate casualty. Test your website on multiple devices and in multiple areas for a better assessment of its potential.
- Poorly optimized images. Images are some of the largest and most cumbersome files on your website, so if they’re poorly optimized, they can bog down the entirety of your website. Make sure they’re correctly formatted and compressed (to an extent).
- Messy coding. Messy coding can also be an obstructive issue. If your code isn’t clean, or if there are serious issues, it’s going to result in loading delays. If you’re using a traditional template or a website builder, you probably won’t have to worry much about this. The same is true if you’re working with a competent website design agency.
- JavaScript problems. JavaScript and JQuery plugins have made it much easier to add custom content to your website – but they can also be a problem if they’re installed or used incorrectly. If you’re using too many API calls, it can result in bloating and slow down your entire website.
- Excessive requests. Your browser uses HTTP requests to retrieve information from JS, CSS, and image files. If these requests are too numerous, it can result in slowdown. Fortunately, minification can reduce the number of files on your site and lead to a faster, more streamlined web experience.
- Lack of caching. Caching plugins work by allowing users to store your website information locally. This way, when they visit your site for a second (or subsequent) time, the site can load almost instantly. It won’t work for first-time visitors, but your repeat visitors will thank you.
- Too many plugins. Caching plugins are incredibly useful, but not every plugin is worth using. In fact, if your site is bogged down with too many plugins, it can sharply reduce your loading speed. Get rid of whatever plugins aren’t adding value to your site.
- Lack of compression. Compression is valuable for reducing the size of your website (and the files therein) – and every bit counts. Even marginal reductions in data can lead to impressive improvements in loading speed.
- Hosting issues. Your hosting provider also plays a role in how quickly your site can load. If you’re using a shared server, or if the server encounters problems, it can render your site practically inaccessible. Upgrading your hosting can usually fix this issue, though you’ll typically have to pay more money for the service.
- Too many ads. Ads are a convenient strategy for monetizing a site with decent traffic, but there’s such a thing as too many. If your site is cluttered with ads, it’s going to result in a terrible user experience – including slow loading times.
- Lack of CDN services. Content delivery networks (CDN) use distributed proxy servers and data centers to reduce loading times for users across the globe. If you want to maximize your site speed, a CDN could be worth the investment.
This list is not exhaustive, but it does cover the most common variables responsible for slow loading websites. As you’re optimizing your site, make sure to take advantage of Google’s free PageSpeed Insights tool. It will tell you everything you need to know about your site speed, such as first contentful paint (FCP), first input delay (FID), and largest contentful paint (LCP). With that information, you can gradually tweak your site to improve its performance and witness your changes making an impact in real time.
This content originally appeared on DEV Community and was authored by Alex Sanders
Alex Sanders | Sciencx (2021-12-10T08:43:11+00:00) Why Your Website Is Loading So Slowly. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2021/12/10/why-your-website-is-loading-so-slowly/
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