Is your website slow? See some tips to optimize the loading time of the site . Having an optimized website is extremely important for SEO, so optimization is a factor that can determine the success of your website, blog or online store.
With small changes and some settings it is possible to have a well-optimized website . The benefits of an optimized website are many, such as a better browsing experience for the user, better positioning in search engines (SEO), among other benefits.
Reasons to make your site faster:
- People like to access websites fast;
- Google ranks better for well-optimized sites;
- Slow website makes everyone angry;
- There is no contraindication in leaving a well-optimized website.
1. Put the Inline CSS in the Header
You've probably already heard that we shouldn't put CSS styles directly on the page, but inside a CSS file so that it can be used by the browser's cache. But what's the point if in the vast majority of sites visitors open only 1 page or a maximum of 2 per visit?!
Place the main CSS directly on the page (known as Inline CSS), more precisely in the header section. This way, the browser can render the page quickly. He doesn't have to open a new HTTP request and wait for it to download before he can start serving the site.
This simple tip makes a huge difference in website load time because there are usually several CSS files that the website needs to download before it starts displaying the website. And normally the CSS file also loads several images.
Take a test, put the CSS inline in the header of the site and see how the difference is absurd. CSS and images are always the biggest delay in displaying the site, because browsers only start displaying the site to the user after downloading the CSS files and images.
There are several plugins to insert the CSS code in the header . One of the most used is Autoptimize which has a number of other fantastic optimizations.
Here's how to add Inline CSS directly to the website page:
- Install the Autoptimize plugin
- Go to Settings > Autoptimize
- Under CSS Options check the Optimize CSS code option
- Check the option Aggregate CSS files and then the option Put all CSS inline
This free plugin also allows you to optimize and aggregate all JavaScript files into a single file, thus reducing HTTP requests. It does everything automatically and you can choose the files you don't want to be optimized.
2. Optimize the database
The database stores all of the site's data, pages and posts . And with the installation of plugins, a lot of information is recorded in the MySQL database used by WordPress. Over time, the amount of data recorded becomes gigantic, to the point of impairing query performance and slowing page loading.
The greater the amount of data, the greater the need to perform maintenance on the MySQL database to ensure that the indexes and tables are in perfect order. And it is very easy to carry out this procedure, as we will see below.
The WP-Optimize plugin is a great option for optimizing the database. And those looking to optimize the database without installing plugins can use PhpMyAdmin from their website hosting.
To optimize the database, follow the steps below:
- Access your hosting admin panel
- Look for the PhpMyAdmin tool
- Click on the WordPress database
- Click Mark All to select all tables
- Under With selected select the Optimize table option
3. Hire better hosting
The guarantee of hiring the best website hosting is irreplaceable in the process of optimizing a website . By hiring a bad hosting service, you are left to your own luck, with a high chance of having frequent problems that slow down your site.
There is nothing to do but hire quality hosting . Without it, it is impossible to create a well-optimized and well-ranked website on Google. And the price is not a deterrent factor, since there are many great quality website hosting for a very affordable price.
Good hosting offers SSD disks, cache, more processing and memory, everything to make the site load faster . In addition, slow servers tend to crash frequently, influencing the site's uptime .
4. Compress the images
Before uploading an image to the site, it is possible to reduce its size, losing only a little quality. There are software and online tools to compress images by reducing the quality to a minimum.
Several formats such as JPEG, PNG and GIF are supported. In the case of images with a PNG extension, it is possible to achieve the greatest size reductions, practically without changing the quality of the image . Visually speaking, the images remain the same, however, with a reduced size by image optimization algorithms .
Taking into account that images tend to be the heaviest files on a website and some websites are practically made up of just images, the use of these compressors is essential.
5. Avoid too many plugins
The plugin installed on your WordPress site consumes server resources . The greater the number of plugins installed, the greater the time for the site to load . Some plugins consume more resources than others, so you need to do a qualitative analysis.
If the plugin has a function that does not add value to the site, it is because it is expendable. Then you don't need it. Only install plugins that add necessary functions to the site, so it is possible to have a well-optimized site. Often you have to give up some functionality to have a well-optimized website.
6. Diagnostic Tools
There are several tools that can help in the process of optimizing a website . From an analysis they suggest several changes and improvements to make the site faster. Also shown are various useful information about the loading of the site, such as page load time , types of files that weigh the most on the site and various other information.
The main diagnostic tools are:
- GTmetrix : The best performance analysis tool that shows a lot of important information and suggests modifications.
- Google Page Speed : Google tool that suggests changes and gives a score from 0 to 100 for site optimization on Mobile and Desktop devices.
- Pingdom : Another great tool that shows a lot of important information about the performance of the site.
- WebPageTest : Complete tool for important information and thus understand what causes delay in loading the site.
7. Enable Gzip/Deflate
Deflate , formerly known as Gzip , is a server feature that allows you to reduce the size of files before sending them to the visitor's computer. It is a method of compressing files similar to ZIP. When enabled, the server automatically compresses files (HTML, CSS, JS, etc.) before sending them to the visitor's browser.
Through a header included in all requests, the server knows when a browser supports this feature or not (practically all do). This allows the server to use this feature only when supported by the browser, avoiding incompatibility issues.
8. Enable Cache
A caching system allows you to improve website performance by caching various data that is dynamically loaded. An efficient caching system allows the website to load without the need to make multiple database queries, thus reducing server load and decreasing website load time .
With the cache activated it is possible to obtain a significant improvement in the performance of the site . The hosting server will be able to process the site faster. If you use WordPress, just install a plugin like WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache to enable caching functionality.
9. Using CDN
Content delivery networks allow for better performance by distributing site files across servers located in different parts of the world. As the connection will occur with a server geographically closer to the visitor, the connection is faster.
In addition, a CDN has servers optimized for the fast delivery of static content. The most used CDN services are CloudFlare and Akamai. They are great for delivering images, styles, and other types of files.
10. Large files in external services
Some sites need to distribute content through very large files, which can be videos, images or some other type of large file size. In this case, the best thing to do is hire a file distribution service to store these files. If you host, for example, an audio, video or any other type of heavy file, it is necessary to hire a service for this purpose.
By using the hosting server itself to store very heavy files, you can quickly exhaust bandwidth, memory or even the server's processor, leaving the site slow . For sites that need to distribute large files, a CDN or file storage service is a must.
11. Less is also more…
We often add features that we don't need because we think our site visitors will like it, but instead, we're just making the site less navigable by slowing it down. A single screen effect can load multiple files and libraries to work. An image with Full HD resolution requires a longer download time, in addition to consuming more server bandwidth.
We do a lot of things that just increase the page load time and add little value to the site. Isn't it better to simplify to have an optimized website? Is the user willing to wait longer just to see an effect or a better definition image?
The answer to these questions is quite obvious. You have to give up certain things to offer a well-optimized website , so the vast majority of visitors will be happy. Simple and functional is better than pretty and slow, never forget that! Remember that Google seeks performance combined with quality content .