GRAPHICS One word is the root of 90% of the reason for slow
downloading web site pages...yes you guessed it..."graphics."
1. Limit the number of graphics you use per page.
2. Repeat graphics. One of the best ways to speed up your site
is to use the same graphics on every page. Once a graphic has
loaded, it doesn't have to load again as it is stored in a
computer's cache.
faster-loading web page. You can usually reduce a GIF or JPEG
image by 40% to 50% without losing any significant definition or
sharpness.
4. Use a thumbnail instead of 900lb gorilla of a graphic. If the
visitor is interested she can click the thumbnail for a larger
graphic.
5. Reduce the number of colours you use in graphics. Just using
a handful of colours will still deliver great graphics at a
fraction of the size. JPEG files, commonly used for photos,
require thousands of colours. A GIF file, used for drawings and
simpler graphics, can be compressed to include only a few
colours.
6. Include height and width on images - This allows the browser
to "pre-allocate" the space for the graphic on the display, and
will speed up the page download. In addition, if ALT tags (this
is text to describe the image) are included with the images,
then something will display even if the image does not display.
This is particularly relevant to those who switch off images on
their browser.
files. Try to eliminate as much of the superfluous coding as you
can. Most pages can be reduced by 15% to 25% just by taking out
redundant coding. If your HTML Coder has a "clean code" function
use it. Alternatively, try the HTML Optimiser
8.Design in HTML. Java and Javascript allow you to do those
pretty rollover things, however, they slow the download of your
page, as well as potentially confuse some search engine spiders.
Make use of non-Java links instead.
9. No more than 6 links per page. Why do some webmasters put up
20 zillion links per page? Often visitors are so confused they
leave. Keep it simple and guide the visitor logically through
your site with a minimal number of links per page. Again, fewer
links requires less memory.
META TAGS 10. Limit meta tags to 5 or 6 keywords. Why do some
webmasters insist on hundreds of keywords? Apart from slowing
the download of your page, search engine spiders will see your
site as being very diluted and meaning "nothing to no-one."
HOSTING 11. The server speed of your web site host will
influence the speed of your web site's download. Avoid "Free"
hosting. Nothing is truly "free." Free hosts tend to be
oversubscribed and lack the resources to provide fast and
reliable servers.
GOLDEN RULE 12. The golden rule of golden rules...make sure each
page of your web site is no bigger than 30kb in size. If you can
do this you will be well on the way to a fast web site and a
fast web site is of course a professional web site.
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