If there is one thing we have all suffered through is waiting for a
site to download online. It seems like it is the worse
thing in the world and will never end. We actually either
click off of the site or after the initial download
of the frontpage completes, we then click off of the
site because the subpages take too long to load. We
have all been here and this article is to help make
sure your visitors don't go through it as well.
The reason why a websites speed of download is important
is actually very simple and we have broken it down into
two parts:
-The first part is that people want to get to where
they are going quickly. This is pretty straight forward
and now a days no one seems to have the time to wait
for a site to download (no matter how important it is).
-The second part is to deliver the content to the user
as quick as possible so that we can keep them interested
and entertained. The quicker they can get to the information
the more they will click around your site and the more
they will interact with your website. This is extremely
important if your website has it's own estore, as the
more products your visitors are able to view then the
more time they spend in your store and the better the
chance you have of them purchasing something off of
you. Pretty simple and straight forward.
Now you may be wondering how you can take your current
design or your re-design and improve the performance
of your website so it doesn't take forever for it to
download. The truth is that it isn't too complex and
actually anyone can follow these steps. Here are some
tips on how to get your website to load faster and why
these factors may cause long load times:
1. Tip one is to use regular html text instead of graphic
text (such as exporting text from a program like fireworks
or photoshop). The reason for this is that html text
carries alot smaller kbs size when added to website
design. So anywhere that you use regular text instead
of "graphical text" will really help decrease your page
size making the download time quicker for each user.
2. Tip two is to limit other graphics uses on your website
where you can. Some things such as using a graphic for
your logo can not be avoided but try to make an effort
to limit the amount of graphics on each page. The more
graphics you use the higher your page size will be and
the more time it takes to download it. Really graphic
intensive websites can have users waiting a while for
everything to download. Some occasions where it might
be ok to use graphics is if they will also be used on
subpages. These graphics will already be cached on your
visitors computers and will not have to be downloaded
again when a person visits your subpages.
3. Tip three is to limit the use of flash. It can make
your page take even longer to load as the kbs size of
each file are usually quite larger then any graphics
on your website. This can really increase download times
and in alot of cases is not necessary.
4. The final tip is to try not to nest tables inside
of each other. Try to break down your design and use
multiple tables. This way each table will load separately
giving your visitors something to view while the rest
of your site loads. If you load everything into one
table then they will have to wait for the whole main
table to load.
Remember the key is to get your users to the information
as fast as possible. If you follow this advice and apply
these rules to your site, then there is nothing saying
you can't have a quick loading and great looking website
as well.
©Copyright
2005 Logo2D.com :
Anthony Jewell
has over 6 Years experience in the Web & Graphics
World. You can visit my business and join in conversation
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