Web Optimisation – Competitive Website Speed Optimisation
Speed optimisation is a core process that starts even before a website is built. It requires having the experience and expertise to know what’s best for the website at every layer and stage of web development. Design may be the first thing your visitors see on your website, but speed is the first thing they experience. By extension, that’s the first thing that your website is judged for. A website with a fast loading speed is favored both by your customers and Google, while a slow one is frowned upon.
Your website speed is how long it takes for your website to load when a user accesses it. The global loading speed of all websites averages 8.66 seconds, but the ideal speed is 3 seconds and below. Have you felt like just closing a website that takes ages to load and googling for another faster website? Most users have.
TL;DR – The Web Speed Advantage
Improved User Experience
A fast website provides a better user experience, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty. A slow website can lead to high bounce rates and a decrease in conversion rates.
Better Search Engine Rankings
Search engines like Google consider website speed as a ranking factor, so a fast website is more likely to appear higher in search results, leading to increased organic search traffic.
Increased Conversion Rates
A fast website can lead to increased conversion rates as potential customers are more likely to stick around and make a purchase.
Better Mobile Optimization
With the majority of internet users accessing websites from mobile devices, having a fast and mobile-friendly website is crucial for online business success. A slow website on mobile can negatively impact the user experience and lead to lost customers.
Boost Your Website Speed and Drive Business Success
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Increased Traffic – Better Ranking On Search Engines
Consumers like me and you want information, products and services quickly. Google knows this. Websites with faster loading speeds, or speed optimisation, will be prioritised for a higher rank by Google. Your website loads in 3 seconds. Your competitor’s loads in 10 seconds. Which do you think Google and your consumers prefer?
Higher Conversion – Lower User Dropout Rates
If your website takes too long to load, you risk losing potential customers to your competitor’s website. This immediately leaves a negative impression and chances are people will avoid your website in future. Faster loading speed increases the viewership of your website, leading to a higher ranking by Google.
UX Optimised – Better User Experience
Page elements affect user experience. For example, a large image that has a longer loading speed reflects badly on the rest of the website. Due to the limited processing capabilities of a mobile phone, websites load even slower on a mobile as compared to a desktop. What about users with bad internet connections?
Imagine waiting for an image or website to load to just have the connection fail or encounter an error.
What We Do – Website Speed Optimisation
Handpicking The Most Reliable Plugins
Plugins add functionality to your website. Too much of it, however, slows your website down badly. A badly coded plugin can bog down your website speed. For instance, you'll only need a payment program running on the 'checkout' page of your website. Having it on other pages is redundant and slows all of your pages down. Combining experience and expertise, we handpick and use only the best plugins for your website, all without sacrificing important loading time.
Using The Fastest Theme
Themes refer to templates, layout, font styles, etc., that set the look and feel of a website. Think of it as clothing for your website. Using preset themes to design a website is outdated because they limit design customisation and they slow down your loading speed. We don't rely on heavy, bloated themes to style our websites. We design your websites with lightweight themes so it loads blazing fast! It also means you get full control of how your website looks.
Making Use Of Page Caching
To load a webpage, browsers interact, analyse and pull data from various sources to show the page. This process is often tedious when there are multiple resources needed to load the page from. Page caching saves the final loaded version of your page on your server for browsers to download, which accelerates the entire loading process.
The Best Web Coding Practices
Good coding practices ensure the fastest website speed optimisation for any device - desktop or mobile. It frees your website of excessive, unnecessary codes, speeding up the loading speed of your website. This includes:
- Cache Preloading
- Sitemap Preloading
- Database Optimisation
- Google Fonts Optimisation
- Minification of HTML, CSS, and Javascript
- Deferring of Javascripts
Partnering Up With The Best Web Host - Yes, It Matters!
Web hosting services are the foundation on which all websites are built. It doesn't matter if you're Facebook, Starbucks or a local bakery. Fast Hosting is achieved by our partnership with industry leading web hosting companies, for maximum loading speeds and reliability.
Images & Videos – Media Optimisation
Large Media Files Are The #1 Culprit Behind Slow Loading Websites
By optimising excessively heavy images and videos, a website can be up to 4,000% smaller in size. Image & video optimisation is so crucial, we painstakingly optimise them one by one for your website to give you the quickest loading speed.
Image Size VS. Image Quality for Loading speed
Compare the images. Do they look the same? The image on the left is a staggering 508KB, while the optimised image on the right is 77KB. Larger images do not equal to a high quality on websites. Your user just ends up loading a larger file. A page typically contains 10-20 images, which in this context is the difference between a 3-second loading time and a 30-second one.
The Best Period For Media Optimisation
Similar to SEO Content Optimisation, the best time to optimise images is when you are building up your website. This will form the solid foundation needed on your website. Images need to be formatted, optimised and re-sized to the correct dimensions first before uploading. For instance, a logo needs to be resized and compressed to 200 by 300px (~ 5 Kb) before uploading, instead of using a full 2160 by 3840px (~ 4000Kb) image.
Optimisation with Lazy Loading
Lazy loading or on-demand loading is a process that loads content on a page as per user engagement. This means images and videos will only load when visitors scroll to that respective section or click "Play". In other words, the loading speed of your website is selectively optimised for each visitor engagement.
Optimising Your Website – The Website Security Hardening Process
At Dream Fox Design, we understand the importance of a fast and well-optimized website for online businesses. Our goal is to help online businesses like yours achieve the fastest and most user-friendly websites possible. Our comprehensive speed optimization process is designed to deliver measurable results and help you reach your online business goals. That’s why we have developed a comprehensive and effective process for optimizing website speed. Here’s a closer look at each step of our process:
Website Analysis
Before we begin any optimization work, we first conduct a thorough analysis of your website. Our team uses a combination of analytics tools and technical expertise to identify any speed issues, performance bottlenecks, and potential areas for improvement. We also take into consideration your website’s target audience, devices, and geographical locations to ensure that your website is optimized for your specific needs.
Recommendations and Strategy Development
Based on the results of our analysis, we will provide you with a detailed report and recommendations for optimizing your website’s speed. Our recommendations may include optimizing image sizes, reducing file sizes, utilizing browser cache, and more. Our team will work with you to develop a customized optimization strategy that aligns with your business goals and priorities.
Implementation and Deployment
Once the strategy is in place, our team will begin implementing the recommended optimizations to your website. We use a combination of speed optimization plugins, server-level optimizations, and best practices to ensure that your website is fast, responsive, and accessible to all users. Our optimization techniques are designed to be fast, effective, and safe for your site and its users.
Ongoing Monitoring and Maintenance
Website speed optimization is an ongoing process, and our team will continue to monitor your site to ensure that it remains fast and responsive. We will also make any necessary updates and optimizations to keep your website performing at its best.
User Testing and Feedback
We understand that the user experience is critical to the success of your website, so we conduct user testing and gather feedback from your actual users. Our team will analyze this data and use it to make any necessary improvements to your website’s user experience and overall performance.
Analytics and Reporting
Finally, we use analytics and reporting tools to measure the impact of our optimizations on your website’s speed and overall performance. We provide regular updates on your website’s performance and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that your website remains fast and well-optimized.
Our Speed Optimisation Service – Why Are We Better?
Client-Focused
At the heart of our process is a commitment to helping our clients achieve their business goals through improved website performance.
Tailored Approach
We understand that each business is unique, and so are its website optimization needs. We work closely with our clients to deliver tailored solutions that meet their specific goals and needs.
Expert Guidance
Our team of experts provides personalized guidance and support to ensure that our clients make informed decisions about their website optimization.
Passionate and Amazing Team
Our team is passionate about delivering outstanding results and is dedicated to providing exceptional service to each and every client.
Zero Hidden Costs
We believe in transparent and honest business practices. Our clients can expect no hidden fees or costs, and always know exactly what they are paying for.
FAQ
What is website speed optimization?
Website speed optimization refers to the process of improving the loading time and performance of a website. This includes reducing the size of the website's files, compressing images, and optimizing the website's code to ensure that it loads quickly for users.
Why is website speed optimization important?
Website speed optimization is important because it directly affects the user experience. A slow-loading website can lead to higher bounce rates, lower conversion rates, and a decrease in customer engagement. Additionally, search engines such as Google consider website speed as a ranking factor, meaning that a faster website may improve its search engine rankings.
What are the common reasons for slow website speed?
Common reasons for slow website speed include large file sizes, unoptimized images, slow hosting servers, and poorly optimized code. Additionally, outdated software, conflicting plugins, and heavy resource usage can also contribute to slow website speed.
How do you determine if a website needs speed optimization?
There are several tools that can be used to determine if a website needs speed optimization, including Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Pingdom. These tools analyze various factors that contribute to website speed, such as file size, load time, and resource usage, to provide a comprehensive analysis of a website's performance.
How long does website speed optimization take?
The time it takes to optimize a website's speed depends on several factors, including the size of the website, the number of optimizations required, and the complexity of the optimizations needed. On average, website speed optimization can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks to complete.
How much does website speed optimization cost?
The cost of website speed optimization varies depending on the scope of the project and the complexity of the optimizations needed. On average, website speed optimization can range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars. However, speed optimisation is included free for all our website design services, including ecommerce web design, SEO optimised web design, and our simple affordable web design.
Can website speed optimization negatively affect my website's functionality or design?
When performed by a professional, website speed optimization should not negatively affect the functionality or design of a website. In fact, website speed optimization often leads to improvements in both functionality and design, as faster websites are able to handle more resources and provide a better user experience.
Does website speed optimization only improve load times or does it improve other aspects of a website's performance as well?
Website speed optimization improves multiple aspects of a website's performance, including load times, resource usage, and overall website responsiveness. Additionally, a faster website may also improve its search engine rankings, which can lead to increased organic traffic and improved conversion rates.
Is website speed optimization only important for eCommerce websites?
Website speed optimization is important for all types of websites, including eCommerce websites, blogs, portfolios, and more. A faster website provides a better user experience and can improve search engine rankings, regardless of the type of website.
What kind of results can I expect from your optimization services?
By optimizing your website, you can expect to see a significant improvement in its load times and overall performance. This can result in a better user experience, increased engagement, and higher conversion rates. Additionally, a faster website is often favored by search engines, which can result in improved search engine rankings and more organic traffic.