A couple of weeks ago Google announced that they were going to start considering site speed as a search engine ranking factor. That’s the second most important reason to have a fast website. The top reason is showing your visitors the information they want fast so they don’t leave your website.
These are 10 things you can do to speed up your site.
- Use External CSS and Script Files
Don’t include CSS or JavaScript code in your HTML documents. Create separate files and call out to them when necessary. - Use DIVs for Layout
Avoid using tables. - More Is Less
Remove elements you don’t really need. - Optimize Your Images
Use this software to reduce the size of your images. - Don’t Use Images to Display Text
With CSS styles you can make text look pretty much any way you want. - Use Clean Code
Get rid of unnecessary code. - Use Trailing Slashes When Linking to Directories
If you have your blog in a folder called “blog”, link to www.yoursite.com/blog/ (with a trailing slash at the end) as opposed to www.yoursite.com/blog. - Use the Height and Width Tags
Don’t forget to use these tags for images and other elements. - Avoid the Excessive Use of Flash
Flash animations can really slow your website down; avoid them if possible.
- Speed Up Your WordPress Site
If you have a WordPress site, use the WP Super Cache plugin.
