At ZISK web agency, we understand the importance of having a fast-loading e-commerce website. In today's world, users expect websites to load in just a few seconds. Anything longer than that, and they may become frustrated and navigate away from your site. Furthermore, website speed is a crucial ranking factor for search engines like Google. In this guide, we'll explore the best practices for improving your e-commerce site speed to help you outrank your competitors and provide a better user experience for your customers.
Measure Your Site Speed
Measuring your site speed is the first step in identifying areas of improvement. Google's PageSpeed Insights and GTmetrix are two popular tools you can use to measure your site's speed. These tools provide a score out of 100 and identify issues that are slowing down your site. You should aim for a score of at least 90, but keep in mind that achieving a perfect score is challenging.
When using these tools, pay attention to the specific issues identified and the severity of each issue. For example, if your images are too large or your server response time is slow, these issues will be highlighted in the report. You can use this information to prioritise the issues you need to address to improve your site speed.
Optimise Your Images
Optimising your images is crucial for improving your site speed. Large images can slow down your website and make it difficult for users to load your page quickly. There are several ways you can optimise your images for the web:
- Compress your images: Use a tool like TinyPNG or JPEGmini to compress your images without sacrificing quality.
- Resize your images: Scale your images to the appropriate size before uploading them to your website. You don't want to display a 3000x2000 pixel image when a 800x600 pixel image will do.
- Use the right image format: Use the right file format for each image. For example, use JPEG for photographs and PNG for graphics and illustrations. Incorporate the latest and modern web image formats such as WebP.
WebP is a modern image format that provides superior lossless and lossy compression for images on the web. Using WebP, webmasters and web developers can create smaller, richer images that make the web faster. And can be used for photos and illustrations including images requiring transparent backgrounds.
- Lazy load your images: Lazy loading allows images to load only when the user scrolls down the page, reducing the initial load time of your page.
Minimise HTTP Requests
Reducing the number of HTTP requests your website makes can significantly improve your site speed. Each request adds to the load time of your page. Here are some ways to minimise HTTP requests:
- Combine multiple CSS and JavaScript files: Combining multiple files into one reduces the number of requests your website needs to make.
- Use CSS sprites: A CSS sprite is a single image that contains multiple images. By using CSS, you can display the appropriate image from the sprite, reducing the number of requests your website needs to make.
- Remove unnecessary elements: Remove unnecessary elements, such as unused CSS and JavaScript files, to reduce the number of requests your website makes.
Leverage Browser Caching
Browser caching allows your website's pages to be stored in the user's browser cache, reducing the number of requests made to the server. You can set the expiration date for your cached files to ensure they are refreshed periodically. Here are some tips for leveraging browser caching:
- Set appropriate expiration dates: Set appropriate expiration dates for your website's static content, such as images, CSS, and JavaScript files.
- Use a content delivery network (CDN): A CDN stores copies of your website's content on servers around the world. When a user requests your content, the CDN serves the content from the server closest to the user, reducing the time it takes to load your website.
Reduce Server Response Time
The time it takes for your server to respond to a user's request can significantly impact your site speed. There are several ways you can reduce server response time:
- Upgrade your hosting provider: If you're using a shared hosting provider, consider upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server.
- Choose a server location closer to your users: The physical distance between your server and your users can impact server response time.
- Optimise your server configuration: Optimise your server configuration by using caching plugins, enabling Gzip compression, and optimising your database queries.
"A fast website is crucial for a successful online presence. It not only improves user experience, but it also has a direct impact on your SEO"
Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A CDN is a network of servers located around the world that can serve your website's content from a server closest to the user, reducing the time it takes to load your website. This can significantly improve your site speed and user experience. Here are some benefits of using a CDN:
- Faster load times: A CDN can improve your website's load time by reducing the distance between your server and your users. This is especially beneficial for users who are located far away from your server.
- Improved reliability: A CDN can improve the reliability of your website by distributing your content across multiple servers. This means that if one server goes down, your website can still be served from another server.
- Better SEO: Site speed is an important ranking factor for search engines. By using a CDN to improve your site speed, you can potentially improve your search engine rankings and attract more organic traffic to your website.
Reduce the Use of Redirects
Redirects can slow down your website by adding additional HTTP requests. While redirects are sometimes necessary, it's important to minimise their use. Here are some tips for reducing the use of redirects:
- Use relative URLs: Use relative URLs instead of absolute URLs to minimise the need for redirects.
- Fix broken links: Fix broken links on your website to avoid redirect chains.
- Use 301 redirects: Use 301 redirects instead of 302 redirects, as 301 redirects are more search engine-friendly and pass more link equity.
Optimise Your Website's Code
Optimising your website's code can significantly improve your site speed. Here are some tips for optimising your website's code:
- Minimise CSS and JavaScript files: Minimise the number of CSS and JavaScript files on your website to reduce the number of HTTP requests.
- Use a CSS pre-processor: Use a CSS pre-processor, such as Sass or Less, to streamline your CSS code.
- Optimise your HTML: Optimise your HTML by removing unnecessary code, such as comments and white space.
Conclusion
Improving your website's speed is crucial for providing a positive user experience and attracting more organic traffic to your website. By measuring your site speed, optimising your images, minimising HTTP requests, leveraging browser caching, reducing server response time, using a CDN, reducing the use of redirects, and optimising your website's code, you can significantly improve your site speed and outrank your competitors in search engine results pages. Remember to regularly measure your site speed and address any issues that are slowing down your website to ensure a fast and reliable user experience.
At ZISK we understand that as a business it's not always possible to maintain the intricacies of running a website, that’s where we come in. Book a free 30 minute consultation today!
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions:
- What is a good site speed?
A good site speed is typically under three seconds. However, the faster your website can load, the better. - How can I measure my website's speed?
You can measure your website's speed using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, GTmetrix, and Pingdom. These tools provide insights on your website's load time and offer suggestions for improvement. - How can I optimise images on my website?
You can optimise images on your website by compressing them and reducing their file size. This can be done using tools like Adobe Photoshop, TinyPNG, or Squoosh. - What is browser caching?
Browser caching is the process of storing web page resources, such as images and CSS files, on a user's browser. This allows the user to load the page faster on subsequent visits. - What is a CDN?
A CDN, or Content Delivery Network, is a network of servers located around the world that can serve your website's content from a server closest to the user, reducing the time it takes to load your website. - What are HTTP requests?
HTTP requests are requests made by a user's browser to a server to load a web page or resource, such as an image or CSS file. - Can too many plugins slow down my website?
Yes, if you are using a CMS with plugins, too many plugins can slow down your website. It's important to only use necessary plugins and regularly review and remove any plugins that are no longer needed. However there is a distinction that has to be made between good and bad plugins, as generally speaking the number of plugins shouldn’t affect your website, it's the quality of plugins. In addition the type of host you use has to be the right fit for the CMS you are using to ensure that your site has optimal performance. - How often should I measure my website's speed?
You should measure your website's speed regularly, at least once a month, to identify any issues and make necessary improvements. - What is server response time?
Server response time is the time it takes for a server to respond to a user's request for a web page or resource. A fast server response time is crucial for a fast website speed. - How long does it take to improve my website's speed?
The time it takes to improve your website's speed depends on the current state of your website and the improvements needed. However, by implementing the tips mentioned in this article, you can start to see improvements in your website's speed in a matter of days or weeks depending on the resources you have at your disposal.
