Introduction
A poorly optimised website operates like a poorly run restaurant. Everything takes too long to load, products and services that are too difficult to find and the whole experience just doesn’t feel right. If people are unhappy, they will click back (bounce rate) and this will decrease your search engine’s overall ranking.
Luckily, I’ve got your covered. In this article, I’ll share several tips and tricks to help boost your SEO and improve your user experience.
Optimising Images
A poorly optimised image can significantly slow down a website’s performance. But this can be tackled by properly formatting and compressing the images. One of the most effective ways to do this is by saving them in the most suitable format.
For example JPEGs are best for photographs while PNGs are better for graphics and images with transparent backgrounds.
It’s also important to ensure that your images are appropriately sized so that they don’t take up more space than needed. For a thorough guide on image optimisation, check out my article on 5 Proven Techniques For Optimising Images And Speeding Up Loading Times.
Minimising Code
Like a restaurant with too many customers a website with too much code will negatively impact it’s user experience. According to wpblog, an excess of code can significantly slow down your website’s performance and make it harder for users to access the information they need.
However, by minimising your code you can improve your website’s speed and efficiency. One of the ways to do this is by using CSS instead of images for design elements. This reduces unnecessary code and also improves the overall design of your website.
It’s also important to remove any unnecessary plugins as they can add unwanted code to your website and slow it down.
Leveraging Browser Caching
If a restaurant had to order in food every time someone wanted a meal it would take far too long. Luckily they have storage space (cupboards, fridges and freezers). Similarly, a website has a browser cache which allows it to store certain files such as images and other static elements. This speeds up your loading time as the website doesn’t need to download these files every time the user visits the site.
To leverage browser caching; set up expiration headers for your static files. This way, the browser knows when to download them again. This will reduce the amount of time needed to load your website for returning visitors.
Another way to leverage browser caching is to use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). This helps to distribute your static files over multiple servers.
Optimising For Mobile
Optimising your website for mobile is like providing a restaurant with a car park. It could probably function without one, but it would also limit the vast majority of people from coming. According to Statista over 90% of the global population. This is huge and the opportunity to welcome these people cannot be overlooked.
One of the most effective ways to do this is by using responsive design. This ensures that your website adjusts to fit the screen of any device which makes it easier to navigate.
Furthermore, its important to keep page load times short as mobile devices may have slower internet speeds. You may do this by minimising code, compressing images and leveraging browser caching.
Conclusion
A well-optimised website is like a well-designed restaurant. The tips and tricks discussed in this article have outlined what you need to realize this. By optimising your images, minimizing code, leveraging browser caching and optimising for mobile you can improve your user experience and drive more traffic to your website.
It’s important to note that website optimisation is an ongoing process and requires regular maintenance. Stay ahead of the competition by frequently monitoring and optimising your website.
We hope that this article had provided valuable insights and actionable tips for improving your website’s performance. We encourage you to implement these strategies on your own website and see the positive results for yourself.