It’s no secret that running into a slow-loading website can be frustrating—even infuriating. Think about the last time you experienced a slow website; more than likely, you didn’t stick around long. Unfortunately, if your site is having the same issues, you could be losing out on valuable traffic from your visitors. There are countless reasons why your website may be running slow, but by being aware of some of the most common reasons (and what to do about them), you can correct slow site speed and reap the benefits of a lightning-fast site.
Huge Image File Sizes
Take a minute to check out the sizes and resolution of the images on your website. If the file sizes are huge you need to optimize your images. Large image sizes can bog down your server and cause individual pages to load much more slowly. What many people don’t realize is that you can actually reduce the “quality” of an image hosted on your site by as much as 70% in size without a noticeable visual difference for your visitors.
Inefficient Coding
Have you thought about your HTML or CSS coding being to blame for your slow site? If not, it’s time to skim through that code and check for unnecessary code, which is a common culprit for slowing sites down. This is an especially common issue in CSS sites. By removing extra line breaks and cutting down on white space where possible, you might be surprised at how much of a difference you can notice in speed. If you’re not very knowledgeable in coding, a web developer can handle this for you as well.
The Wrong Server
The quality of your server, as well as the location of its data centers, can make a huge difference in your site speed. Specifically, a server location that’s on the other side of the country (or globe!) from where most of your site visitors are based will suffer from high latency and thus slow speeds. By upgrading your server to one with lower latency and better overall quality, your site speeds will benefit.
High Traffic Levels
If your site seems to be acting slow only intermittently, check out your site traffic to see if high levels of site visitors could be to blame. While this is usually a good problem to have, an influx of site traffic can bog down your servers. And unfortunately, not all traffic is good for your site; DDoS attacks are often mistaken for legitimate site traffic, but can bombard your server and take your entire site down indefinitely. The best way to avoid traffic issues slowing down your site is to have a quality server with DDoS protection for added peace of mind.
These are just a few of the most common culprits for a slow website. By being on the lookout for these issues with your own site, you can keep your website running smoothly and seamlessly for your visitors.
