Have you ever visited a website that takes forever to load? It’s frustrating, right? Well, if your own site is slow, it might be turning away potential customers from buying your products, booking your services, or contacting you. But don’t worry, even if you’re not a tech whiz, there are simple steps you can take to speed things up.
Make Your Pictures Lighter
Pictures make your website look great, but big, heavy images can slow it down. Try resizing and compressing your images to make them smaller without losing quality. Choosing the right kind of picture file—like JPEG or PNG—can help speed things up. To help your site load quickly, it is recommended that the majority of your website images stay under 500kb (though images that take up more space on the page like hero images can be up to 20MB), but anything more than that will reduce your website’s user experience.
Save Stuff So It Loads Faster
Think of your website like a library. Every time someone comes in, they take out some books. Browser caching is like having a copy of the most popular books ready to go for returning visitors. It helps load things faster for people who’ve been on your site before. The easiest way to implement website caching is to download a caching plugin to your site– plugins like W3 Total Cache, WP Fastest Cache, WP Rocket, and WP Super Cache are some of the most popular options for caching plugins.
Keep It Simple
Too much stuff on your website can slow it down, like having too many things on a desk—it gets cluttered. Try using fewer extras, like those little add-ons or fancy designs. Cool effects are great, but if they are slowing your site down, they might be turning people away from your site. Minimize those and combine other things if possible, like condensing your code into fewer files or combining pages where it would make sense. It’s like packing into one suitcase instead of lugging around lots of bags—it makes your site lighter and quicker, which in turn makes it more user-friendly.
Move To a Faster Hosting Service
Think of your website like a house. If it’s in a slow, busy, or complicated neighborhood, it’ll take longer for visitors to get there. Upgrading your hosting is like moving to a faster area. It gives your site a better home with more space and faster roads so people can get there quicker. Depending on what hosting service you are currently using, you may be able to find a more affordable option that also increases your site speed– the best of both worlds!
Use a Global Speed Booster
Ever noticed how some websites load super fast no matter where you are? That’s because they use something called a Content Delivery Network (CDN). It’s like having copies of your website in different places around the world. So even if someone’s far away from your website’s home base, they can still see it quickly. Setting up a CDN for your site may seem overwhelming, but following along with step-by-step instructions like this one will help simplify the process.
A slow website can be a big turnoff for visitors, but a faster website isn’t just better for your customers; it’s better for your business too! By making your pictures smaller, saving things to load faster, keeping your site simple, getting better hosting, and using a global speed booster like a CDN, you can speed up your website without needing much technical experience. Or, if you would rather call in the pros, MINT Brand Marketing is here to help!
