Easy Ways to Speed Up Your Website

It’s well-known now that Google and Bing prefer sites which load quickly, improving user experience. It’s so important, in fact, that Google has publicly announced that high-speed sites will rank higher than their slower counterparts.

Sometimes, re-coding your entire site is not an option. In those cases, there are a few things you can do that can help.

If you’re using WordPress, use a caching plugin such as WP Super Cache or WP Total Cache. Both of these will create static HTML pages and serve those to users, which can significantly improve speed compared to PHP scripts.

Another step you can take in WordPress is to optimize your database. Don’t attempt this if you are a novice – ensure you have the help of a database expert before undertaking this task. Also, remember to make backups in case of a problem down the road.

If you’re not using WordPress, you can use a Content Delivery Network (CDN) to load your images and CSS files. CDNs are gaining popularity due to their flexibility and performance. Many CDNs have distributed networks all over the world – so someone in France will be loading your images from a server in France, as opposed to a server in the USA. Likewise, someone in Boston may load your files from a server in New York, rather than a server in Los Angeles.

Remember, every bit helps! Contact i3 to see how we can help you speed up your site.