5 tips to make your website load quicker

Market research has shown that when consumers and web browsers land on a website, they will decide almost instantly whether or not they will stay and explore. The majority of users will leave a webpage if it takes longer than five seconds to load which is often a leading cause of high bounce rates. Here are some tips and advice on how to reduce page loading times on your website to drive up traffic figures and conversions while lowering bounce rate.

Reduce image size High res images are often the cause of slow-loading web pages, particularly for browsers using mobile devices or slower internet connections. It’s important not to compromise too much on the quality and design of your website but experimenting with image scale and file size can help to create a good balance. There are also software programs which allow you to compress images specifically for web pages without losing too much quality. Use browser caches A browser cache works by temporarily storing files on computers which are used to load specific websites more quickly. It reduces the number of elements needed to load and reduces any server lag. They are particularly useful for websites that contain a lot of images or complex systems. Style sheets, images, multimedia and scripts can all be saved in browser caches, allowing you to speed up how fast your web pages load. Change header expiration The data which is stored on computers to increase loading speeds is usually set by default to expire after 24 hours. In order to speed up loading times for a longer period, it’s a good idea to change the settings so the files never expire. Use a website builder Thanks to the development of new website building programs, it’s now possible for anyone to create stunning websites without having to hire web creators or use complex scripting. Another benefit of using website builders is that the foundations of the site are already there for you to build on which means you don’t have to worry about back-office issues that can cause web pages to slow down. Don’t overuse plugins There are plenty of great plugins that can help to improve the quality of your website and add a new level of functionality. However, if there are too many being used, it can have a drastic effect on how quick your web pages load. It’s a good idea to regularly review your plugins and disable any that aren’t essential.