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Web Design and Development services have been combatting the fact that a 1 second delay in loading time can lead to a loss of 7% conversions. Google has confirmed that website loading speed is one of its major ranking factors. It determines whether a customer engages with or abandons the site.
In this article learn the easy to implement tips for website speed optimisation, and boost customer engagement and conversions.
Design Changes
Declutter the Home page
The Home page is the first to load when a visitor tries to access your site. When it is filled with too much text and graphics it can take too long to load. Design a home page with the most minimal content that conveys your brand effectively. Spread your content across multiple pages using internal links from the home page.
Optimise Media
Website media is a major factor for slow loading pages. Reduce the size of the image files by using compressors like Tiny JPG and Image Optimiser. Try to use JPEG instead of PNG format as much as possible, since JPEG images are inherently web optimised. Web design and development services often use images with less text on them, as they are quick to load. Do a media audit of the website and remove or redo any media that is not aligned to your conversion goals.
Reduce web fonts
Web fonts are a popular way to make your website look unique. The additional links to external sources slow down your website. To avoid this, choose standard fonts available on the document processor. Use formats like WOFF2 to compress the fonts, including only those characters and the specific styles used on your site.
Prioritise above the fold content
The section that is visible to the visitor on their screen right after the page loads is called – Above the fold Content. Strategize this part of your website with effective text and media. All supplementary information goes below the fold, to engage the readers who scroll down.
Technical Changes
Invest in better external hosting and CDNs
Most start-up businesses opt for Shared hosting as it is cheaper, but it’s slow with a lot of sites sharing the space. Invest in a VPN (Virtual Private Network) or a dedicated physical server to speed up your site.
To reach different geographical regions, Web Design and Development services use Content Distribution Networks. The data is compartmentalised across different servers and is accessed from the nearest one. These options seem expensive at the start-out but pay for themselves in conversions.
Eliminate Error Pages
Error – 404: Page not found and Error 302: Page Temporarily disabled, are the most common error pages on a website. Use Google Web Analytics to identify these pages. They are non-traffic generating and can actually harm your conversion rates. Remove them or redirect them to the actual relevant web pages.
Reduce Redirects
Over a period of time, Redirects tend to accumulate, affecting the loading speed. Web Design and Development services periodically scan the site for redirects and eliminate all broken and obsolete links. You can also restructure the hierarchy to minimise the redirect links.
Implement GZIP Compression
GZip is an application that reduces the size of the files. It minimises HTTPs requests and compresses files sent to the browser. The browser expands the files for display. This is enabled through embedded coding or by using the GZip application.
Enable Browser Caching
When Browser Caching is enabled, a first-time user essentially downloads most of the website data onto their browser cache. Only a few components need to be accessed on subsequent visits, significantly reducing the loading time.
Optimise for Mobile Browsers
In the first Quarter of 2020 alone, mobile phones accounted for nearly 52% of web browsing. Websites need to be responsive, using fonts and graphics that adapt quickly to any screen size. Use Google’s Test My Site application to analyse your mobile site speed and find how many conversions were lost to slow loading speeds.
Web design services in India are evaluating the simplest tricks to speed up website load time. Use the above-mentioned tips to optimise your website’s loading speed. Alternatively, consult with the Best Web Development Company in India, Open Design to get rid of your slow website woes.
FAQ
How long does it take to create a responsive website?
To get started, a typical website will take 14 weeks from minimum from inception to the delivery stage. It could take much longer depending on your requirements. Discuss with your website development team to get an idea about the delivery date. Actively research the market and the best service provider to get it done professionally. Website development is one of the crucial aspects of your business on which you shouldn’t compromise. Ensure that you get regular updates from your development team to make sure everything is executed as per the schedule. There are chances that conflicts might arise which may compromise the overall development process, you should be prepared to tackle the situation and get things done in a smooth manner.
What are breadcrumbs?
Breadcrumbs are nothing but a secondary navigation system that can be used to learn about the user’s location on a particular website. Visitors can get a better idea about the webpage if they have an overview of the hierarchy on the website. They serve as an effective visual aid that represents the location of a user within the website. It is not a complex mechanism on websites and will up only a line on your website. One of the main advantages of breadcrumbs is that they do not have any negative impact on your website in terms of content overload. If you have a large number of web pages piled up on your site, you must incorporate breadcrumbs into your site.
What is Google sandbox in SEO?
Google Sandbox is a common term that is used to explain the lower rankings of new websites in the Google search results. The function of Google sandbox is to provide results that are highly relevant to the users. Filtering out new websites and constantly monitoring them helps the search engine to provide relevant results. Moreover, it is difficult to say how long a website will be inside the sandbox as it primarily depends on the types of keywords it will be competing against. If your website has high-quality and relevant content, then the Google sandbox shouldn’t be a huge problem for you. The ultimate aim should be to optimize the website to stand out from the crowd.
What are accelerated mobile pages?
Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open-source project that is designed to optimize faster mobile pages. To break it down into simpler terms, it is making a page loading faster that is already optimized to be mobile-friendly. You have to use a streamlined version of CSS if you are opting for accelerated mobile pages. The website must be validated properly on a regular basis to ensure that they work properly. If you are looking to offer a better user experience, incorporate custom fonts into it and declare the proper height & weight of the page to avoid quirky-loading images. Accelerated mobile pages can significantly reduce the overall bounce rate on your website and improve conversion rates for your business.
What is SEO in marketing?
SEO marketing is the process of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic. All this results in increasing the exposure of the business to the right target audience. SEO is that one marketing tool that holds the potential to pay dividends over time continuously. If you have content that is strong and has every reason to rank at the top, you need not invest in other marketing tools and techniques to increase the visibility of your website. It is because of this that SEO marketing plays a pivotal role in growing your business. Therefore, optimizing your site in a manner that shows up within the top search results is critical.
Why is website development important?
How good your website is has a lot to do with the business you generate at the end of the day. Here is why website development is important.
- The first impression of your business is the website. If your website is outdated, the impression of the business left behind is definitely not what you’d want.
- By looking at how well the website is developed, the customers get a fair idea of how they would be treated by the business. If the website is not worked upon well, they tend to believe that the business won’t take efforts in catering to the requirements of the customers as well.
- A well-designed website enables the audience to build trust with the business.
- A poorly designed website has an adverse impact on Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
What makes a good website in 2022?
In order to make it into the list of good websites, there are a couple of things that one needs to take note of.
- A good website doesn’t take much time to load.
- A website that is trustworthy – both in terms of content as well as technicalities is the most sought after.
- The website should be free of bugs.
- Make sure that your website caters to a specific goal/objective.
- For a website to reach out to the maximum, it is important to understand the target audience in-depth, right from what they need to what other websites do they use.
- Making use of the right words, font and style always help.
What is the best SEO tool in 2022?
There is no specific best SEO tool, but here is a list of SEO tools that all the experts are using in 2022.
- Ahrefs – SEO keyword tool
- Google Search Console
- SEMRush – Marketing tools for SEO
- KWFinder – SEO keyword tool
- MOZ Pro – Complete SEO software
- Ubersuggest – Keyword Tracking tool
- Answer the Public – Keyword association tool
- Woorank – SEO Ranking Tool
- Majestic – Marketing tool for SEO
- Google Trends – SEO trends checking tool
- SEO Quake – Free SEO audit tool
- Siteliner – SEO analytics tool
- Fat Rank – SEO ranking tool
- Screaming Frog – SEO audit and insights tool
- Serpstat – One stop SEO platform
How can I increase the traffic on my website?
There are several ways to increase and divert traffic to your website. Listed are a few that you might be interested in.
- Invest in some paid advertising that will guarantee you results.
- Open Social Media accounts and post attractive content regularly.
- Use attractive titles that make browsers want to open the link.
- Review and up your on page SEO game.
- Target long tail keywords with colloquialisms for each customer location.
- Indulge in some guest blogging that will build external links
- Strengthen internal linking to subtly encourage more customer interaction.
- Make your site responsive to be accessible on all devices.
- Improve site loading speed to reduce abandonments.
- If you are an E-Commerce site, post clear and attractive product images.
What are the new SEO trends of 2021?
SEO is one of the most effective and inexpensive ways to boost traffic to your site. It can open the gateway to new customer pools, even on a global scale. The top SEO trends of 2021 are,
- Core web vitals : Loading, Interactivity and Visual Stability
- Google’s BERT: Using Machine learning and natural language processing for intent matching.
- Keyword research: To identify high ranking keywords.
- Original content: Value adding content that attracts traffic organically.
- Voice search: Voice activated searches that include colloquialisms in global languages.
- Artificial intelligence: Using AI to personalise the customer journey.
- Video marketing: For visitors to better relate to the brand with audio visual stimulation.
- Featured snippets: Elevate reputation of the business with features snippets on Google.
- Influencer SEO: Partner with social media influencers to get their following as customers.
- EAT & Branded SEO: Build expertise, authority and trust by building brand awareness.
Why every business needs SEO?
For anyone who wants to implement digital marketing for their business, Search Engine Optimisation or SEO as it is commonly known should be the first priority. It is more than the misconception of just adding keywords to your content. When done right, SEO can do the following for you.
- Send quality traffic your way.
- Boost the business reputation
- Get results with inexpensive methods
- Increases customer engagement with the site
- Help you understand your customers
- Help you beat the competition
- Continuously evaluate and boost performance of the site
