Speed Is Of The Essence For Getting Web Traffic
We all know that making money online with a website means getting plenty of traffic to the site, so I recently searched for ways of increasing web traffic to see if there were any exciting new ideas out there. The thing that struck me was that one of the top Google results was a site that took ages to load.
Statistically it has been proven that surfers will only wait on average 7 seconds before hitting the back button and trying another site, and that is regardless of connection speeds. So it was quite intriguing to see that a self proclaimed authority on increasing web traffic was probably losing a heck of a lot of visitors simply because their home page didn’t load quickly enough.
So why is it that some web pages are slow to appear in a user’s browser?
Obviously, there are differences in the equipment used. Older operating systems, slow dial up connections, out of date browser software etc can all contribute to the problem. But sometimes even broadband users experience pages that are painfully slow to appear, and this is more often than not due to bad design.
Some things to bear in mind for fast loading web pages:
Keep it simple – Fancy designs with a multitude of tables and background graphics can look spectacular, but only if the surfer waits long enough for the page to load. If speed is your goal (and it should be) then keep the design simple.
Optimise Image Files – beware of using large photographs and images on a page, sometimes the file size can be huge, and for fast pages we really want our file sizes as small as possible. For a free guide on achieving this you might like to download Supercharge Your Web Images.
Specify Image Size – If images are essential to your web page then make sure that the HTML includes width and height attributes. This will allow the user’s browser to display the rest of the page while waiting for the image to download.
Use A Good Hosting Company – Sometimes it can be a false economy to have your site hosted on free or cheap web space as the server will often be slow and unresponsive. Use a good quality hosting company and reap the benefits in speed. The one that has proven consistent for me and I have no hesitation in recommending is One and One.
In conclusion, if you want to make money with your website you will need to get plenty of traffic, but make sure your pages are quick to respond or the visitors will leave before they even see them. Good luck and may you prosper!
Statistically it has been proven that surfers will only wait on average 7 seconds before hitting the back button and trying another site, and that is regardless of connection speeds. So it was quite intriguing to see that a self proclaimed authority on increasing web traffic was probably losing a heck of a lot of visitors simply because their home page didn’t load quickly enough.
So why is it that some web pages are slow to appear in a user’s browser?
Obviously, there are differences in the equipment used. Older operating systems, slow dial up connections, out of date browser software etc can all contribute to the problem. But sometimes even broadband users experience pages that are painfully slow to appear, and this is more often than not due to bad design.
Some things to bear in mind for fast loading web pages:
Keep it simple – Fancy designs with a multitude of tables and background graphics can look spectacular, but only if the surfer waits long enough for the page to load. If speed is your goal (and it should be) then keep the design simple.
Optimise Image Files – beware of using large photographs and images on a page, sometimes the file size can be huge, and for fast pages we really want our file sizes as small as possible. For a free guide on achieving this you might like to download Supercharge Your Web Images.
Specify Image Size – If images are essential to your web page then make sure that the HTML includes width and height attributes. This will allow the user’s browser to display the rest of the page while waiting for the image to download.
Use A Good Hosting Company – Sometimes it can be a false economy to have your site hosted on free or cheap web space as the server will often be slow and unresponsive. Use a good quality hosting company and reap the benefits in speed. The one that has proven consistent for me and I have no hesitation in recommending is One and One.
In conclusion, if you want to make money with your website you will need to get plenty of traffic, but make sure your pages are quick to respond or the visitors will leave before they even see them. Good luck and may you prosper!
posted by Tony at
7:19 PM
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