There’s nothing more defeating than spending months creating a website only to find it’s too slow. While you could outsource your IT services and ask them how to fix this problem, you could be hit with a hefty bill. Fortunately, most causes of a slow website are easily fixable.
How to Fix 10 Common Causes of a Slow Website
Since your Google ranking, customer loyalty, and brand image are negatively impacted when you have a slow website, you’ll need to fix these 10 common slow site causes right away.
1. Too many requests
A huge number of requests can slow down a website. This can be caused by fonts, plugins, images, and more. To reduce requests, use a content delivery network (CDN) that speeds up file transfer. You could also bring down the number of files on your web page or use Sprites.
2. Poor hosting services or plan
Selecting a poor hosting service can have long-lasting consequences on your business. From too much server downtime to insufficient storage space, the wrong provider can wreak untold havoc on your website. On the other hand, maybe you just need to upgrade your package.
The experts at Hosting Advice recommend opting for a bigger hosting plan or server that can handle a large number of visitors. If that doesn’t work, you may need to try another host.
3. Caching issues or uncached content
Uncached content will linger around your website every time a user visits. If you’re not currently caching data, you should. Not only does cached content help your website load faster, but it also improves user experience. Plus, caching helps fasten the data retrieval funnels.
4. Bloated or overly bulky code
You’d think unclean code would only be a problem for actual coders, but content management software can also suffer from bloated code. Things like inline stylings, empty lines, white space, and unnecessary comments increase the size of the website stylesheet, lagging your site.
The solution is to optimize your code by minifying CSS and JS files and removing redundant code. Don’t create multiple CSS stylesheets, but always skip the use of inline CSS.
5. Unoptimized images and videos
If you’ve uploaded a lot of images or videos to your website, they have to be optimized to prevent loading issues. The size and resolution of images can be overwhelming for browsers, so you must use an image compression tool to reduce file sizes before uploading them.
6. Not using a content delivery network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) service is a network of independent servers that are used in multiple locations. When a user views your website, a CDN will review the person’s location and connect them to their nearest data server. Without a CDN, some viewers can’t load your site.
Having localized data centers minimizes round-trip time, speeding everything up. If you want a CDN, consider solutions like Amazon CloudFront, Google Cloud CDN, Cloudflare, or StackPath.
7. Too many third-party ads
Placing advertisements on your website is a great way to make extra revenue, but it could end up turning traffic away. That’s because ads increase the number of HTTP requests. Experiment with the number of ads your site can handle and reduce that amount until your site loads quickly.
8. Not using a reliable DNS
A DNS or Domain Name System is an incredibly important aspect of the internet. It’s basically a large network of servers that contain databases of domain names and IP addresses. Hackers may initiate DNS attacks, which can cause spyware or other viruses to show up on your site.
To make sure this doesn’t happen, you need to find a reliable DNS provider. A trusted provider can make sure no one is eavesdropping on your browsing behavior, which can impact speeds.
9. Outdated software or code
Make sure you’re using the latest version of web languages like HTML, CSS, or JavaScript. If you use previous versions of software or coding languages, it leaves your site vulnerable. Use a tool to help you quickly identify outdated software and ensure you update them regularly.
10. Poor network connectivity
Poor website performance could be caused by your user’s Internet Service Provider (ISP) rather than your site. ISP errors could cause bandwidth throttling and restriction. This can be frustrating if the visitor blames your site or confusing if you’re the person visiting the website.
If you notice slow speeds on your site, run a traceroute between your computer and the website to test the connection. This will confirm whether the problem is coming from your ISP or not.
In Conclusion…
These are the 10 most common problems that can slow down a website. Fixing them will improve your website’s loading speed and give your visitor a smoother experience. Remember to use plugins, compress your images, and audit your code regularly for a faster website.
