Web design and page load speed: Optimising for success
For many business the process of designing a website can involve a lot of emphasis being placed on the aesthetics and the interface, which are undeniably important areas that should be given a good deal of attention.
Why load speed matters as much as design
Having a site that looks the part and is easy to navigate is not enough on its own, however. The site must also load quickly on a range of devices, from desktop PCs with fibre optic connections to mobile devices with older 3G capabilities.
You may think that a lot of the browsing experience is down to elements that are out of the hands of site designers and webmasters, which is why optimisation attempts by the companies behind browsers are ongoing, especially in a mobile-dominated era.
Joining forces with an expert on the topic of web design ,such as a Web Design Gloucester team, can be an effective way to optimise load speeds, helping business clients to achieve improved performance. Speed is so important to some people that there are services dedicated to making access to news articles instant.
There are some other factors to think about if you want to cater to the two-thirds of smartphone users who believe that if a page takes more than four seconds to load, it is not worth visiting.
Reducing plug-ins to speed up your site
Pull out plug-ins
Plug-ins certainly have their place in web design but it is important to remember that each one will place an additional load on browsers and connections, meaning that you should keep them to a minimum to make your site as quick and nimble as possible.
Compressing images without losing quality
Embrace image compression techniques
Even in a mobile world, images generate more engagement and interest than plain text; therefore, you should not eliminate pictures from your site altogether. What you should do is make sure that the files are optimised to use as little bandwidth as possible, which is where compression comes into the mix.
A lot of this is down to picking the right file format for images, allowing quality to be retained even as compression is applied. PNGs are generally chosen for images such as logos and graphics, where colours are flat and consistent, whereas JPEGs do a better job of translating photographs effectively in a web-based environment without taking up too much space.
Summary
This article argues that website design needs to prioritise page load speed alongside aesthetics, since two-thirds of smartphone users say they will leave a page that takes more than four seconds to load. It recommends minimising plug-ins to reduce browser load, compressing images to save bandwidth, and choosing the right file format, such as PNG for graphics and JPEG for photographs.
Questions this article raises
- How much does load speed actually affect a site’s search ranking?
- Which image compression tools give the best quality-to-size ratio?
- How many plug-ins is too many for an average business website?
