Your website’s page speed is of the utmost importance.
If your site doesn’t load fast enough, your potential customers and conversions are at risk. With our instant gratification culture of today, any page on your web site that takes more that 2 seconds to load fully will be abandoned immediately.
There can be a myriad of reasons that your site doesn’t load quickly. From not optimizing your images before uploading them, to improper server settings, your page load time can slow to a crawl. But, you’re in luck.
Below is a short list of my favorite resources for testing and addressing site page speed.
Free PageSpeed Test Tools:
GTMetrix.com
Pingdom.com
WebPageTest.org
Google Page Speed
Each of the page speed testing sites above will give you vital information on speeding up your website for optimal results. I use each of the urls above just a bit differently. GTMetrix is my favorite of the four. On your results page, they give you a breakdown of what’s causing your issues and give you guided hints on how to address and correct your page’s speed issues.
One of the biggest, and most common, page speed issues is Leverage Browser Caching (generally means that you can specify how long web browsers should keep images, CSS and JS stored locally).
Here is how to address Leverage Browser Caching on your site. Add the following code to your .htaccess or httpd.conf file, dependent on your server type:
## EXPIRES CACHING ##
ExpiresActive On
ExpiresByType image/jpg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/jpeg "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/gif "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType image/png "access 1 year"
ExpiresByType text/css "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/pdf "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-javascript "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType application/x-shockwave-flash "access 1 month"
ExpiresByType image/x-icon "access 1 year"
ExpiresDefault "access 2 days"
## EXPIRES CACHING ##
Setting your leverage browser caching is one of several ways to improve your site’s page speed. A fast website will undoubtedly improve your visitor’s overall experience and catch those potential sales or conversions.
47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less. (1)
PageSpeed Solution for WordPress Installations
I’ve also found this little gem for your WordPress blog or site. Speed Booster Pack WordPress Plugin address many, if not all, of your page speed issues for your WordPress installation.
Download the plugin for your WordPress site here.
Test, test, test and test some more to get your money making website to reach its fullest potential and as fast as possible. A slow site will kill your conversions and lose you potential sales and leads. Take the time to address every issue you possibly can related to page speed and show your website and visitors some love.