We seem to have grown into a world where we want everything in an instant. I bet you won’t spend your time waiting for a web page to spin, sputter and load.Website speed does matter! Fast-loading sites perform better on all fronts: better user experience, higher conversions, more engagement, and it’s not exactly a secret that it also plays a major role in search engine rankings. So, just when you thought you had every ingredient in your website to achieve success, the visitor ends up staring at a blank screen for couple of seconds instead of seeing your masterpiece.

There are a million and one ways to boost your website’s performance. The methods vary and some are more involved than others. Here are some tips you can use to see immediate results and improvements in the long run:

  1. Opt for a Reliable Web Host: It’s crucial to choose a reliable web hosting company to ensure that your website remains safe and is accessible all year round. In order for your site to make money, it must be available to visitors 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – without interruption. The more quickly a server responds to visitors requests the quicker the web pages download!
  2. Pick the right Web Hosting Package: It’s imperative to understand the distinctions between shared, and unmanaged dedicated, collocated  and managed dedicated hosting so you choose the one that’s right for your business. As the hosting industry has matured, hosting offers have split into a couple of distinct categories, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.
  3. Choose the perfect Server Location:  The physical location of servers can affect the speed at which the hosted websites load. This is important when it comes to  local search or search on a mobile device. Using a server located in your home country is generally considered to affect search engine optimization.
  4. Optimize your images: People are visual, but you should still be selective with what you include on your site. Storing large image files on your site can dramatically slow page load time. If possible, reduce your image sizes and resolutions
  5. Reduce the number of plugins you use on your site: Too many plugins slow your site, create security issues, and often cause crashes and other technical difficulties. Try selectively disabling plugins, then measuring server performance. This way you can identify any plugins that harm your site speed.
  6. Enable Browser Cache: When you visit a website, the elements on the page you visit are stored on your hard drive in a cache, or temporary storage, so the next time you visit the site, your browser can load the page without having to send another HTTP request to the server.
  7. Lessen your HTTP requests: HTTP requests are responsible for summoning the web download of all your page components. If your page contains a ton of elements, you will be sending lots of requests and that will obviously take more time.
  8. Observe your homepage: Is it too flashy? Try and keep the noise down on your website, especially the home page.

Don’t overlook your site speed. Take some time today to measure your current speed, and if it’s not up to par, start diagnosing the problem! Time is our most valuable asset.