Information Technology

Supercharge Your Website Speed: 12 Expert Tips from a Software Engineer

Software Engineer

In a recent interview with techbullion.com, Illia Haidar, an experienced Software Engineer, shared his tips for enhancing website speed. He has extensive experience working with leading tech companies and is recognized in the industry for his innovative approaches to web performance optimization. 

With 10 years of experience in web development and software engineering, Illia Haidar has successfully created a lot of successful websites, applying his unique techniques to optimize the speed of each client’s site.

In addition to these projects, Illia has effectively tested his speed and optimization techniques on his own project – online marketplace Sellme.ee. Currently, Sellme.ee hosts half a million products and receives a high volume of daily traffic, at the same time, the site has the fastest possible speed and user-friendly usability for customers.

Top 12 expert tips from Illia Haidar:

  1. Utilize a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) consists of geographically distributed web servers that provide web content to users based on their location. Hosting your website on a single server means all user requests go to the same hardware, increasing processing time and load time, especially for distant users.

With a CDN, requests are redirected to the nearest server, delivering content more quickly and improving website speed. While this is a costlier option, it is highly effective for optimizing load times.

  1. Upgrade Your Web Hosting

There are three types of hosting: shared hosting, virtual private server (VPS) hosting, and dedicated server hosting.

Shared hosting is the most affordable and popular option, ideal for getting your site online quickly. However, because resources like CPU, disk space, and RAM are shared with other sites, it is not as fast as VPS or dedicated hosting.

VPS hosting offers a virtual environment with dedicated resources, making it suitable for websites with moderate traffic or eCommerce sites experiencing traffic spikes.

The most expensive option, dedicated server hosting, provides your own physical server or dedicated cloud resources from providers like AWS, Microsoft Azure, or Google. This offers complete control and scalability. Another option is serverless architecture, which eliminates the need for server maintenance and setup.

  1. Optimize Image Sizes

High-quality images enhance user engagement but can slow down your website due to their large file sizes. Compress images using tools like ImageOptim, JPEGmini, or Kraken to reduce file size without compromising quality. Utilize HTML responsive images attributes to adjust image sizes based on user display properties.

  1. Reduce Plugins

Plugins add functionality to your website but can also slow it down and introduce security risks. Regularly review and remove unnecessary plugins, and use performance tests to identify those that affect speed. Keep essential plugins updated and avoid those that load excessive scripts or generate many database queries.

As Illia Haidar advises, “By minimizing the number of plugins and keeping only the essential ones, you can significantly enhance your website’s speed and security.”

  1. Minimize JavaScript and CSS Files

Excessive JavaScript and CSS files increase HTTP requests, slowing down your website. Combine and minify these files using tools like WillPeavy, Script Minifier, or Grunt to reduce the number of requests and improve load times.

  1. Implement Website Caching

Caching stores the current version of your website, reducing server load and speeding up content delivery. Caching methods vary based on your platform. For WordPress, use plugins like W3 Total Cache or W3 Super Cache. VPS or dedicated server users can enable caching in general settings, while shared hosting often lacks this feature.

  1. Enable GZIP Compression

GZIP compression reduces data transfer by up to 70%, improving site speed. It compresses HTTP requests and responses before sending them to the browser, which then decompresses the files. Check your server’s support for GZIP or alternative methods like Brotli and follow hosting provider instructions for implementation.

  1. Optimize Your CMS Database

Database optimization can significantly boost performance, especially for content management systems (CMS) with numerous plugins. For WordPress, consider using plugins like WP-Optimize to clean up and optimize the database, reducing load times.

“I always recommend regular database optimization to ensure your website runs smoothly,” says Illia Haidar.

  1. Limit Web Fonts

Web fonts are popular but can slow down your site due to extra HTTP requests. Use modern formats like WOFF2 and include only necessary character sets and styles to minimize impact.

  1. Detect and Fix 404 Errors

A 404 error indicates a missing page, which can affect user experience and site performance. Use tools like Xenu’s Link Sleuth or the 404 Redirected Plugin for WordPress to identify and address 404 errors. Redirect external links and fix internal links as needed.

Regularly checking for and fixing 404 errors is crucial for maintaining both user experience and site performance.

  1. Reduce Redirects

Redirects create additional HTTP requests, slowing down your site. Use tools like Screaming Frog to identify and evaluate redirects, keeping only those that are essential.

  1. Implement Prefetching Techniques

Prefetching loads and executes instructions before user actions, improving speed. Techniques include DNS-prefetching, link prefetching for predictable navigation, and prerendering for loading entire pages in advance. Effective prefetching requires thorough user behavior analysis to make accurate predictions.

Faster = Better

The speed at which your website loads, presents content, and reacts to user interactions significantly influences your bounce rates and conversion rates. Incremental enhancements play a vital role in this process. Although achieving a dramatic increase in speed isn’t immediate, implementing any of our 12 website optimization techniques can help kickstart your journey towards improved performance.

We are grateful to Illia Haidar for his expert advice and wish him continued professional success!

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