Nowadays, businesses in this digital world are focusing more on increasing their website capability and alertness for attaining good business prospects. It is important as several millions of websites are being used daily for various purposes. However, not all websites are user-friendly, taking into consideration the first byte.

When a website is not optimized perfectly for optimal performance, it is loaded with several issues such as slow loading time, user-incompatibilities and many more. Those problems not only cause a loss of potential conversions but also worsen the website results. Website loading speed is the total time required for the website to open in front of the visitors. So, when a website takes more time to show up then it might lose visitors.  Low website speed is one of the frustrating things that can turn off people about your resources and can cost you both money and reputation.

Optimization of your website for best performance and speed has a positive impact on your marketing and sales processes, helps in getting higher traffic and attracts leads. So, know how to improve website speed and performance.

Tips and techniques to optimize your website for performance and speed

Reduce HTTP request

By minimizing the number of HTTP requests you can reduce the loading time of the website. Combine various CSS and Javascript files into one file which in turn will decrease the HTTP requests, decrease file size and enhance website performance.

Compress large-size images

If your website contains large-size images, then it can affect the website’s speed. Compressing images without hampering quality can assist in enhancing the website’s performance. Several tools are available that can help in compressing images for website performance optimization.

Enable caches

When you enable cache, it allows the browser to keep track of the website resources, decreases HTTP requests and enhances website speed. Setting the caching headers in the server’s response can enhance the loading speed mainly for returning visitors.

Use Content Delivery Networks or CDN

Content Delivery Networks or CDN cache the resources of websites all over the global servers, making them readily available for the users no matter where they are from. Implementation of a CDN can assist in enhancing website speeds, primarily for distant users.

Make use of various tools for measuring website speed:

• GTmterix: GTmetrix analyzes the website speed and offers suggestions for enhancing the performance. It provides strong insights on several performance metrics and offers good actionable suggestions.
• Google PageSpeed Insights: This is a tool that analyzes the website speed on desktop as well as mobile devices, offering suggestions for enhancing performance. It evaluates various factors that affect the speed of the website and provides better optimization tips.
• WebPage Test: This tool offers a detailed analysis of the website speed. It helps in testing the website performance from various locations and offers all-inclusive reports with some best recommendations.
• Lighthouse: It is an open-source tool from Google that does auditing of website performance, best practices and accessibility. It creates website performance reports and provides suggestions for optimization of the websites.

Consider key performance testing tools

• First Contentful Paint or FCP: This measures the time taken by the first piece of content to get displayed on the user’s screen post their request for a page.
• First Input Delay or FID: FID helps in measuring the time delay between any user’s initial interaction with a web page and the response of the page to the user input.
• Largest Contentful Paint or LCP: LCP helps in measuring the time taken by the largest content element on any webpage to become visible to the user. When the LCP score is good, it makes sure that the content is rapidly visible, increasing the user experience.
• Time to First Byte or TTFB: TTBF helps in measuring the time that the web browser takes to achieve the first byte of the information from any web server after making a request. It affects the user experience as a whole and also the loading time of the webpage.

Consider website accessibility factors for better performance

• Conduct accessibility audit: Website accessibility makes sure that people having disabilities can get access to and navigate the websites efficiently. By conducting the accessibility audit through tools such as Wave, Axe, Acheker and Google Lighthouse, you can recognize the accessibility issues and offer recommendations for enhancement.
• Test colour contrast: Colour contrast is important for users having visual impairments. Tools such as Contrast Checker as well as Accessible Colors can assist in assessing the colour contrast of your website and make sure it meets all standards of accessibility.
•   Offer ALT Text for images: By adding alt text to your website images, you will allow your readers to convey the content to those users who are visually impaired. It is required to include accurate and relevant alt text for all of your images on your website.
• Facilitate Keyboard navigation: Make sure that your website can be easily navigated by making use of the keyboard alone. Users who are not able to use a mouse depend on keyboard navigation for accessing the website content. Test the keyboard accessibility of your website for a seamless user experience.
• Accessible for screen readers: Make the website compatible with screen readers by following best practices for accessibility. Make use of the right HTML structure, headings and ARIA attributes for offering relevant information and navigation cues for the users of the screen reader.
• Focus Managing: Right focus management is required for the users to navigate through interactive elements by using the keyboard. Ensure that focus indicators are easily visible and are constant, which indicates which element has keyboard focus. Test your website by using the Tab key to make sure that all interactive elements can be easily accessed and function by using only the keyboard.
• Highly responsive website design and mobile accessibility: Make sure your website is highly responsive and can be accessed on various services which include mobile phones as well as tablets. Test your website on various screen sizes and orientations to make sure that every content and functionality is accessible easily.

Conclusion

Optimization of website speed, making sure there is proper accessibility and adapting Progressive Web App abilities are important for deliverance of exceptional user experience. By executing techniques and tips and using all recommended tools, you can easily increase website performance. Regular supervision and optimization of those aspects will assist your website to thrive in this digital landscape.