Web Site Speed and Performance Optimization

When you have a need for faster Web page speed

Web site speed optimization helps retain visitors. If your home page does not load and display in 10 seconds or less on a 56k dial-up connection, you are losing customers due to abandonment. Numerous studies have shown that users have no patience for slow Web sites, and 10 seconds or less is their threshold. It comes down to the fact that speedy Web sites impress users, while slow sites frustrate them. A recent Nielsen//NetRatings survey (December 2006) indicates that 21.5% of home users in the US are still using slow, dial-up connections. If home-based users are your targeted customers, can you afford to discourage nearly half of your potential clients with a poorly performing Web site?

When contemplating whether or not your site is loading and displaying (rendering) quickly enough to retain your visitors, consider this:

Page rendering time is the first impression a user gets when visiting a site.
Page design is the second impression.
Content is the third impression.

When someone immediately abandons your Web site because it is slow, you never give them a chance to form a second or third impression.

Browsers such as Internet Explorer and FireFox are very forgiving and correct numerous coding errors as they render Web pages. Search engines have no such mercy for mistakes or inefficient code. Speed optimization identifies and corrects common errors and assures that the Web page code will be easy for spiders read.

If a search engine spider (algorithm) does not understand your code, it may abandon the indexing of your site and your Web pages will not be listed, or you may receive a poor rank.

A speed optimization review uncovers numerous factors that directly affect the speed and performance of your site. Most issues can be easily corrected. Some are more difficult. The following is a partial list of the issues investigated:

Hosting issues that affect Web site speed
Web site architecture - Is it efficient?
Web page architecture - Is it efficient?
Page weight - Is it excessive?
Coding techniques - Are they efficient?
Use of WYSIWYG tools - Are they generating efficient code?
Code validation - Are there mistakes in your code?
Images - Are you using the correct types of images?
Images - Are they optimized properly?
HTML - Is it bloated with unnecessary code?
JavaScript - Is it implemented efficiently?
Cascading Style Sheets - Is it implemented efficiently?
Server Side Includes - Are they used excessively?
Dynamic sites - Is your database slow or inefficient?
Browsers - Is your code compatible with most browsers?
Are you testing your site properly for speed-related issues?

Most Web sites suffer from some or all of the potential problem areas listed above.

A speed optimization review identifies performance issues with your Web site. Once identified, we can show you how to resolve the issues in the most cost-effective manner. If you have an in-house Web development team, we will identify the changes to be made, plus provide support for their questions. If you do not have a development team, we can optimize most Web sites for you.

All HTML and CSS code is validated using the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) validator. The W3C is the group that develops and maintains the international standards for Web page coding.

Web site speed optimization is currently included as a free addition to our Site Review Services, our SEO Review and Coaching Services, our SEO Training Workshop and our Search Engine Optimization Services.

If you have questions or are interested in a Web site speed optimization review, please click here to contact us.

Top Rank Solutions is located near Phoenix in Mesa, Arizona, and offers Web site optimization services and Web site evaluation services for customers throughout the United States.