How you can make your WordPress website faster by optimizing images and the server

To win the SEO battle you not just need a website but a speedy one. When browsing through WordPress themes to pick the one that suits you best, do not get carried away by exceptional design features unless you are sure that the site will be speedy. There cannot be any compromise with website speed also referred to as page opening time because slow websites can queer the pitch for performing good SEO. No matter how best you create the online marketing and optimization strategies, your efforts would hit the wall with a slow speed website. Users are not ready to allow more than 5 seconds for a website page to open and the farther you are from the target more it would the turn away visitors from the website. No marketer can carry on with slow websites just because they cannot afford to lose traffic, conversions, and sales.

Another reason for having speedy websites is to please Google that now uses it as a factor in determining search rankings. In this article, we will explore what can slow down sites and how you could maintain website speed that satisfies both users and search

Factors that affect website speed

Two things affect the websites speed – the images used on the website and the kind of server support it receives from the hosting service. You cannot help but use images in plenty on the site because you know how powerful it can be in bringing the website to life and convey emotions. The better you are in using images higher are the chances of better viewer engagement and response. The attraction of images is simply unbeatable due to its capabilities of communicating so much more than written words. Pictures are visual representations of brands and products that bring the audience closer to it and much faster. This factor is critical in driving sales and encouraging viewers to share the content. However, using too many or large images that occupy more space slows down the website.

Although you might have a speedy website, unless the server that hosts the site is capable of supporting the speed you cannot derive the speed you want. The server response time is largely responsible for website speed, and you have to reduce server response time of your WordPress site.

Optimize the images

Most of the website design revolves around images, and you too should use a lot of them. Since you have to use pictures in sufficient quantity on any WordPress website, you have to find out a way of using it without affecting the speed of the website. When images occupy large space in the design, the page takes a longer time to load, and it slows down the website. In many sites, images occupy almost 99%, and since you need those images, you have to do something about it so that it does not slow down the speed. Thinking about using lesser images does no good for driving traffic and sales. To keep on going with more images without affecting the speed, the only way is to optimize the images. You can use already optimized pictures or can optimize the images that are already on the website.

Image compression, file format, and size matter a lot

The purpose of optimizing images is to compress its size without affecting the resolution and overall quality. Make the file sizes smaller by optimizing images so that the page loads faster. When you optimize the pictures, you retain its high-resolution but without the concern for slow page opening time. Besides focusing on compressing images, another step-in optimization is to select the file format for images. Some file formats occupy more space that you must avoid. The third factor is the size of an image because larger is the image more space it would occupy. Ideally, you must compress images to 60 or 70 percent of its actual size.

Turn to dedicated hosting

The server response time increases considerably when you use a shared hosting service because the server depends on a common pool of resources. When some other users consume more resources that you also use, it is normal that you would experience strain because the resources are limited. As a result, your website experiences slow speed. To avoid the problem, arrange for hosting that assure dedicated resources for your site so that you never face the problem of slow speed.

Optimize the web server

Another measure that you should take is to optimize the web server. It would improve the server response time that would react faster to queries. Since the type of software used by the server affects its response time, select the host by considering what kind of software it uses so that the website speed does not slow down.

A speedy website is a non-negotiable agenda for marketers because it contributes to marketing success.

About the author:

Derek Iwasiuk is a web designer who has worked on projects that have helped to reduce server response time of your WordPress site. He is fond of blogging and runs his blog site. Alfred loves to travel and meet new people, which underline his deep interest in understanding humans.

Author: Harshal Shah

Harshal Shah is CEO & Founder of Xhtmljunkies, Located in Gujarat, India, XHTML Junkies is one of the best companies that offer unique eCommerce solutions by the virtue of its dedicated professionals. Our professionals are extremely proficient in offering development services pertaining to eCommerce. You can find Harshal on Google+ and Twitter.