What a lot of clients don’t realize is just how taxing large images can be on their server. And when you have only a few seconds to make an impression with your visitors, you need your site to load completely in those few seconds. Here are a few quick tips for speeding up your site by making smart image choices.
Save images at the size you need them
If you are creating a graphic for your blog or website, make sure you save that image to the size you want to use it at. If you save it twice as big, it will take roughly twice as long to load on the page. But there is no benefit to the larger image, so it’s wasting your visitor’s time. {An exception is an image with a pop-up zoom if folks need to see details, like on a product image.}
Be selective with how many images you use
Of all the things that take time to load on a website page, one of the biggest resource hogs tends to be images. If you want a lightning fast page, be selective with how many images you put on it + the size of those files.
Use features purposefully
There are tons of ways to add interest to a web page with carousels, animations, accordions, etc. But each of those features has a stack of code required to make it run. While some of them can be accomplished with a few lines + no drag on the server, others require a bit more “heavy lifting.”
The best way to keep those from slowing your site down is by making sure they only load on the page where that feature appears {i.e. you don’t want your carousel code loading on your contact page when the carousel only appears on the homepage.}
If you aren’t sure how to do this, your developer can help or you can ask the plugin or theme author.
Run tests on your site speed
While the results may be über nerdy, running page speed tests is a great way to understand where you can improve your site. My favorite tools are google’s pagespeed tools + gtmetrix.
Once you run those tests, you’ll get a grade on your site’s performance + tips for how to get a better score next time. You can use their information to dive in or find someone to help with the coding stuff if that’s not your jam.
Carve out some time this week or next to get your site security in check + see how fast your website is. Because a fast + secure website is great for business.
Check out this article for even more tips on how to pick great images for your blog + website — including the best resources for stock images.