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<p>If you want your website to be popular with your target audience, optimization is essential. Whether you focus on decreasing load times throughout your web pages or making sure that your site design is aesthetically appealing, there are many useful steps that can be taken to optimize your website. The main issue with optimizing a website is that the changes you make may not always improve your conversion rates. <strong>When measuring conversion rates for your website, this particular measurement indicates how many visitors to your website took a specific action</strong>. You can set conversions to be anything from making a purchase to becoming a member. </p>



<p><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/what-is-a-b-testing/">Performing A/B testing</a> can help you better determine which improvements will provide the best results for your conversion rate. <strong>Likely the most effective tool for A/B testing is Google Optimize, which is a premium tool that can pay dividends when you’re trying to increase your conversion rates</strong>. With Google Optimize, you can analyze how site layouts affect user behavior and which designs are most appealing to your core audience. Before you start using Google Optimize, keep in mind that this tool offers a free version and a paid version, the latter of which provides many additional features that can help you reach your goals. </p>



<p>The Google Optimize tool is great for businesses because of the importance of high conversion rates with any website. Nearly <em>70 percent of people in the U.S.</em> have shopped for a product or service on the internet, which goes to show how popular online shopping is in today’s market. If you want your business and website to remain ahead of the competition, it’s important that visitors who enter your website become engaged long enough to convert into return customers. </p>



<p>However, <em>there are many issues that can cause users to become disinterested in a website</em>. These issues include poor loading, an unsightly design, a cluttered layout, and poor functionality. <strong>Conducting regular A/B testing should help you identify what changes must be made to improve conversions and bring in more customers</strong>. Before you begin to use the Google Optimize tool, there are several things you should do to prepare. </p>



<p>The first and most important step involves creating a Gmail account, after which you will need to link the account with <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/google-analytics-expert/">Google Analytics</a>. The Analytics script will then need to be integrated into your website. You should also install the Google Optimize extension that’s available with Google Chrome. Once you’ve completed these steps, you should be ready to start using the Google Optimize tool.<em> This article serves as an honest and detailed review on Google Optimize and why you should use it to improve conversions on your website</em>. </p>


<div class="lwptoc lwptoc-autoWidth lwptoc-light lwptoc-notInherit" data-smooth-scroll="1" data-smooth-scroll-offset="24"><div class="lwptoc_i">    <div class="lwptoc_header" style="font-size:175%;">
        <b class="lwptoc_title">Highlights</b>                    <span class="lwptoc_toggle">
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    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Characteristics_of_Google_Optimize">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Characteristics of Google Optimize</span>
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">3.1</span>
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">3.3</span>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Characteristics_of_Google_Optimize">Characteristics of Google Optimize</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183153-1024x682.jpg" alt="characteristics of google optimize" class="wp-image-3345" width="840" height="559" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183153-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183153-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183153.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px"></figure>



<p>While tools like Optimizely and VWO can also be used to improve site conversions, likely the best tool at your disposal is Google Optimize. The<strong> main advantage of Google Optimize is that they offer a free version</strong>, which isn’t readily available with other optimization tools. Some of the <em>key features</em> that are provided to people who use Google Optimize include:</p>



<p></p>



<ul><li><strong>Easy integration</strong> – When you start using Google Optimize, you’ll find that the set-up process is simple and straightforward. All of the code that makes up Google Optimize is already incorporated into Google Tag Manager, which makes installation easy.<br></li><li><strong>Experiment previews</strong> – The tools that are available in Google Optimize give you the ability to sample different variations of your website. These variations can be sampled across different devices.<br></li><li><strong>Visual editor</strong> – You’ll find that the best tools for optimization are ones that include a visual editor. The visual editor that’s found in Google Optimize gives you the ability to create the different variations that you would like to test. When you want to use the visual editor, a separate chrome extension can be installed directly into your Google Chrome browser.<br></li><li><strong><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/usability-testing-methods/">Different test types</a> </strong>– It’s possible to run multivariate tests, A/B tests, and split tests.<br></li></ul>



<p>The main thing that sets Google Optimize apart from other optimization tools is that <strong>Google Optimize can be integrated seamlessly into Google Analytics</strong>, which gives you the ability to obtain A/B testing results and track site performance from one location. You can also set different testing goals for a more convenient testing process. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Limitations_of_Google_Optimize">Limitations of Google Optimize</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183146-1024x683.jpg" alt="limitations of google optimize" class="wp-image-3346" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183146-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183146-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3183146.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>While there are many benefits that come with using Google Optimize, the tool also has some notable limitations that you should know about before selecting this service as your optimization tool of choice. The <em>main drawbacks</em> to using Google Optimize include:</p>



<p></p>



<ul><li><strong>Limited free tests </strong>– Only 16 multivariate tests can be performed, which typically isn’t enough when you want to perform tests on several page elements<br></li><li><strong>Limited free goals </strong>– It’s only possible to measure three separate goals for your website<br></li><li><strong>Limited free experiments</strong> – You can only run three experiments at the same time with this tool, which may not provide you with the results you’re looking for<br></li><li><strong>Lack of real-time data</strong> – Real-time data reports aren’t generated with Google Optimize, which can be an issue if you obtain high amounts of traffic<br></li><li><strong>Lack of heat and scroll maps </strong>– Although integration with Google Analytics provides some key advantages, it’s not ideal for detailed on-page analysis<br></li></ul>



<p>Keep in mind that these issues are fixed by obtaining the<em> paid version of Google Optimize</em>. If you want to perform a high number of A/B tests, you should consider options like Optimizely, VWO, and the paid version of Google Optimize.</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="How_to_Run_a_Test_in_Google_Optimize">How to Run a Test in Google Optimize</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-serpstat-572056-1-1024x682.jpg" alt="how to run a test in google optimize" class="wp-image-3348" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-serpstat-572056-1-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-serpstat-572056-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-serpstat-572056-1.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>When you want to run a test in Google Optimize, there are five simple steps that you should adhere to. These steps begin by setting up an account. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Part_1_Set_Up_an_Account">Part 1: Set Up an Account</span></h3>



<p><strong>To set up an account with Google Optimize, you should first go to <a href="https://optimize.google.com/optimize/home/#/accounts" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this link</a></strong>. From here, click on the “Get Started” button, create an account name, and accept the terms of service. You will then be tasked with creating and adding a container for your website. The container name could be the name of your website or account. Keep in mind that any account admins will have access to your container. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Part_2_Adjust_the_Settings">Part 2: Adjust the Settings</span></h3>



<p>During the account-creation process, you will be able to adjust some of the settings for the Google Optimize tool, which may be necessary if you want to get the most out of this service. <strong>Under the “Experiences” section</strong>, you will have the opportunity to create your first experience, which could involve performing a redirect test, an A/B test, or a multivariate test. Each experience that you create should have its own name. For instance, your first experience could be titled “Test1”. Along with the three tests mentioned previously, it’s also possible to personalize your web page for targeted visitors. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Part_3_Link_Accounts">Part 3: Link Accounts</span></h3>



<p>You should now<strong> focus on linking your Google Optimize account with your Google Analytics account</strong>, which will help you obtain the full functionality of the Google Optimize tool. To link the two accounts, you should navigate to your “Accounts” page on Google Optimize. The next step involves selecting a container before clicking on the “Link Property” button that’s situated within the container information panel. </p>



<p>You’ll then be provided with a drop-down list, from which you should choose the Google Analytics property that best corresponds with your domain name. You should then select at least one Analytics view. Each experiment that you perform with Optimize will be sent to an Analytics view. The view that the data is sent to will combine the objectives of the experiment with the metrics of the view. All that’s left is to click “Link”. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Part_4_Check_Google_Analytics">Part 4: Check Google Analytics</span></h3>



<p>Once you’ve finished linking the two accounts, it’s important that you check Google Analytics to make sure that everything has been set up correctly. You can<strong> either use <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/google-tag-manager-vs-google-analytics/">Google Tag Manager</a> or the Google Site tag to determine if Google Analytics is functioning</strong> properly. The Google Site tag for Google Analytics is a simple snippet of text that should be placed along the heading of every web page on your website. </p>



<p>Optimize can be effectively installed by adding a small amount of code to the Google Analytics config line. You can learn more about Google Site tags at <a href="https://support.google.com/optimize/answer/7513085?hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this link</a>. This process can be made even easier by using Google Tag Manager, which allows you to manage every website tag without needing to edit code. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Part_5_Create_Your_Test_and_Implement_the_Changes">Part 5: Create Your Test and Implement the Changes</span></h3>



<p>The fifth and final step in this process involves creating a test and implementing the necessary changes to your website. You can<strong> create your initial test via the visual editor or through the addition of a small piece of code</strong> with the CSS code editor. A window will open on the right of the page that gives you the ability to alter the variant in any way you see fit. By clicking on the “Edit Element” option, you can add JavaScript or edit the HTML code of the element in question. </p>



<p>The lowest area of the window that opens will allow you to change every aspect of the element, which includes the background, layout, location, dimensions, border, and typography. <strong>Using a CSS code editor instead will give you even more control over each variant</strong>. However, using the code editor requires a <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/what-is-coding/">basic understanding of code</a>. If you want to learn some basic coding before using Google Optimize, this tool primarily uses HTML and JavaScript, the former of which is relatively simple to learn.</p>



<p>When you have conducted the necessary tests and have identified <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/web-design-fundamentals-a-comprehensive-guide/">which variations perform the best</a>, it’s time to implement these changes to your website. Google Optimize offers a very useful preview mode that gives you the ability to view each web page exactly how the user would see it. To enter preview mode, select “Preview Options” on the page for experiment details. From here, click on “Web Preview”, which will put you in preview mode. You can also create a shareable link for team members to look at by clicking on the “Share Preview” button.</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Conclusion_on_Google_Optimize">Conclusion on Google Optimize</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3182812-1024x682.jpg" alt="google optimize conclusion" class="wp-image-3350" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3182812-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3182812-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-fauxels-3182812.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>Google Optimize is a highly useful tool for any business that wants to make sure that their website is <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/what-is-cro-conversion-rate-optimization-tips-and-more/">optimized for conversions</a>. <strong>It’s important to understand that testing different variations of web pages and elements on the page can help you determine which variation is able to bring in more customers</strong>. By appealing to more site visitors, your business and brand will invariably increase in popularity. Since these tests are performed with actual people, you can be confident in the results you receive. </p>



<p>While other optimization tools are available, the connection between Google Optimize and Google Analytics makes this option one of the best. Since Google Optimize offers a free option, this is also the most affordable optimization tool at your disposal. <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/">Speak with the experts today</a> if you want to learn more about Google Optimize and how it can help you strengthen your website.                       </p>


Why We Love Google Optimize – An Honest Review from a Web Agency


<p>A critical element in the success of any website is performance. When a website performs poorly and loads slowly, most visitors will have a bad user experience, which makes it increasingly likely that they will leave your website and choose to go to a competitor’s website. <strong>Nearly </strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://hostingtribunal.com/blog/how-speed-affects-website/#gref" target="_blank"><strong>80 percent of online shoppers</strong></a><strong> say that slow loading will cause them to leave a website</strong>. While the appearance of your website is important, the speed and performance of the site is essential towards <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/managing-your-website-effectively-in-2020/">keeping users engaged</a> long enough to take an action or make a purchase. </p>



<p>One component of a web page that can worsen site performance involves the images that you place on your website. <strong>Larger images can </strong><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/best-website-speed-test-tools-optimize-website-performance/"><strong>slow down web pages</strong></a><strong> and worsen the user experience</strong>, which also serves to worsen your brand reputation. However, images and other types of multimedia are essential if you want to keep site visitors engaged. To account for the performance problems caused by larger images,<em> it’s highly recommended that you perform image optimization by compressing images</em>, which will improve your web performance. </p>



<p>It’s possible to decrease the file size of images <strong>with a script or plugin</strong>, which should solve any loading issues that have occurred after implementing images on your website. Two methods that are commonly used to compress images include lossless compression and lossy compression. Both methods are effective and can provide you with great results.<strong> The most important consideration to keep in mind when compressing images is to make sure that the image quality doesn’t reduce significantly</strong>. Making modifications to an image file can cause images to look blurry, which is the last thing you want to do when trying to keep visitors on your website. <em>This article offers an extensive guide on the </em><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/usability-testing-methods/"><em>most effective techniques</em></a><em> for compressing images and improving the performance of your website. </em></p>


<div class="lwptoc lwptoc-autoWidth lwptoc-light lwptoc-notInherit" data-smooth-scroll="1" data-smooth-scroll-offset="24"><div class="lwptoc_i">    <div class="lwptoc_header" style="font-size:175%;">
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">How to Optimize Images for Web and Performance</span>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="How_to_Optimize_Images_for_Web_and_Performance">How to Optimize Images for Web and Performance</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/anete-lusina-zwsHjakE_iI-unsplash-1024x682.jpg" alt="optimize images for web performance" class="wp-image-3330" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/anete-lusina-zwsHjakE_iI-unsplash-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/anete-lusina-zwsHjakE_iI-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/anete-lusina-zwsHjakE_iI-unsplash.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>When you format the images on your website,<strong> your main goal should be to reduce file size by as much as possible without sacrificing too much of the image quality</strong>. There are many different ways that you can achieve this goal, the primary of which involves compressing the images before they are uploaded to your WordPress website. Two of the more <em>popular tools for compressing images</em> include <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://affinity.serif.com/en-us/photo/" target="_blank">Affinity Photo</a> and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop.html" target="_blank">Adobe Photoshop</a>. It’s also possible to compress images with plugins that you download directly to your WordPress account. </p>



<p>Before you start compressing images for your website,<strong> two of the most important factors when optimizing images include the type of compression that you use and the file format</strong> that you would like the images to be attached to. If you select the correct combination of compression type and file format, you may be able to compress the file size of your images by nearly five times the original size. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Quality_Versus_Size">Quality Versus Size</span></h3>



<p>As mentioned previously, among the most important aspects of compressing images is to<strong> make sure that you get the right quality and file size</strong>. While the size of your images is important to maintain a fast performance for your website, users don’t want to see low-quality images when they enter a website. If you compress an image too much, it will appear blurry with jagged edges and a large number of artifacts. <em>At a low compression rate, you’ll be provided with a high-quality image</em>. However, the file size will still be large. </p>



<p>If you want your website to have low loading times and quick performance, the images on each web page should only amount to 1-2mb in size. When using the JPEG format, you can get great image quality with optimal compression at 100-200kb. If you decide to use simpler PNG images, compress your images to less than 100kb in size, which will still allow for a high image quality. While it’s important that you strike the right balance between image quality and file size, the quality of the image is likely the most important aspect. If the quality gets too low, your brand may gain a poor reputation.</p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="File_Formats">File Formats</span></h3>



<p>The<em> three main types of files</em> that you can use for the images on your website include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>GIF</strong> – This option uses just 256 colors and is mainly used to display animated images. The GIF format only accommodates lossless compression.<br></li><li><strong>PNG</strong> – This format is able to produce premium images with a higher quality. The main downside is that the file sizes will be larger. Even though the image format was created as a lossless format, it can be lossy as well.<br></li><li><strong>JPEG</strong> – This format is able to use lossless and lossy optimization, which makes it easier to alter the quality of the image to strike the right balance between file size and image quality.<br></li></ul>



<p>There are several additional types of formats that you could use for your images, which include everything from WebP to JPEG XR. However, <em>only the three primary formats are supported by every web browser</em>. If you want to use images that contain ample amounts of color, the best format would be JPEG. On the other hand, the PNG format is ideal for simpler images. Using a combination of the two file formats should make it easier for you to place numerous images on each page of your website without sacrificing performance and load times. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Resizing_Images_to_Scale">Resizing Images to Scale</span></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/webfactory-ltd-CzShzocZtW0-unsplash-1024x683.jpg" alt="wordpress image rescale" class="wp-image-3333" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/webfactory-ltd-CzShzocZtW0-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/webfactory-ltd-CzShzocZtW0-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/webfactory-ltd-CzShzocZtW0-unsplash.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p><strong>Uploading images to WordPress used to create numerous problems</strong>. If you attempted to upload images at a different scale, the CSS programming language would resize the images and create issues with the work that has been done to compress the images. CSS would further scale images down, which would result in blurry images with a very low quality. However, WordPress 4.4 took this option away to provide support for responsive images, which means that uploaded images will no longer be scaled down by CSS. This functionality has been present in every update following 4.4 as well. </p>



<p>Now, WordPress will upload images at several different sizes. The browser that the user accesses your website with will be able to select the appropriate image size while ignoring any others. <em>Keep in mind that the original file size for the image you upload won’t be touched</em> and will be kept in your media library. If you don’t want to keep the original file size to save some disk space,<strong> free plugins like </strong><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/imsanity/" target="_blank"><strong>Imsanity</strong></a><strong> give you the ability to set a limit for the file size of every image you upload to WordPress</strong>. </p>



<p>Once you start uploading numerous images to your media library, it’s <em>highly recommended that you look into cleaning your media library</em>, which can be done with the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/media-cleaner/" target="_blank">Media Cleaner</a> plugin. This type of plugin will easily identify any files within your media library that are unused, which you can safely get rid of. The unused files will be listed in the Media Cleaner dashboard for simple deletion. When you delete these files, they are sent to a special trash directory. Afterwards, you can test your website to make sure that you didn’t get rid of files that were pertinent to the functionality of your website. If you did, files can easily be restored from the trash directory. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="The_Difference_Between_Lossless_and_Lossy">The Difference Between Lossless and Lossy</span></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="lossless vs lossy images" class="wp-image-3335" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>It’s essential that you understand the difference between lossless and lossy, <strong>both of which are compression methods that can be used to reduce the size of your images</strong>.<em> Lossy</em> is a compression filter that’s able to eliminate some data from an image file. When this occurs, the quality of the image will worsen, which is why it’s important that you don’t reduce the image too much. As mentioned earlier, tools like Affinity Photo and Adobe Photoshop can alter quality settings for an image. </p>



<p><strong>The lossless option</strong> is another compression filter that compresses data instead of getting rid of some of it. While the quality of the image won’t worsen when compressed, the image will need to become uncompressed before it can be properly displayed. The different tools that can be used for lossless compression include<em> ImageOptim and FileOptimizer</em>. No matter which option you decide to use, it’s recommended that you experiment between the two to identify which one works best for your format or image. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Image_Optimization_Plugins">Image Optimization Plugins</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/john-schnobrich-FlPc9_VocJ4-unsplash-1024x683.jpg" alt="image optimization plugins" class="wp-image-3337" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/john-schnobrich-FlPc9_VocJ4-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/john-schnobrich-FlPc9_VocJ4-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/john-schnobrich-FlPc9_VocJ4-unsplash.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>There are a wide range of programs and tools that can be used when you want to optimize and compress images for your website. While many of these tools are paid, others can be downloaded and used for free. If you want to have as<em> many tools at your disposal</em> as possible,<strong> it’s highly recommended that you use WordPress for your website</strong>. With WordPress, you don’t need to perform all of the compression and formatting by hand. Instead, plugins can be used to perform many of these actions automatically. </p>



<p>Different plugins are able to perform different actions. For instance, some plugins will immediately optimize image files when you upload them. Other plugins will optimize any image that’s located in your media library. While plugins are reliable and efficient, you should continue to use other tools to obtain the best results. As an example, it’s important that you don’t upload too many images to your media library on WordPress, which will significantly reduce the disk space that’s available through the web host. Optimizing many of your images before uploading them to WordPress ensures that you don’t take up too much disk space. </p>



<p><strong>Five of the most reliable WordPress plugins for image compression</strong> include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Optimole</strong> – This is an image optimization and compression plugin that can compress, host, and resize your images. The tool is simple to use and will perform image optimization without requiring much work from you. The main issue with this tool is that there aren’t many features.<br></li><li><strong>Imagify Image Optimizer</strong> – This is a feature-intensive plugin that offers bulk optimization and provides three levels of compression, which include normal, aggressive, and ultra. The main downside to using this tool is that customer support is relatively poor.<br></li><li><strong>Optimus Image Optimizer</strong> – This plugin specifically uses lossless compression to optimize images. Along with providing bulk optimization, this tool is compatible with WooCommerce as well as the WP Retina plugin. The main issue with this plugin is that the free version has a cap of 100kb for the images you can upload.<br></li><li><strong>Image Recycle</strong> – This is an automatic compression plugin that offers a suite of useful optimization features for your WordPress images. The best features include settings that allow for a minimum compression size and auto image resizing. This is largely a premium plugin. While a free trial is available for 15 days, you can only upload 100mb of images during that time.<br></li><li><strong>Tiny PNG</strong> – This is a popular plugin that allows users to compress PNG and JPEG images. If you decide to use the free account, you can compress 100 images every month. Tiny PNG can reduce your PNG images by as much as 80 percent without losing much image quality. The main issue with this plugin is that the JPEG results aren’t as good as the PNG results.<br></li></ul>



<p>Now that you know how to compress images and which tools are best for doing so, you should be able to improve your website performance significantly. Once these improvements have been made, you might also notice a reduction in bounce rates and an increase in customer conversion rates.                       </p>


Best Ways to Compress Images & Optimize Your Web Performance


<p>The success of any website <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/5-reasons-why-your-website-speed-matters/">depends on how it performs</a>. Even if your design is beautiful and the layout of your website is highly functional, poor performance will quickly cause visitors to leave your website in search for a similar site that doesn’t take a long time to load. One metric that can be used to identify problem areas with the speed of your website is TTFB, which stands for “time to first byte”.<strong> Google refers to this metric as “waiting”</strong>. What this metric measures is how responsive a web server is. When this measurement takes place, you will be able to <strong>identify how much time occurs between the creation of a server connection and the downloading of page content. </strong></p>



<p>To better understand time to first byte, <em>keep in mind that connections to web servers occur through a multi-step process</em>, which means that delays for the connection can take place at any stage of this process. If your website is affected by slowdown, it’s important that you detect why this slowdown is occurring. TTFB allows you to identify possible weak points that are present within the connection process. Once you know when these delays occur in the process, you can make the necessary changes and alterations that will <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/best-website-speed-test-tools-optimize-website-performance/">improve connection speeds</a>. </p>



<p><em>Keep in mind that TTFB differs from measuring tools like Google PageSpeed</em>. While Google PageSpeed is able to measure load speeds for a website, obtaining a good score with Google PageSpeed doesn’t mean that your site performance will <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/google-analytics-expert/">rank well with Google</a>. On the other hand, <strong>a low TTFB does correlate with search rankings,</strong> which is why using TTFB to measure the performance of your website can be highly effective at helping you improve site speeds and search rankings. </p>



<p>If you’re trying to identify the ideal TTFB time,<strong> any number that falls below 100ms is considered to be a great TTFB</strong>. However, the majority of websites fall in the 300-500ms range, which is still acceptable for most users. If you want your business to be ahead of the competition, it’s recommended that you use TTFB to improve connection speeds until they fall under 100ms. The three key actions that TTFB is impacted by include sending a request to a server, processing a request to generate a response, and delivering the response back to the primary user. <em>This article offers a comprehensive guide on TTFB and what you can do to </em><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/usability-testing-methods/"><em>improve the performance on your website</em></a><em>. </em></p>


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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="What_Affects_Time_to_First_Byte_Times">What Affects Time to First Byte Times?</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1024x683.jpg" alt="Time to first byte times" class="wp-image-3317" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/dai-ke-GkraTrCYA_0-unsplash.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>As mentioned previously, there are <em>three separate stages </em>of a connection that affect the time to first byte, which include <strong>requesting an action to a server, generating and processing a response, and sending the generated response back to the initial client</strong>. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Requesting_An_Action">Requesting An Action</span></h3>



<p>The first action involves making a request to a server. At this point, TTFB will measure the exact amount of time that it takes for the server to obtain the request, which can depend on the exact distance to a server, the total time it takes to conduct a <strong>DNS lookup, the overall speed of the client’s network, and potential interruptions with the connection</strong>. A DNS lookup is a kind of query that the server performs to obtain a DNS record. Keep in mind that you have no actual control with this aspect of TTFB. The strength of the connection between the client and the internet will dictate how long it takes for the server to obtain the request.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Processing_a_Response">Processing a Response</span></h3>



<p>The next stage of this process involves generating and processing a response to the request. Whenever a server obtains a request, a response must be made. Although a response is usually generated quickly,<strong> generating a response involves many smaller processes</strong> that include communicating with additional network systems, running web scripts, and making database calls. At this point, it’s possible for a website to reduce TTFB measurements, which can be done through optimizing your server-side code, enhancing hardware resources, and caching web pages. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Sending_Back_the_Generated_Response">Sending Back the Generated Response</span></h3>



<p>The third and final stage of the process involves the response being sent back to the initial client. <strong>This step depends on the connection speed that your company has as well as the client’s connection speed</strong>. The second that the client receives even a small amount of data, the TTFB measurement will begin. Nearly 40 percent of a TTFB measurement occurs when a response is transmitted to the user.</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="What_Slows_Your_Time_to_First_Byte">What Slows Your Time to First Byte?</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="682" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-anna-shvets-5325051-1024x682.jpg" alt="slow time to first byte" class="wp-image-3318" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-anna-shvets-5325051-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-anna-shvets-5325051-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-anna-shvets-5325051.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>There are numerous things that can slow your time to first byte, which can <em>worsen your site performance and cause visitors to leave</em> in droves. The<strong> four primary</strong> causes of a slow time to first byte include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>High web traffic</strong> – If your website is receiving high amounts of traffic, the time to first byte may worsen significantly when users attempt to access your website. Servers are only able to handle a certain number of requests before they begin to slow down. If you’ve ever used a website in the past that has taken an inordinate amount of time to load, it’s likely that the slowdown was caused by high amounts of traffic attempting to access the website at the same time. This problem can be solved by increasing the number of servers that your website has access to.<br></li><li><strong>Network issues</strong> – Network issues are common and can occur even if you’ve optimized the performance on your website. Some of the more common network issues that can slow the time to first byte include DNS problems, IP address exhaustion, and slow internet performance.<br></li><li><strong>Dynamic content</strong> – There are many different forms of content that can adversely affect the time to first byte. These content types include the database speed, RAM usage, disk speed, disk usage, and database setup.<br></li><li><strong>Configuration of the server</strong> – How the server is configured can also dictate the TTFB measurement that you obtain. For instance, shared servers can have worse TTFB times. Database settings and PHP/ASP settings may also be the cause of a slow TTFB.<br></li></ul>



<p>While it’s difficult to resolve slowdown that’s caused by network issues or high site traffic, <strong>making improvements to the server configuration and dynamic content may result in a better TTFB</strong>.</p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Ways_to_Improve_Your_Time_to_First_Byte">Ways to Improve Your Time to First Byte</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="768" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-energepiccom-313690-1024x768.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-3319" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-energepiccom-313690-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-energepiccom-313690-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/pexels-energepiccom-313690.jpg 1280w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>When you want to improve your time to first byte, there are a range of steps that you can take. If you want to reduce the time to first byte, some of the <em>best practices that you should adhere t</em>o include:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Partner with a quick web host</strong> – If you partner with a web host that’s known for great speeds, your site shouldn’t be experiencing high TTFB measurements. This option is ideal for smaller businesses that don’t require an extensive and feature-rich website.<br></li><li><strong>Consider using a CDN</strong> – Content delivery networks work by using global servers in order to provide static content at faster rates, which should automatically improve the TTFB for your website. Because of how a CDN work, network latency is effectively reduced as a result of users being able to obtain content from nearby servers. A content delivery network is ideal for larger businesses and eCommerce sites that have worldwide reach.<br></li><li><strong>Purchase premium DNS services</strong> – When selecting a hosting service for your website, you might want to spend some extra money to purchase a premium DNS service. The majority of hosting providers offer this service as an add-on. This move should only be considered if your other efforts to improve the TTFB have failed or haven’t produced the results that you’re looking for.<br></li><li><strong>Make sure that your themes and plugins are updated</strong> – Themes and plugins that haven’t been updated in a long time are commonly the cause of slowdown with a website. The best developers will update their plugins/themes for better performance, which will allow your TTFB to improve over an extended period of time.<br></li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Where_to_Check_Your_Time_to_Byte">Where to Check Your Time to Byte</span></h2>



<p> If you want to check your time to first byte, there are several tools that you can use to perform these measurements. The <em>most effective tools </em>include:</p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Bytecheck"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.bytecheck.com/" target="_blank">Bytecheck</a> </span></h4>



<p>This is a straightforward tool that provides a simple TTFB report alongside data points and information that you can use to improve the TTFB for your website. This tool will also provide you with a TTFB rating, which could be anything from 0-5 stars.<br></p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="KeyCDN"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://tools.keycdn.com/performance" target="_blank">KeyCDN</a> </span></h4>



<p>This is a kind of performance tester that looks at numerous components of site performance to determine what types of improvements can be made. While several different plans are available if you would like to purchase the tool, you can also sign up for a free trial. Along with the TTFB measurement, this tool will also provide you with TLS, connect, and DNS measurements.<br></p>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="WebPageTest"><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.webpagetest.org/" target="_blank">WebPageTest</a> </span></h4>



<p>This is a comprehensive program that provides site owners with many options for testing site performance. For instance, it’s possible to run the TTFB test by device or by location. The test can also be performed on different browsers like Mozilla and Chrome. It’s possible that a specific browser is causing the slowdown with the TTFB measurements that you receive.<br></p>



<p><strong>Site speed is integral to the ongoing success of your business, which is why it’s essential that you optimize your TTFB</strong>. Both the users and site owners benefit from a better TTFB. For the user, a lower TTFB means that they will have a better user experience, which means that they will be less likely to become frustrated when navigating your website. As for the site owner, businesses obtain <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/how-to-conduct-a-thorough-competitor-analysis-for-seo/">better customer retention</a> and engagement when a TTFB is lowered. <em>A reduced TTFB means that visitors to your website are less likely to switch to another site because of slow loading</em>. </p>



<p>As touched upon previously, your <strong>TTFB can also play a part in the search rankings that you receive</strong>. If your TTFB is high, Google may penalize your website, which could result in <a href="http://brytdesigns.com/improve-website-traffic-and-conversions-with-a-website-audit/">lower rankings and less visibility</a> for your site. Along with search rankings, TTFB is important because nearly 40 percent of all site visitors will leave a website that takes longer than three seconds to fully load, which is why a top goal for your business should be to optimize TTFB results.                       </p>


Understanding TTFB (Time to First Byte) and How to Improve for Optimal Website Performance


<p><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/5-reasons-why-your-website-speed-matters/">Speed is more important than ever</a> and is considered to be a key component in the success or failure of any website. <strong>The majority of modern internet users won’t wait more than three seconds for a website to load</strong>. However, only <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://trinity.one/insights/user-experience/page-speed-conversion-2019-statistics/" target="_blank">15 percent of all websites</a> on the internet operate at web speeds that would be classified as acceptable. Optimizing the performance of your website and increasing load times can pay dividends in boosting brand loyalty and increasing conversions. </p>



<p><strong>To determine how long it takes for your website to load, it’s important to conduct speed tests</strong>. A website speed test allows you to identify the load times of the pages on your website. The majority of speed test tools also provide additional tools that give you the ability to troubleshoot performance issues and identify the reasons why your page speeds may be lower than they should be. </p>



<p><strong>When you’re searching for the right test to use with your website, it’s important that you choose one that offers </strong><a href="http://brytdesigns.com/usability-testing-methods/"><strong>usability testing</strong></a>. This form of testing allows study participants to perform various actions on a website, which makes it easier for the website owner to pinpoint the exact causes of site slowdown. The following article offers a comprehensive view of five of the top speed test tools that you can use to enhance the performance of your website. </p>


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                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">4. WebPageTest</span>
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    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#5_Google_PageSpeed_Insights">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">5</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">5. Google PageSpeed Insights</span>
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    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Comprehending_the_Website_Speed_Test_Results">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">6</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Comprehending the Website Speed Test Results</span>
    </a>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="1_Pingdom">1. Pingdom</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="310" height="212" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.09.19-PM.png" alt="pingdom speed test tool" class="wp-image-3229" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.09.19-PM.png 310w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.09.19-PM-300x205.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 310px) 100vw, 310px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.pingdom.com/" target="_blank">Pingdom</a> is a top tool for website speed testing that’s simple to use and can provide you with precise results. Along with identifying the load time of a page, <strong>Pingdom is able to analyze the results and identify any current bottlenecks that could be slowing down your website</strong>. Knowing what these bottlenecks are is key towards decreasing load times and improving site performance. The <em>main benefits</em> that come with using the Pingdom tool include:</p>



<ul><li>The results of testing are intuitive and easy to read since they are displayed as letter grades for various facets of site performance<br></li><li>Pingdom allows users to test the performance and speed of their website from more than 100 locations, which gives you the ability to use the location that best corresponds with your website’s user base<br></li><li>This tool uses an easy-to-read waterfall chart to display results<br></li></ul>



<p>Pingdom is a well-organized tool that will provide you with enough results to start making the necessary changes to improve the performance of your website. The waterfall chart that’s used by Pingdom shows different colors for the various stages of a request. These stages include DNS, SSL, connect, send, wait, and receive. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="2_GTmetrix">2. GTmetrix</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="432" height="214" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.10.32-PM.png" alt="GTmetrix website speed test" class="wp-image-3231" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.10.32-PM.png 432w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.10.32-PM-300x149.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 432px) 100vw, 432px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://gtmetrix.com/" target="_blank">GTmetrix</a> is a premium speed test tool that can be used for free and offers numerous benefits that can’t be had with other tools. <strong>When using this tool, all that’s required of you is to input your URL before clicking the “Analyze” button</strong>. Because of the simplicity of this tool, it’s very user-friendly and can provide you with <em>easy-to-read results</em>. After signing up for an account, it’s possible to perform tests with different connection types, browsers, and locations. The <em>main benefits</em> that come with the GTmetrix speed test include:</p>



<ul><li>Even if you’re not overly familiar with web development, it’s easy to identify if the problems with your site performance are caused by JavaScript, CSS, or other issues<br></li><li>Page speed numbers are displayed with context, which means that your results will be compared with internet averages<br></li><li>It’s possible to perform 50 weekly tests with the free version<br></li></ul>



<p><strong>Several premium plans are available if you would like to expand the feature-set of the GTmetrix tool</strong>. Along with increasing the weekly test numbers, API credits, and data retention options, the higher plans offer features like advanced analysis options, mobile device testing, access to more than a dozen premium test locations, and global monitoring.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="3_UpTrends">3. UpTrends</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="467" height="154" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.11.37-PM.png" alt="UpTrends website speed test" class="wp-image-3233" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.11.37-PM.png 467w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.11.37-PM-300x99.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 467px) 100vw, 467px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.uptrends.com/" target="_blank">UpTrends</a> is a straightforward website monitoring tool that offers a sleek design.<strong> You can perform tests from one of 10 different locations to determine what kind of experience users will have when visiting your website</strong>. These tests can occur from a desktop device or mobile device. If you select the desktop option, it’s possible to choose the screen resolution for one of four browsers, which include Internet Explorer, PhantonJS, Firefox, and Chrome. </p>



<p>If you want to perform speed tests under different speed scenarios, you can perform bandwidth throttling to gain a better understanding of how your website will perform at all times. The <em>main benefits</em> of using UpTrends include detailed waterfall graphs, the ability to obtain an ample amount of data from your domain group, and the availability of a premium version of the tool. If you decide to use the advanced version of UpTrends for<em> $12 per month,</em> you’ll receive:</p>



<ul><li>60 message credits<br></li><li>10 basic monitors<br></li><li>Real user monitoring<br></li><li>The ability to set alerts<br></li><li>Email support<br></li></ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="4_WebPageTest">4. WebPageTest</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="465" height="221" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.12.36-PM.png" alt="webpage test website speed test" class="wp-image-3234" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.12.36-PM.png 465w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.12.36-PM-300x143.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 465px) 100vw, 465px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.webpagetest.org/" target="_blank">WebPageTest</a> is a highly reliable speed testing tool that can help you measure the performance of your website.<strong> It’s an open-source tool that’s entirely free to use.</strong> While the results that are provided with this tool aren’t exactly user-friendly, the tool itself offers accurate data and advanced testing capabilities. <em>Even though the tool isn’t the simplest one to use</em>, it will provide you with a wealth of information that can be used to strengthen the performance of your website and lessen overall load times. </p>



<p><strong>You can benchmark your site from one of 40 distinct locations</strong>. It’s also possible to perform tests from a slow network or a 4G network for comprehensive results. You’ll be given information on caching, TTFB, and compression. One notable feature of this tool is that you can run a test on your website three times, after which the results will be displayed side-by-side for immediate comparison. </p>



<p>When you use WebPageTest, <em>it’s possible to customize the settings before each run of the tool.</em> With extensive customization, you can test how your website runs on different browsers. There’s always a possibility that your website runs notably faster on Google Chrome when compared to Mozilla Firefox.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="5_Google_PageSpeed_Insights">5. Google PageSpeed Insights</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="460" height="249" src="http://brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.13.31-PM.png" alt="" class="wp-image-3235" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.13.31-PM.png 460w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Screen-Shot-2021-02-14-at-10.13.31-PM-300x162.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 460px) 100vw, 460px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://developers.google.com/speed/pagespeed/insights/" target="_blank">Google PageSpeed Insights</a> is a simple yet powerful tool that doesn’t work like the other tools on this list. For instance, Google PageSpeed Insights won’t give you recommendations on how to properly fix poor load times. <strong>The main benefit that comes with using this specific tool is that it can provide you with insight on how Google effectively evaluates your site speed when ranking your website</strong>. With this knowledge, you should gain a better understanding of how to improve your ranking on Google, which can be very helpful towards increasing site traffic. </p>



<p>The results that Google provides you with are more important than the results that can be obtained with other tools. When Google detects an issue with the performance of your website, you can be certain that this particular issue will weigh down your ranking. <em>The tool is also extremely simple to use in any web browser</em>. After you type in your website and click enter, you’ll only need to wait for several seconds before results are displayed from the desktop and mobile versions of your site. These results are color-coded, which makes them easy to read. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Comprehending_the_Website_Speed_Test_Results">Comprehending the Website Speed Test Results</span></h2>



<p>No matter which speed test tool you decide to use, you’ll be provided with an array of different results that can assist you in identifying problem areas of your website. However, some results are more important than others. <strong>The most important result for you to search for is the total amount of time it takes for your site to load, </strong>which is usually displayed in milliseconds. If your website takes longer than 2-3 seconds to load, users may choose to go to an entirely different website. Even without entering your website, these users may have a bad impression of your company and believe that your website offers a poor user experience. </p>



<p>To reduce load times, it’s important to identify which aspects of your website are taking the longest to load. In many cases, long load times are caused by scripts and images that are loading in from third-party websites. <em>It’s also possible that videos are the cause of your site slowdown.</em> An easy way to lessen load times is by making sure that every image on your website is served by your CDN service or cache.</p>



<p>It’s possible that load times are higher than they should be because browser compression isn’t working properly. Also referred to as gzip compression, this form of compression reduces the size of your files between the server and the user’s browser.<strong> To effectively compress images, you might want to use a fully featured image-compression tool.</strong> These tools will automatically compress your images and make them easier to load. </p>



<p>When you take the right steps to improve the load times on your website, you should begin to notice improvements in site traffic and user retention almost immediately. Because of how important site performance is with search engines like Google, it’s essential that you work on enhancing the performance of your website.                       </p>


5 Best Website Speed Test Tools to Optimize Your Website Performance


<p>AMP is Google technology that provides website owners with the ability to create web pages that are able to load almost instantly. This technology once stood for <strong>Accelerated Mobile Pages</strong> but is now used across different platforms such as desktop computers and web browsing. This web component framework was created in response to research done by Google that showed that users leave mobile websites if they do not load within three seconds. It’s clear from this that the modern customer expects quick loading from any website they visit, which is why you should do what you can to minimize load times on your website. When you’re searching for ways to improve the performance of your website, there are <a href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/11-performance-enhancing-plugins-to-improve-wordpress-site-speed/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">many fantastic performance plugins</a> that can be installed directly into your WordPress site. </p><div class="lwptoc lwptoc-autoWidth lwptoc-light lwptoc-notInherit" data-smooth-scroll="1" data-smooth-scroll-offset="24"><div class="lwptoc_i">    <div class="lwptoc_header" style="font-size:175%;">
        <b class="lwptoc_title">Highlights</b>                    <span class="lwptoc_toggle">
                <a href="#" class="lwptoc_toggle_label" data-label="show">hide</a>
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<div class="lwptoc_items lwptoc_items-visible" style="font-size:125%;">
    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#How_Does_Google_AMP_Work">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">How Does Google AMP Work?</span>
    </a>
    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Google_AMPs_HTML_Standards">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1.1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Google AMP’s HTML Standards</span>
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    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Google_AMP_JavaScript">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1.2</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Google AMP: JavaScript</span>
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    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Google_AMP_Leverages_The_Browser_Cache">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1.3</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Google AMP Leverages The Browser Cache</span>
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    </div></div></div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Other_Features_of_Google_AMP">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">2</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Other Features of Google AMP</span>
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    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#AMP_Stories">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">2.1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">AMP Stories</span>
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">2.2</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">AMP Ads</span>
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">2.3</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">AMP Emails</span>
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                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">3</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Do You Have More Questions About Google AMP?</span>
    </a>
    </div></div></div>
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<p> Before the creation of AMP, Google ranked websites based on the loading speed and relevance of their articles. As a result of the update, articles, and stories formatted with AMP now get first priority. Even if your website is relatively quick to load, it’s imperative that you use AMP if you want your website to be ranked highly on Google. A standard mobile site takes around 19 seconds to load when accessed via a 3G connection, which is entirely too long for the vast majority of customers.</p>



<p> AMP generally favors faster loading speeds over different site functions, which is aimed at making sure that the site visitor is provided with great user experience. Knowledge of AMP is essential for online publishers, digital marketers, and digital content creators. No matter what type of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/digital-marketing-strategies-examples/" target="_blank">digital marketing strategies</a> you’re currently using, these strategies likely won’t be at their most effective unless you pair them with a website that users will enjoy spending time on. This article offers a more detailed overview of Google AMP and how it can help your website bring in more traffic. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="How_Does_Google_AMP_Work">How Does Google AMP Work?</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/time-lapse-photography-of-brown-concrete-building-842654-1024x683.jpg" alt="Time lapse photo of traffic" class="wp-image-2155" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/time-lapse-photography-of-brown-concrete-building-842654-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/time-lapse-photography-of-brown-concrete-building-842654-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/time-lapse-photography-of-brown-concrete-building-842654.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p> There are three things that make up any web page on the internet, which include <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/html-css-javascript-whats-the-difference/" target="_blank">CSS, HTML, and JavaScript</a>. HTML is a basic language that decides <strong>how web pages and documents are going to be displayed </strong>within a web browser. CSS is a styling language that goes a step further by determining how HTML documents display font styles, colors, and layouts of pages. JavaScript is a programming language that gives you the ability to alter the HTML and CSS elements that have been placed on your website, which makes for a more engaging and interactive site.</p>



<p> AMP uses specialized formats of both JavaScript and HTML to ensure that a website is able to load more efficiently. To make sure that the AMP project was handled properly, Google collaborated with numerous companies, one of which was WordPress. Because of this collaboration, WordPress now offers a plugin that makes it easier to use AMP, which is available <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/amp/" target="_blank">here</a>. This plugin works across all mobile and desktop devices, which makes it a step up from the previous accelerated mobile pages technology. The top features of this plugin include support for all core WordPress themes, a CSS tree-shaking feature that gets rid of any <strong>unused CSS</strong>, a compatibility tool that helps with <strong>debugging</strong>, and AMP-first experiences which enable AMP without adversely affecting your website. </p>



<p> <strong>When using AMP, less is always more</strong>. The relatively strict formatting and function limits that come with AMP exist to provide faster loading whenever possible. AMP files are able to take advantage of numerous architectural and technical approaches that specifically prioritize speed. As such, users are provided with a faster and more consistent experience. If you want users across all devices to have a great experience, you should use AMP. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Google_AMPs_HTML_Standards">Google AMP’s HTML Standards</span></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/code-1839406_1920-1024x683.jpg" alt="image of html code" class="wp-image-2157" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/code-1839406_1920-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/code-1839406_1920-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/code-1839406_1920.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p> A major component of Google AMP is how it handles HTML on a webpage. HTML stands for <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.yourhtmlsource.com/starthere/whatishtml.html" target="_blank">Hypertext Markup Language</a>, which is the basic markup language for all documents that are meant to be displayed within a web browser. This language is comprised of numerous shortcodes that are typed as tags in a text file that the website owner creates. These tags determine what the text will appear like once saved as an HTML file. While there are many creative things that you can do with HTML, the AMP version of HTML has been specifically optimized for greater speed. This means that Google AMP HTML has gotten rid of unnecessary functions that tend to slow loading times, however, it’s essentially the same as standard HTML.</p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Google_AMP_JavaScript">Google AMP: JavaScript</span></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/javascriptpic-1024x683.jpg" alt="laptop with code on screen on table with platnts" class="wp-image-2158" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/javascriptpic-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/javascriptpic-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/javascriptpic.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p> As touched upon previously, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Learn/JavaScript/First_steps/What_is_JavaScript" target="_blank">JavaScript</a> is a highly powerful scripting language that allows you to control multimedia, create content that dynamically updates, and create unique functions on your website. This tool provides you with the ability to make your website more interactive, which is important if you want site visitors to remain engaged with your website.</p>



<p> When a web browser encounters a block of JavaScript, it typically runs it in a specific order from top to bottom, which means that you will need to pay attention to the order in which you write your code. When AMP is integrated into your website, it uses <strong>asynchronous JavaScript</strong>, which means that the code will allow programs to do more than one thing at a time and load essential structures first before additional features. This helps to improve the loading speed of any website that uses JavaScript. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Google_AMP_Leverages_The_Browser_Cache">Google AMP Leverages The Browser Cache</span></h3>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="768" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/coding-computer-data-depth-of-field-577585-1024x768.jpg" alt="glasses on desk with code on laptop screens" class="wp-image-2162" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/coding-computer-data-depth-of-field-577585-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/coding-computer-data-depth-of-field-577585-300x225.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/coding-computer-data-depth-of-field-577585.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/cdn/what-is-caching/" target="_blank">Web caching</a> is a kind of process that involves data being stored to be reused in the future. When data is stored or cached on a server after the first visit to a web page, a subsequent visit to the same page will result in a copy of the data being sent to the user, which keeps the initial server from becoming overloaded. The cached data doesn’t need to be loaded a second time, which should minimize load times for the end-user. </p>



<p> Google AMP is designed specifically to leverage the browser cache by including a cache of AMP documents that have been published to the internet, which can be accessed by anyone. By saving content <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/cloud/what-is-the-cloud/" target="_blank">on a data cloud</a>, AMP helps to facilitate better load times. When you use Google AMP, you will have the ability to update or remove content from the cache whenever you want. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Other_Features_of_Google_AMP">Other Features of Google AMP</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/close-up-portrait-of-a-young-woman-typing-a-text-message-on-6400-1024x683.jpg" alt="woman smiling at cell phone" class="wp-image-2159" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/close-up-portrait-of-a-young-woman-typing-a-text-message-on-6400-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/close-up-portrait-of-a-young-woman-typing-a-text-message-on-6400-300x200.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/close-up-portrait-of-a-young-woman-typing-a-text-message-on-6400.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p>
While the main features of Google AMP are centered around optimizing web pages, there are three additional features of the current AMP project that could prove useful to you and your website. These features include AMP Stories, AMP Ads, and AMP Emails. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="AMP_Stories">AMP Stories</span></h3>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://amp.dev/about/stories/" target="_blank">AMP Stories</a> is a useful feature that is focused on using <strong>big and bold visuals </strong>to tell a story via an advertisement or article. With AMP Stories, it’s possible to create visual narratives that you can use for marketing purposes. These narratives can include engaging animations and interactive elements that are clickable. This aspect of AMP is entirely free and can be quickly integrated into your website as well as the marketing materials that you’re creating. </p>



<p> If you want site visitors to be engaged with the content on your website, this particular AMP feature allows you to create dynamic interactions that make your website feel more modern and approachable. Some additional benefits of using AMP Stories include quick loading times, the ability to track and <strong>measure your results with analytics, immersive storytelling opportunities, and strong advertising support</strong>.</p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="AMP_Ads">AMP Ads</span></h3>



<p><a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)" href="https://amp.dev/about/ads/" target="_blank">AMP Ads</a> is a feature of AMP that allows you to create HTML ads. It does this with an AMP version of HTML called AMPHTML. This version of HTML is similar to the original except it has standards to increase loading speed. While AMP fully supports standard HTML ads, there are times when these ads load slowly, which can quickly bog down the load speeds of your website. When you use the AMPHTML tool, HTML ads will load as quickly as the content on your website, which improves the visibility of your ads and should help with customer engagement. These ads are also very safe and secure from hackers and malware. This is because they are only delivered once they have been validated and deemed safe by AMP.</p>



<p>AMPHTML ads are typically around six times faster than standard HTML ads that are included on AMP pages, which allows them to be much more effective, garner more views, and are more likely to have a strong performance. With this tool, you can monitor the performance of your AMPHTML ads and alter the pricing accordingly. By making necessary tweaks and changes, you can provide your customers with relevant ads that should also help you to maximize your return on investment. </p>



<p></p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="AMP_Emails">AMP Emails</span></h3>



<p><a href="https://amp.dev/about/email/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label=" (opens in a new tab)">AMP Emails</a> is another important marketing feature with the AMP Project that provides site owners with the ability to include various AMP components within the emails that they send to customers, which basically means that the advanced functionality of a modern app will be available within an email. Without AMP, emails can be static, which provides certain limitations to how you can use emails to engage with your audience. </p>



<p>
The inclusion of AMP functionality allows for improved personalization, engaging options for subscriber-list emails as well as promotional emails, and more interactivity with the email content. If you regularly engage in email marketing, AMP Emails can be an invaluable tool for your marketing efforts. </p>



<p></p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span id="Do_You_Have_More_Questions_About_Google_AMP">Do You Have More Questions About Google AMP?</span></h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="712" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ideaLightbulb-1024x712.jpg" alt="idea light bulb" class="wp-image-1861" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ideaLightbulb-1024x712.jpg 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ideaLightbulb-300x209.jpg 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/ideaLightbulb.jpg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px"></figure>



<p> Google AMP is a powerful tool that is no longer constricted to mobile web pages, which means that you can improve the speed of your web pages for both desktop and mobile users. By making it easier to use HTML and JavaScript without running into lengthy load times, you should be able to provide all of your users with a speedy website that can load in three seconds or less. Because of how valuable speed is to the modern user, any reduction in load times may allow you to bring in more traffic. </p>


What is Google AMP and how can it help your Website pull in more traffic?

11 Performance-Enhancing Plugins to Improve WordPress Site Speed

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For many reasons, ‘how to speed up my WordPress website’ is a hot topic on the internet these days. Many users are no longer willing to spend time waiting for your website to load – no matter how useful your content might be. <strong>A fast loading website helps improve user experience, boosts your SEO efforts and increases your page views and visit duration.</strong> Unfortunately, not every WordPress website is fast enough to satisfy users – yet this is one of the quickest ways to acquire page rank and new visitors. Luckily, there are some advanced techniques you can implement to make your WordPress website load faster, and we’ll be looking at a few ideas in this article.</span></p><div class="lwptoc lwptoc-autoWidth lwptoc-light lwptoc-notInherit" data-smooth-scroll="1" data-smooth-scroll-offset="24"><div class="lwptoc_i">    <div class="lwptoc_header" style="font-size:175%;">
        <b class="lwptoc_title">Highlights</b>                    <span class="lwptoc_toggle">
                <a href="#" class="lwptoc_toggle_label" data-label="show">hide</a>
            </span>
            </div>
<div class="lwptoc_items lwptoc_items-visible" style="font-size:125%;">
    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Does_it_matter_if_your_website_is_fast">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Does it matter if your website is fast?</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Is_your_website_currently_fast_enough">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">2</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Is your website currently fast enough?</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Find_a_better_web_host">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">3</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Find a better web host</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Optimize_or_change_to_a_lightweight_theme">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">4</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Optimize or change to a lightweight theme</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Use_excerpts_in_place_of_full_content">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">5</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Use excerpts in place of full content</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Use_lazy_loading_for_content_and_images">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">6</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Use lazy loading for content and images</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Reduce_HTTP_requests">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">7</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Reduce HTTP requests</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Optimize_your_WordPress_database">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">8</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Optimize your WordPress database</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Disable_hotlinking">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">9</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Disable hotlinking</span>
    </a>
    </div><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Install_a_WordPress_caching_plugin">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">10</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Install a WordPress caching plugin</span>
    </a>
    <div class="lwptoc_itemWrap"><div class="lwptoc_item">    <a href="#Conclusion">
                    <span class="lwptoc_item_number">10.1</span>
                <span class="lwptoc_item_label">Conclusion</span>
    </a>
    </div></div></div></div></div>
</div></div>
<h2><span id="Does_it_matter_if_your_website_is_fast"><b>Does it matter if your website is fast?</b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This is a trick question, right? You might think that because your webpages load within a reasonable amount of time, it should be fine with your visitors. On the contrary, the truth is that a few <strong>seconds could be the difference between the success and failure of your website</strong>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Studies have shown that a good percentage of internet users are not satisfied if a webpage takes more than two seconds to load – and 40% of these visitors will leave a website that takes more than three seconds to open up. That’s not all; a one second delay can cause you to lose as much as 7% in conversion. This means that if your website typically earns $100,000 in a day, a one second delay can cause you to lose roughly $2.5 million in sales in one year. That is a huge chunk of money in any region or currency. In addition, you stand the risk of being penalized by Google and losing page rank positions if your website does not meet your visitors’ expectations for speed and performance.</span></p>
<p><strong>In a nutshell, if you want more visitors coming to your website and extra revenue, you have to do all you can to ensure your WordPress website is as fast as possible.</strong></p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-958" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/website-speed.jpg" alt="Website Performance &amp; Speed Matters" width="844" height="444" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/website-speed.jpg 844w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/website-speed-300x158.jpg 300w" sizes="(max-width: 844px) 100vw, 844px"></p>
<h2><span id="Is_your_website_currently_fast_enough"><b>Is your website currently fast enough?</b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Before trying to make your WordPress website faster, you need to find out exactly how fast it currently is. Your website may load speedily enough at your end, but not as fast on the devices of your visitors. This is because modern browsers like Google Chrome keep a cache of your website and automatically fetches it when you try to load it. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Brendan Wilde, the Head of Marketing at </span><a href="https://www.openhost.co.nz/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><span style="font-weight: 400;">www.openhost.co.nz</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> stated that “the best way to determine an accurate speed reading is to do a speed test. This will show you how fast your WordPress website is, so that you can decide how much improvement to aim for”. He added that most visitors expect your website to fully load in two seconds. “If you can shave off a few microseconds from your load time, that is a bonus”, he buttressed. <strong>You can check the speed and performance metrics of your website with free tools like <a href="https://gtmetrix.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GTMetrix</a></strong> which utilizes both Google’s PageSpeed score and Yahoo’s YSlow score to determine the performance metrics of your website.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, let’s get to grips with how you can speed up your WordPress website. </span></p>
<h2><span id="Find_a_better_web_host"><b>Find a better web host </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You may not know it, but <strong>one possible reason for a slow website is your web host.</strong> It may seem like a good idea to host your website on any hosting server you find on the internet (after all, you’re just starting out and may not have many visitors). The wrong web host will deliver poor performance, which can significantly affect the speed of your website. Apart from the technical issues associated with a poor host, another related issue that can affect the speed of your WordPress website is the hosting plan you’re working with. While there’s nothing wrong in starting out with a shared hosting server, a time will come when you need to move to a VPS or dedicated server, where you don’t have to share traffic with other websites. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Even if you must use a shared hosting platform while working towards a better plan, ensure you host with a <a href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/web-hosting-work-for-website/">reputable hosting provider</a> that takes extra measures to secure and optimize your WordPress website for improved speed and performance. If you’re not using cloud hosting technology, you should consider hosting your WordPress website on a server closest to where your target visitors are coming from (or invest in a <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/cdn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDN – Content Delivery Network</a>).</span></p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter wp-image-851 size-large" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hostgator-1024x663.png" alt="HostGator web hosting services" width="640" height="414" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hostgator-1024x663.png 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hostgator-300x194.png 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/hostgator.png 1299w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></p>
<h2><span id="Optimize_or_change_to_a_lightweight_theme"><b>Optimize or change to a lightweight theme  </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are many web elements – including widgets, icons and sliders – that make your WordPress website highly attractive. However, it’s important to point out that <strong>some of these elements also slow down your website</strong>. If your plan is to avoid this, you should consider opting for a lightweight theme, such as the default WordPress theme or any of the many minimalist themes that can be found on the <a href="https://wordpress.org/themes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WordPress theme repository</a> and third party theme sites. However, be careful though when installing third party themes and plugins. Only install from publishers and authors you trust, as some of them could contain malicious code that can be used to compromise your website.</span></p>
<h2><span id="Use_excerpts_in_place_of_full_content"><b>Use excerpts in place of full content  </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Typically — by default, your posts are displayed as full content on your homepage. While this could be helpful to make your content easy to read, it also makes your website chunky and slow to load – especially if you have a lot of content. <strong>A better idea is to use excerpts in place of the full content.</strong> Excerpts are like teasers that tell your visitors what to expect when they click on the link. There are two ways to do this is WordPress. The first is to use the ‘read more’ tag found in the WordPress editor. Even though this method gives you more control (as you get to specify where the excerpt ends), it means you’ll have to do this on every post. A simpler method is to <strong>make the process automatic</strong>. You can do so by going to ‘Settings; Reading’ and selecting either the ‘Full text’ or ‘Summary’ option. The only downside to this option is that you cannot control where the cut- off happens. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Furthermore, companies that register domain names these days have been know to use ’Search Here’ to make it easy for users to look for names they wish to use for their website. This technique of using excerpts has a way of <strong>boosting user experience</strong>.</span></p>
<h2><span id="Use_lazy_loading_for_content_and_images"><b>Use lazy loading for content and images</b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not many people know about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lazy_loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lazy loading</a>, but it’s a web development technique that <strong>prevents images on a website from loading simultaneously</strong>. Instead, it only shows the image when the user gets to the point on the page where the images are (when they scroll down). Images are one of the many reasons for slow websites, lazy loading will really help cut down the loading time of your website. Fortunately, there are <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/search/lazy+load/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">many lazy loading plugins on WordPress to choose from</a>.</span></p>
<h2><span id="Reduce_HTTP_requests"><b>Reduce HTTP requests </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><strong>Many WordPress themes and plugins come with all sorts of code bloat and file dependencies from other sources</strong> – such as the author or publisher’s website. These files include images, scripts and stylesheets. While it’s fine to use some of these, if your website is making a lot of external HTTP requests, it can be slowed down considerably. A lot of these files are optimized to load fast, so it may make more sense to host them on your own website. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A quick hack to solve the external HTTP request issues is to disable stylesheets and scripts completely or merge them into one file. If you’d rather not get your hands dirty by looking into code and the like, <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/autoptimize/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">use a plugin to concatenate these files</a> (merging them together as one).</span></p>
<p><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-975" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wordpress-plugins-1024x678.png" alt="WordPress plugins" width="640" height="424" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wordpress-plugins-1024x678.png 1024w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wordpress-plugins-300x199.png 300w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/wordpress-plugins.png 1072w" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"></p>
<h2><span id="Optimize_your_WordPress_database">Optimize<b> your WordPress database  </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’ve had your WordPress website for a while, you’ll likely have a lot of information on your database that you no longer need. To improve the performance and speed of your website, <strong>you should consider optimizing your database to get rid of this unused information</strong>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You can easily do so by using the <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-sweep/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WP Sweep plugin</a> that allows you to clear your database of unused tags, trashed posts, revisions and so on. Alternatively, you may want to manually prune your database to remove this excess information.</span></p>
<h2><span id="Disable_hotlinking"><b>Disable hotlinking  </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As long as you’re creating quality content on your website, the chances are someone will want a piece of it. Whether you like it or not, your content will definitely be copied, stolen or scraped sooner or later. Fortunately, search engines are smart enough to detect which is the original. However, this practice called </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">hotlinking </span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;">can negatively affect your WordPress website’s performance. Hotlinking is when people directly link to images on your website, rather than uploading it on their own servers. This way, they use up your bandwidth without the courtesy of giving you any traffic.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Preventing this simply involves adding a short line of code to your .htaccess file – as seen below:</span></p>
<pre><span style="font-weight: 400;">#disable image hotlinking
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RewriteEngine on
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?mydomain.com [NC]
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http(s)?://(www\.)?google.com [NC]
</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">RewriteRule \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif)$ – [NC,F,L]</span></pre>
<p><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Where </span><b>mydomain.com</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> represents your own domain and should be replaced accordingly.</span></em></p>
<p><figure id="attachment_758" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-758" style="width: 772px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-758" src="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/WP-super-cache.png" alt="WP Super Cache WordPress Plugin" width="772" height="264" srcset="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/WP-super-cache.png 772w, https://wp.brytdesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/WP-super-cache-300x103.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 772px) 100vw, 772px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-758" class="wp-caption-text">WP Super Cache WordPress Plugin</figcaption></figure></p>
<h2><span id="Install_a_WordPress_caching_plugin"><b>Install a WordPress caching plugin  </b></span></h2>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">WordPress works by dynamically creating a HTML version of your website anytime someone accesses it. This is another factor that may cause your website to load slowly, so it makes sense to have a readymade HTML version to display anytime it is requested. This is exactly what caching does. <strong>Caching takes a prepared version of your website and shows it to the visitor without having to process the information from scratch.</strong> When you install a caching plugin on your WordPress website, you significantly increase the speed at which it presents content to your visitors.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There are many options to choose from when it comes to picking a WordPress caching plugin; some are free, while others come in premium versions. If you’re comfortable handling code on your website, you can manually configure caching via the .htaccess file.</span></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/leverage-browser-caching-wordpress/">How to leverage browser caching in WordPress</a></strong></p>
<h3><span id="Conclusion">Conclusion</span></h3>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">There you have it – <strong>eight advanced techniques you can implement today to make your WordPress website load faster.</strong> Of course, there are many other techniques you can use, but the above  will provide an excellent starting point. <a href="https://wp.brytdesigns.com/#contact">Contact Bryt Designs today</a> if you’re interested in optimizing your WordPress website!</span></p>


Tag:"Performance"

Tag:
"Performance"