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How Fast Should My Website Be? [+7 Tips for Speeding Up Your Site]

Did you know that for every second faster your website loads, you increase conversions by 7%?

A fast loading website leads to longer dwell sessions, improved engagement, and increased conversions. When people can access information fast, they’re more likely to stay on your page.

So now you’re probably wondering, “How fast should my website be?” Well, we’ve got all the answers!

On this page, we’ll answer questions like:

• How fast should my website be?
• What is page load time?
• How do you measure page speed?
• Why does a fast loading website matter?
• How do I improve my site load time?

Keep reading to learn more and if you need help improving your site’s load time, contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about our page speed services.

How fast should my website be?

Your website should load in two seconds or less. Users expect that your website will load quickly, with 53% of users abandoning your page if it takes longer than three seconds to load. If you want to keep people on your site, your website shouldn’t take longer than three seconds.

When you consider that the average website load time is 22 seconds, far too many businesses don’t have fast enough websites to keep people on them. This lack of speed is why slow-loading sites cause $2.6 billion in revenue loss annually.

What is page load time?

Now that we talked about the average website load time, it’s essential to understand what page load time is. Page load time is how long it takes for someone to see the content after they click on your link and get directed to your site.

Page load time is complicated because your website doesn’t load all at once.

Your website loads in pieces and the load time varies for different:

• Pages
• Users
• Browsers
• Devices
• Internet speed
• And more

While some of these factors are out of your control, like a user’s Internet speed, you can optimize your site to ensure that your pages load correctly, so users have a positive experience.

Types of page speeds

When you try to learn your average website load time, you’ll find that there are two types of page speeds. It’s essential to understand what each of these speeds is, so you can understand how your site loads:

• First Contentful Paint (FCP): FCP is the time it takes for you to see the first piece of content on your site. For example, the top half of your site might load, but the bottom half isn’t loaded yet.
• Domcontent Loaded (DLC): DLC is the amount of time it takes for every piece of code to load on your site. Your pages don’t load all at once, so this page speed score measures how long it takes for your code to load.

How do you measure page speed?

If you’re looking for a way to know your average page load time, you can use Google PageSpeed Insights to help you identify how fast your site loads. When you visit the site, you can enter your website URL to see how fast your site loads.

Once you enter your URL, it will take you to a page that details how your website loads.

We’ll use Target as an example.

When you use Google Pagespeed Insights, you’ll see the option to look at mobile or desktop load times.

You’ll see two scores on this page: FCP and First Input Delay (FID).

FCP is the time it takes for a user to see the first piece of content on the site.

FID, on the other hand, is how long it takes your website to complete an action after the user initiates it. For example, if someone clicks on a call to action (CTA) button, FID measures how long it takes for the next page to load after someone clicks that button.

If you scroll down the page, you’ll see a section called “Lab Data.” Check out Target’s results:

FCPThe First Contentful Paint marks the time when text or images are first painted3.4 seconds

As a result of its lab data, Target’s mobile page falls into the red zone with a score of 32.

There are three color zones your website’s page speed can fall into:

• Red zone (slow): Sites in this range have a score between 0-40. If your site falls in this section, your website is in the slowest third of all page loads.
• Yellow zone (average): If your site falls in the yellow zone, you have a score between 50-89. This color means that your website is in the middle third of all page load times.
• Green zone (fast): Ideally, you want to have a score of 90-100 and fall in the green zone. This section means that your website is the fastest third of all page loads.

If your site is in the red or yellow zone, you can use Google’s personalized recommendations to improve your site’s rating. Below your scores, Google provides advice for how you can improve your site’s load time.

These recommendations help you see how much time you can save approximately by implementing these changes.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by all this data, don’t worry! You can invest in page speed services and get a team of experts to help you improve your site’s load time.

Why does a fast loading website matter?

So, with all these questions like “How fast should my website be?” and “What’s a good average website load time,” you’re probably wondering why speed matters so much. Why should a fast loading website matter to your business?

Here are three big reasons you need to pay attention to your site’s loading time:

1.       It affects your ranking in Google

Your average page load time has an impact on your Google ranking. Google wants to provide the best results for searchers, and part of that involves having a fast loading site.

If you don’t have a fast site, Google won’t rank your website high in the search results. Considering that searching online is how people find, research, and buy products, you need to have a fast loading site so you can rank higher in the search results.

Ninety-five percent of search traffic goes to the first page of results, so you need to have a fast loading site to help your business appear on the first page and drive valuable traffic.

You’ll miss the opportunity to drive valuable traffic to your site and earn more leads for your business.

2.       It affects user experience

Along with your page speed influencing Google, it also affects users. The two go together.

If users don’t have a positive experience on your site, it will cause them to bounce from your page and return to the search results. Google sees this and assumes that your page isn’t relevant. As a result, you won’t rank high in the search results.

The user experience is vital to your business’s success. If they can’t access information quickly from your site, they’re not going to have a positive experience with your business. It will hurt your chances of ranking in the search results and getting new clients and sales.

3.       It affects conversions

If people don’t get information fast, they won’t stay on your page. When people don’t stay on your page, they don’t purchase your products or hire you for your services. As a result, your conversion rate drops.

Your page speed influences if people buy your products or use your services. If it takes too long to add something to your cart or too long to check out, people will bounce from your site and try a competitor’s site instead.

How to improve site load time

Now that you have the answer to “How fast should my website be?” and you know why a fast page speed matters, it’s time to look at how you can improve your site’s load time. If you want to improve your average website load time, check out these seven tips!

1.       Reduce redirects on your site

If you want a fast loading website, you need to reduce the number of redirects on your site.

When you have redirects on your site, it triggers an additional HTTP request-response cycle. When this happens, it adds extra time to your site’s load time. This added time slows down your site, but by reducing redirects, you can improve your average website load time.

2.       Optimize images on your site

When you’re designing your site, you try to include visuals to keep it appealing and engaging.

The downside is that too many images can bog down your site’s speed.

If you’re an ecommerce business, you’re going to have dozens of product images on your site. After all, you want to give shoppers as many angles and visuals as possible. If you’re adding all these images to your website, it’s going to slow down your pages.

To prevent these images from negatively impacting your average page load time, you can reduce the image size. Run your images through an image compression program, like Kraken, to help reduce the size of your files without reducing the quality.

By compressing images, you’ll help your site load faster and provide a better user experience.

3.       Use browser caching

Browser caching is critical to a fast loading website. Every time someone visits your page, your website must load all the elements from scratch. If they have to do this every time they visit your site, it can make for a slow loading experience.

By enabling browser caching, you create a better experience for your audience. Browser caching allows you to store some data on the user’s device. The next time that user visits your site, your page will only need to load updated or new pieces of the page.

Since your website doesn’t need to load everything, your site will load faster.

4.       Host your videos on an external platform

Just like photos, videos can hurt your site’s load time.

Host videos on an external platform to prevent videos from slowing down your website.

You can upload your videos to YouTube or Wistia, for example. When you host your videos on those platforms, the weight of the videos isn’t on your site. Your site will still load quickly, and you can still reap the benefits of having video on your website.

5.       Minimize HTTP requests

HTTP requests are requests to load images, scripts, and more. If your site is busy and has numerous components, it will lead to more HTTP requests. That increase in HTTP requests can slow down your website.

Simplify your site’s design to minimize these requests. You may need to reduce clutter and decide which components of your website are viable. You may find that you have a few unnecessary elements that, when removed, allow you to improve your average website load time.

6.       Minify and combine files

If you want to have a fast loading website, minify and combine files. Each file on your site increases website load time. An excessive number of files leads to more HTTP requests, which, as we talked about previously, can slow down your site.

While you don’t want to delete files, you can combine them to minimize their weight.

You can combine files from the same file type, such as:

• HTML
• CSS
• JavaScript

By combining or minifying these file sizes, you’ll help improve site load time and have a fast loading site.

7.       Use a content delivery network (CDN)

If you want to improve your average page load time, use a content delivery network (CDN).

A CDN allows your audience to access your information faster.

When you get high levels of traffic on your site, requests take longer to process. As a result, your website slows down while trying to process these requests.

Even if you don’t have high levels of traffic, people can still experience the site slow down if they’re far from your server. For example, if your server is in New York, but someone from China is trying to access your content, you will have a long load time.

With a CDN, you can help reduce that slow load time.

Instead of using your server, you cache your website on a network of global servers. So, if someone tries to access your site, they won’t use your server, but rather, the server closest to them. This process helps people get information faster and reduce site load time.

If you want to have a fast loading website, use a CDN to improve load time.

Get a fast loading website today

Now that you have an answer to the question “How fast should my website be?” you can start improving your site’s load time.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed with trying to improve your site load time, our team of over 200 experts is here to help. With over a decade of experience, we know how to optimize sites to improve load time. We’ll help you improve your average website load time so you can keep leads on your page longer.

Ready to speed up your site to get more traffic, leads, and revenue?

Contact us online or call us today at 888-601-5359 to learn about our page speed services.

The post How Fast Should My Website Be? [+7 Tips for Speeding Up Your Site] appeared first on WebFX Blog.

Weekly News for Designers № 532

Why In-Person Conferences Are Still Relevant for Web Designers – While conferences are understandably being held virtually or canceled, it will be nice to get back to in-person events.

Snapfont – A browser extension that lets you test Google Fonts on a live website.

The CSS Podcast – Learn the complex aspects of CSS with this easy-to-digest podcast.

Glyphfinder – Use this tool to find “Every fricking glyph”.

Introducing WordPress 5.4 (Blocks, Features, New APIs) – Get an inside look at the new features coming with WordPress 5.4.

The 5 Types of Projects NOT to Include in Your Portfolio – What does your portfolio say about you? Pay careful attention to what you include.

Web Typography Tips – Tutorials to help you master type on the web.

Introducing: A brand new Dribbble – Dig into Dribbble’s first major redesign in a decade.

The performance benefits of Variable Fonts – Variable fonts aren’t only great for special effects – they also kick performance up a notch.

Manage Cloud Identity and Access with Teamstack – Check out this cloud identity management platform that provides your workforce with secure, convenient access. Works with over 500 applications.

Background Scale Hover Effect with CSS Clip-path – A simple recreation of the background scale hover effect seen on the DDD Hotel website using CSS clip-path.

Free UI Kit Freelance Platform App – Grab this free UI kit for Figma, which includes 20 screens and 5 exclusive illustrations.

Parametric Color Mixer – Create your own custom color palette and export to CSS or SVG.

How to create an accordion hover effect with box-shadows – Use this tutorial to create a compelling hover effect with CSS.

25 Free Keynote Templates for Creatives – Take your presentations to the next level with these free Keynote templates.

Shorthand – A free and open-source CSS framework that allows you to make unique and modern designs without writing any CSS.

CSS Viewport Units – Learn about CSS viewport and check out some example use cases.

The post Weekly News for Designers № 532 appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

New Free/Open Source Python Compiler for Windows, macOS and Linux

A Python compiler has been added to the Free Python Compilers and Interpreters page. This one works on Windows, macOS and Linux, and can generate standalone binary distribution packages for your program.

How Web Designers Can Help in a Crisis

As I write this, the lives of potentially billions of people have been altered in one way or another. The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an untold amount of changes – both big and small – not to mention tragic. To be sure, this is a crisis on a global scale.

But this isn’t the only event that can disrupt our lives. True, most may not be this widespread. Yet, for those affected, it can seem that way.

It got me thinking about the role web designers and developers can play in times like these. Whether it’s a pandemic, a natural disaster or some other unforeseen challenge, the web is often a great source of information.

It has the potential to bring together communities of all sizes – and quickly. This can literally be the difference in whether someone is safe or in danger. Or simply knowing what resources are available to them during a difficult time.

So, how do we help with all of this? Let’s take a look at some ways web professionals can pitch in.

Help Clients Spread the Word

A crisis can really wreak havoc on all sorts of different businesses. In the case of COVID-19, everything from mom and pop restaurants to massive sporting leagues have been temporarily shuttered.

If you work with a business that has been impacted, you might start by reaching out. Ask how they’re doing and find out if there’s anything you can do with regards to their website. For some clients, they may not necessarily be thinking of their site and how it can help them reach customers.

It could be as simple as writing up a blog post that explains their situation – such as a closure or change in operating hours. Or, if things are really minute-by-minute, adding a social media feed to their home page could help keep visitors up to date in real-time.

Obviously, we all have bills to pay. But if you’re able, offering free or discounted service for this task would be greatly appreciated.

Build a Community

Sometimes, people need a rallying point and a place to communicate. That’s why an affected town or neighborhood could really benefit from an online hub.

This type of site is actually fairly easy to set up, what with WordPress plugins like BuddyPress and bbPress available for free. And it could connect people who may otherwise not be able to get out to an in-person meeting.

Providing this type of community service can be a real lifesaver for some. Those who need to find resources, a helping hand, or someone to listen will have a home on the web.

This is an area where your technical expertise can make a real difference in the lives of those around you.

Raise Funds

If you’re a web designer with even a little bit of experience in eCommerce, you can play a big part in helping raise funds for a good cause.

Crowdfunding is wildly popular and is often put to good use when someone is in need. But going with one of the big-name funding sites isn’t always the best option. It’s then that you can step in and get to work.

This may be a matter of adding a shopping cart to an existing website. Or, perhaps it entails building a landing page that encourages donations and tracks progress. Beyond that, you may be of some assistance for setting up a payment gateway account as well.

Regardless, you can create something both beautiful and functional that brings in much-needed funds.

Become a Citizen Journalist

So, this one isn’t necessarily an immediate way to pitch in and help others. But it could still be a very worthwhile endeavor.

In situations like a natural disaster, keeping an online archive of sorts can provide a lasting public record. And it doesn’t need to be a complex project. It’s just a matter of starting a blog.

You might write about your experiences or those of people you know. Collecting photos or taking some snapshots yourself can add an important visual element. It might also be a great place to ask for users to share their stories.

The point is to create a reference for both those who experienced the event and those who may want to learn about it in the future. It’s also a natural fit for web designers – especially those who are avid bloggers.

Using Your Skills to Make a Difference

In a crisis situation, people from all different professions often come together to lend a hand. Web designers are no different.

Even if some of us aren’t able to rebuild a house, we certainly could create an online space where volunteers can sign up. And though we may not provide medical care, we can raise funds for those who need it.

In the end, it’s all about using the skills we have in a way that benefits others. The ideas above are just a start. By mining your own creativity, you may find even more ways to make a difference.

The post How Web Designers Can Help in a Crisis appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.

20 Free Admin Dashboard UI Templates for Photoshop & Sketch App

In recent years, much has changed in the way web users interact with dashboard data and complete simple backend tasks. Layouts are more spacious and mobile-friendly, colors are simpler, typography is highly-readable, interactive charts make data much easier to digest, and advancements in technology have made completing tasks much quicker.

If you’re looking for HTML and CSS dashboard templates, you might like to take a look at these Bootstrap-powered Dashboard templates. Or, if you’re looking for some admin panel design inspiration, try this post. But if you’re looking for dashboard templates in PSD or Sketch formats, then stick around, this is the collection for you!

All of the below dashboard templates are free to download and use, and are available in either Photoshop or Sketch formats. Hopefully, they will give you some fresh ideas for your own designs.

Free Dashboard Interface Elements by Tran Mau Tri Tam (Sketch App)

Evolut Dashboard Template by Vunira on Envato Elements (Photshop PSD, Adobe XD & Illustrator AI)

Dashboard UI/UX Kit by Anton Kalik (Photoshop PSD)

Dashboard Design Template by GranzCreative on Envato Elements (Sketch, Figma & Adobe XD)

Freebie Dashboard Components Design by Emy Lascan (Sketch App)

Wedding Dashboard UI Kit by VictorThemesNX on Envato Elements (Photoshop PSD)

ooto Productivity Dashboard Template by Adrian Madacs (Sketch App)

Hix Dashboard UI Kit by Merkulove on Envato Elements (Sketch App)

Freebie Dashboard Design by Subash (Photoshop PSD)

Cards UI Kit, Widgets & Components by Panoplystore on Envato Elements (Photoshop PSD, Sketch & Adobe XD)

Material Admin Dashboard Template by Adrian Stefan (Sketch App)

Course Dashboard Template by Hoang Nguyen (Sketch App)

Kavina Dashboard Analytics Template by Septiandika Pratama (Photoshop PSD)

Data Analytics Dashboard Template by Tonda Kus (Sketch App)

Dashboard PSD Template by Aaron Sananes (Photoshop PSD)

Dashboard Free Template by Ante Matijaca (Sketch App)

CRM Dashboard UI Kit by Saas Design (Sketch App)

Admin Dashboard UI Kit by Sergiu Firez (Photoshop PSD & Sketch App)

Free Dashboard Template by Padam Boora (Sketch App)

Dashboard Concept UI Template by Harish (Sketch App)

Dribbble Dashboard Stats Template by Dany Rizky (Photoshop PSD)

Merkury Dashboard Template by Symu.co (Photoshop PSD)

Dashboard UI Elements by Craftwork Design (Photoshop PSD)

Free PSD Dashboard by Malte Westedt (Photoshop PSD)

The post 20 Free Admin Dashboard UI Templates for Photoshop & Sketch App appeared first on Speckyboy Design Magazine.