People now expect web services to respond quickly, so you need to make sure you're providing that dynamic experience. There are many ways to do this. Here are 5 of them.
Slow page loading can hinder user experience (UX) when it comes to web development . People have become accustomed to digitally interacting with businesses in a direct and frictionless way, so all websites need to strike a tricky balance between functionality, usability and speed.
How can developers deal with slow page load times?
Here is a list of little tricks that can help you and your development team work on one of the pillars of this trifecta, namely speed and more precisely, page load time. People now expect web services to respond quickly to everything they search for, so you need to make sure you're providing that dynamic experience.
There are many ways to do this. Here are 5 of them.
1. Prefer web-safe fonts
It's easy to get lost in the details when it comes to web development – especially if those details bring a certain flair to the look and feel of the project. However, adding too much flair can certainly hurt page load times. This is because there may be too many requests, too many elements to load, or too large files that affect the final loading time. There are many actions you can take to prevent this from happening, but one that few web developers pay attention to involves fonts.
When working on web development projects, many engineers don't think twice about adding fonts from services like Google Fonts or Adobe Fonts. But using custom fonts can increase a page's loading time, especially for users with slower connections. What's more, a custom font can end up freezing the entire page, which can make it unresponsive.
The solution? To use web-safe fonts, which are fonts installed on many operating systems . This way, users don't need to download new fonts, as you will use one they already have installed. And while there may be some differences between fonts on different systems, you can always turn to a web-safe font stack to choose several fonts that look similar so that all users have the same experience when using your web products.
2. Minimize time to first byte
Most people obsess about how long a page takes to fully load, but few care about how long it takes to start loading. This time is known as “time to first byte” (TTFB) and measures how long a browser has to wait before getting the first byte from the server. The longer it takes, the worse the experience will be. This is why Google recommends TTFB to be less than 200 ms.
As a matter of server-side, you can work on the TTFB of your pages by focusing on the factors that influence it. This includes network issues, traffic, dynamic content creation, and web server configuration. You can't do anything about the first 2 as they depend on third parties. But you can definitely do something about creating dynamic content and configuring the web server.
When working with dynamic content, the server used needs to create a dynamic file before responding to the request. In other words, the server needs to interact with a database to build the content with PHP before it is delivered to the browser. Naturally, this process can take some time, which can affect loading times.
That's why you need to enable caching , which can save returning visitors precious time while improving user experience. It's true that caching won't affect first-time visitors, but it can significantly improve their experience as they navigate your web platform.
3. Use lazy loading for images
Lazy loading refers to the process of preventing elements on a page from loading when they are not needed. Thus, the page does not load all the resources it has, but only those that the user needs at a given time. This is a great practice to avoid loading hidden or unnecessary elements as it only focuses on front-loading essential resources.
Applying this selective element loading has a significant impact on performance, while also improving device resource usage and reducing the overall loading time of a web product. Generally speaking, you can apply lazy loading to any element on your page, but I highly recommend that you use it at least with your images.
The best part about using lazy loading for images is that it is very simple. You just need to add loading=”lazy” to an image tag in the code. This will indicate to the browser that that image only needs to be loaded when the user requests it, and not sooner or later. Lazy loading is supported by most modern browsers, which means you won't affect the experience of different users.
In addition to the code mentioned above, you can also introduce lazy loading via the polyfill attribute, Intersection Observer API, or event handlers. These three techniques are the best option if you want to increase browser compatibility. In other words, you should use them if you suspect your users are using older or incompatible browsers.
4. Use a content delivery network
Using a single server to host your website is not your only option. You can also use a server network to ensure uptime, performance, and small loading times for all your visitors. This prevents one server from becoming clogged with requests by dividing the request load among multiple servers. Additionally, using this network can improve loading times for users connecting to your web product from more distant locations.
This network of servers is called a Content Delivery Network (CDN), which caches a website or web application across a global network of servers . Whenever a new user request comes in, the CDN responds by processing that request through the server closest to the user sending the request. The content being served doesn't change – what changes is that the server is closer, so the loading time is faster.
Using a CDN is a great way to eliminate loading delays and latency issues that can affect users who are far from hosting servers. Some of the most well-known CDNs include Cloudflare and StackPath (formerly MaxCDN). The first is a more comprehensive hosting solution that combines CDN services with security features, while the second is more focused on CDN services. Both are very easy to use and configure and can help you control the loading time of your pages.
5. Minify CSS and JavaScript files
Most modern web projects load many external files into the user's browser. This is why it is of capital importance to keep these files manageable to avoid a considerable impact on loading time. This is also why so many JavaScript frameworks have built-in features to work on minifying JavaScript and CSS files, including minification and tree shaking .
However, you don't need a framework to minimize the size of CSS and JavaScript files. There are powerful and simple tools to help you do just that in a very easy and efficient way. Some of the most interesting are ViteJS and ParcelJS, which are very easy to configure and have impressive performance.
Both tools support CSS preprocessors and even work with TypeScript. But the most important thing is that they are very efficient at minimizing the size of different files – and they do it incredibly quickly. Using these tools can help you drastically reduce loading times and provide a more satisfying user experience.
The beginning of a long journey
From the fonts you choose to the languages and files you use, there are many ways to speed up web page loading times. While the 5 suggestions above will help you decrease loading times, the reality is that they are just a few examples of the many things you can do to optimize your website. Optimizing CSS delivery, prioritizing above-the-fold content through lazy loading, reducing redirects, and reducing plugin usage are other easy-to-apply tricks that can help you with loading time.
While you should definitely use the above tricks, you should see them as the starting point of a long journey. On this journey, you'll need to dive deep into the world of web development to discover the many ways you can address load times, a crucial part of providing a superior web experience.
If you liked this, be sure to check out our other articles on web development.
- 10 Types of Web Application Development and Which Ones to Choose
- Web App vs Website: Which is the “best” option?
- Exciting Web Design Trends
- Website solutions for companies
- What is a flask?
Common questions
1. Why is it important to focus on page load times for web development?
It's important to focus on page load times in web development because load times affect the user experience. If your site loads too slowly, users may leave your page entirely. This also affects SEO and search rankings, as well as engagement.
2. What are some factors that can affect a website's page load time?
Several factors affect the loading time of a web page, such as:
- Site size
- Code optimization
- Network speed
- Browser cache
- The plugins and features you use
- Server response time
- Image optimization
3. What is lazy loading and how can it be used to improve page load time?
Lazy loading is a technique that web developers use to improve the loading time of web pages. Through this method, developers essentially delay loading resources like images and videos until the user needs them.
Source: BairesDev
