Google dominates the internet. Over 92.4% of internet users globally use Google to find information, products, and services online. This explains why all website owners should be keen on how Google ranks websites. Google has been on record stating that speed is a critical factor for mobile search ranking.
Internet users have also become avid social media users, with Facebook leading the way with over 2.9 billion active users monthly as of July 2022. What’s more, Facebook has also been on record stating they consider mobile website loading time when ranking web pages in users’ news feeds.
Since there’s no doubt about the importance of website speed in the overall web user experience, how do you speed up your site? Considering most Internet traffic today (approximately 59%) comes from mobile users, how do you speed up your mobile website?
5 Tips to Increase Your Mobile Website in 2022
1. Choose Responsive Designs
Instead of having a mobile-only design specifically meant for your mobile website, you should focus on having a website design responsive to all devices (mobile devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets) as well as desktop computers. Responsive websites generally load faster. They also enjoy search engine optimization (SEO) advantages.
A responsive website design allows a website owner to have one site that changes automatically depending on the device used to access it. The process of making responsive mobile sites that load fast is highly technical. Expert responsive website design is recommended to handle technical aspects, setting breakpoints, designing time-saving themes and layouts, formatting fluid grids, running responsive tests, etc.
2. Avoid Code Bloat
Sites that are “loaded” with code (or code bloated) are bound to be slow. Website developers can be able to identify and get rid of unnecessary or excess code on your website. Code bloat is common when there is too much emphasis on a site’s visuals.
While visual representation is important, it can compromise performance. Choosing a minimalist site design is a great way to have great visuals without having excess code. For instance, having fewer photos and one call-to-action is a great way to keep a mobile site “lightweight” and fast. Using simple font over custom font will also help since customized font requires more code.
3. Minimize Redirects
Redirects take site users and search engines from one web page to another when content has been moved or when there are domain name changes. While redirects are important, they slow down a website. Every time site pages load using redirects, new pages have to be loaded. Redirects also take up Google’s time. While redirects may be inevitable, ensure they aren’t overdone since it will take more time for the right webpage to load.
4. Compress Files
Code aside, files also need to be minimized to reduce the bandwidth and loading time. This can be done by compressing web files. Small compressed CSS files are transmitted online faster than many small files. However, they must be compressed in file formats that browsers can unzip and render quickly. There are many data compression resources you can use. However, you will need expert help to choose lossless data compression utilities.
5. Use a Content Delivery Network
CDNs or content delivery networks save bandwidth and boost site speed by hosting website files across many servers instead of one location. If you use a CDN and website visitors come to your site, data will load from the hosting server closest to them. This slows server loading time immensely and offers other advantages, such as DDoS attacks that attempt to disrupt normal traffic from a targeted server or network. A CDN comes in handy when your site gets heavy traffic at once i.e. when you send a promotional email. It ensures every site visitor has a fast web browsing experience.
You can get away with average site speed if you consider direct or paid ways of getting traffic to your website like Google Ads. However, good digital marketing strategies like SEO and social media advertising can’t work well with a slow site. Your mobile site visitors are bound to leave your site if the load speed is slow, resulting in a high bounce rate. What’s more, improving your mobile website speed permanently and significantly will require some expertise.
Remember, you’re not going to enjoy a significant competitive advantage by making improvements that any website owner can make themselves. What’s more, some tips can overlap with others, and different sites have unique needs. Consider expert help to boost your site speed without compromising other aspects.