WordPress load time – how to speed up your blog loading time

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Your wordpress loading time is a point that can be accidentally overlooked when your developing your blog but its of paramount importance that you address the time to load regularly to keep it healthy and keep your visitors happy.

Why is it important to address your WordPress load time?

Don’t underestimate load times on a site or blog, especially your own. Just to make the point, lets illustrate.

If you click this image below:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading time

It opened a page with an image of your site that a first time visitor will experience for the first few seconds. If this stays the same for longer than 3 seconds, how does it make you feel.

  • Is it worth waiting on? (impatient)
  • Is it actually loading? (uncertainty)
  • LOAD DAMMIT! (frustration)

Not the best way to introduce someone to your site is it?

The importance of your blogs load time

While you may look at your blog everyday, its easy to become complacent about your blog load time especially if its cached on your computer after the first visit making it appear  to load faster than it actually does, but that’s only for you.

Lets put it into reality here to show how important load time is. Have a read at this:

According to research if your blog takes more than 3 seconds to load you are losing around 40% of your visitors.

That rate goes to 90% if it takes more than 8 seconds to load.

rumbling – Improve load time of your blog

A 40% loss of traffic is bad, a 90% loss is ridiculous!

For Google an increase in page load time from 0.4 second to 0.9 seconds decreased traffic and ad revenues by 20%. For Amazon every 100 ms increase in load times decreased sales with 1%.

Gabriel Svennerberg

What a fickle bunch we are!

Fortunately, with a little bit of graft, a few excellent wordpress plugins and some handy applications and extensions, addressing your blogs loading time shouldn’t be a big issue and can be addressed quite simply IF you are able to code.  There are a few plugins that are helpful, but they can only do so much unfortunately.

Fist of, check out the post 40 essential tips for wordpress blogs – Joost De Valk and the first section:

Making your WordPress Blog FAST

and

Maintaining your WordPress Blog

Done that?  Good.

Now here are a few other handy tools and firefox plugins and google apps you can use to go a little deeper and get that blog load time even lower.

**Before we start I would suggest you keep a note of this page address as this process requires you to restart your browser a few times to complete installations. Wouldn’t want you getting lost half way through would we!**

If you want the short version of this and don’t need to follow all the info and instructions  below I thought it would be a good idea to do an overview for those folks who like things in a convenient short list:

  • Downlod install Firefox
  • Install Firebug
  • Install YSlow
  • Install Google Page Speed
  • Open your site
  • Activate FireBug
  • Along the FireBug options bar choose the extension and run
  • Digest the data and address the errors

Now for more details.

Page Load time extensions guide

The first thing you will need is to Download and install Firefox to use these apps.

Once your done, you will need this handy plugin for the browser called FireBug (an essential tool for any designer or developer anyway). Once its installed you will be able to activate the extension by clicking the little bug icon in the bottom right of your browser screen while you have your website open.

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading time

When you open the extension you will end up with a screen like this:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading timeClick the image to enlarge

FireBug alone is a great plugin for editing CSS code but its the next two extensions that address the page load time.

YSlow – blog load time analysis

Yahoo!’s rules for high performance web site.

Install the extension YSlow. This extension focuses on Yahoos criteria for page load times and will report back on errors and areas to be addressed on your blog.

Once you have it installed you will see the icon for the extension beside the FireBug icon in your browser window.

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading time

Open your site and while viewing hit the YSlow icon to be presented with this:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading time

Run the test on your blog to begin the analysis and get a report on items that need to be addressed. Each area is graded from A to F, A being perfect and F being bloody terrible. All the results can be filtered by:

  • CONTENT (* Number of errors detected)
  • CSS (*)
  • IMAGES (*)
  • JAVASCRIPT (*)
  • SERVER (*)

As you click through each section it will display a list of problems and a short description of  what the error and how to resolve it.  More details are available to help you understand the error and address it directly.

At this stage your own your own im afraid as each site will be completely unique in the fixes that it may require.

*Special thanks to Ian Miller for pointing this extension out to me.

Google Page Speed

Googles open source code for best practice web page performance

Never ones to miss a trick Google, of course,  also have a FireFox extension available to evaluate your page performance and offer analysis and suggestions on errors to be addressed. Just like YSlow, the extension requires FireBug to be installed in order to work, so since we have covered that lets go straight to the download page and install it.

Install the Google Page Speed extension.

Once thats complete, open your blog or site and activate Firebug:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading timeYou will be presented with something like this. Click on the highlighted otpion, Page Speed:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading timeClick on the image to enlarge

You will be presented with this, just hit the button to begin the analysis:

Wordpress load time how to speed up your blog loading time

And low and behold your presented with a report and details of all the errors that need to be addressed on your page to make it load faster evaluate the page speed. The interface is easy to understand and review and clicking on the titles will open a page with explanations and definitions to the error with recommendations on how to address them.

Clicking the “+” icon opens a list of all the pages affected by the error or causing it.

Again, your basically on your own here as each and every page will be unique in the issues that need to be addressed.

Addressing load time issues

All these options may seem a little overwhelming at first, but take you time and address the points you can do quickly and easily to begin with. Doing this should make a noticeable difference on your page load time immediately.

Some of the errors will simply boggle your mind and really I would be surprised if there’s any page out there without errors or points that could be optimised. Try running it on your Google search page to see what I mean, it even has errors and warnings.

The point it that all this is about optimising the page, not making it 100% completely perfect. Its about doing the best you can to make the time to load as little as it can be and in combination with the plugins on the other post mentioned above it should help get that load time down to a more than acceptable level for your visitors.

Best of luck all, and as per usual, I would love any comments or feedback, suggestions or points to this post, so don’t hesitate to let me know if there’s anything I have missed or could expand upon.

Linkedin Professional Networking – Overview

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Well that’s the end of a series of posts all about Linkedin.com (for now anyway). I hope they have been of some help and your now setting up profiles and getting involved with discussions and building your network.  Its worth it, believe me.

As I mentioned before, in an earlier post,  I’m always happy to meet other professionals and network. If your interested in connecting with me, just hit the button below and choose the “add Justin Parks to your network” option to get in touch.

Linkedin Professional Networking Overview


Linkedin.com Startup Guide – Getting started on Linkedin

This is a run down I thought would be a good idea to centralise in a single list, of the last series of posts and what they covered these last few days. As usual feedback, questions and comments are always welcome.  Let me know what you think!

How Linkedin are you?

  • What is Linkedin.com?
  • Join LinkedIn.com

Manage your linkedin profile and public profile URL

  • Edit Public Profile Settings
  • Linkedin Public Profile URL
  • Linkedin customized buttons

Review your Linkedin Profile and expand upon it

  • Expanding on your Linkedin profile
  • Your Linkedin profile photo
  • Linkedin profile progress bar
  • How to present your Linkedin profile
  • Begin to build your Linkedin network
  • Dont stop adding to your Linkedin profile

Adding Applications to your Linkedin profile

  • Add a linkedin application

Linkedin Answers – professionals get involved and get informed

  • Answer Questions on Linkedin
  • Ask Questions on Linkedin

Linkedin Groups – Using and creating groups in Linkedin

  • Linkedin Groups
  • Linkedin Groups Directory
  • Create a Linkedin Group

Linkedin Groups – Using and creating groups in Linkedin

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On Linkedin you will notice another section called Groups. Although quite similar to the Answers section on linkedin, at least in concept, they function in a different way by creating more of a community with a specialised subject or sector with which you can interact and establish a presence. The groups button is on the left column when you login to Linkedin. Linkedin Groups Using and creating groups in Linkedin

Linkedin Groups

Once you enter the groups page you will be present with something resembling the page below, but at this stage it may be empty or devoid of any groups (most likely).

Linkedin Groups Using and creating groups in LinkedinAcross the top of the page you will see four options.

My Goups

Your index of the section displaying all the groups you are currently associated with.

Following

A page displaying a record of any discussions created or responses made you have made within your groups.

Linkedin Groups Directory

A searchable database of groups already in existence within Linkedin. This is the place to start upon entering Linkedin for the first time to establish the selection of groups that interest you and apply for permission to join.

Begin by searching for groups with titles associated with your industry (for example) and take your time.  There is no need to rush into joining groups straight away (although you can leave a group any time you wish). Browse and search different words to see what groups are available.  Alternatively you can use Linkedin Answers and ask what groups other established users would recommend for you in your field, saving you a lot of searching.

Groups are managed by the creators who choose to authorise access to their particular group so upon requesting permission to be accepted you will have to wait until moderation has been completed and you will receive an email informing you if permission has been accepted or denied.

When you select a group you are presented with a brief description of the groups theme and on the right side some basic information regarding the date of creation, group type and current number of members associated with the group. Linkedin Groups Using and creating groups in Linkedin

Clicking the “Join Group” button starts the process of application to that particular group. If you should be denied access to a group you can see who the administrator or managers of a group are and approach them directly about gaining access although this needs to be approached with care. Simple emails requesting details or requirements to join the group are not frowned upon but making self righteous demands wont win you any favours.

Underneath the group summary you can also see who is involved in this particular group and is also a member of your network, either as primary contacts (“1st” symbol beside their name) or secondary contacts (“2nd” symbol beside their names – this means that they are  not directly in your network but are linked to someone in your network putting them 2 “links” away).

Once you have chosen what groups to be involved in, have a review of the discussions currently listed and get involved. Simple as that.

Create a Linkedin Group

Once your more comfortable in the functions of the Linkedin Groups, you may decide that none of the groups specifically cover the area you wish to address. If this is so then its time to consider creating your own group to meet this gap and build your own community. Lets see how to go about creating a Linkedin group.

Linkedin Groups Using and creating groups in Linkedin

Again, the creation of your group is a pretty simple and straight forward process.  The only part that needs some sort of skill would be the addition of your logo or brand name in the first part, though this isn’t a show stopper, unless your handy with a graphics tool and familiar with image creation or resizing you might want to get a designer to prepare the files for you.  There is nothing worse than a distorted logo representing your group or for that matter your website/company/yourself, pick one or any.  (its a pet hate of mine to see crappy logos).

After addressing this its a matter of naming, creating a type, adding the summary and description and linking it to your site finally sorting out your contact details and geographic location and language.

That’s it, your good to go and its time to start adding quality professionals to your group by inviting or notifing possible interested parties to its existance. You could also add a link or page to your group on your website or blog  if the group is “public” and you want to expand and increase awareness and membership.