DOES YOUR PAGE LOAD FAST ENOUGH?
Slow-Loading Pages Can Result in a Loss of Customers. Here Are a Few Tips for Improvement.
By Curt Berresford
Are you losing web visitors because your pages take too long to load? That can cost you customers, so it's important to check your page-loading time to see where you stand.
Go online, then type in your web page address. Watch the clock or use a stop watch to see exactly how long your page takes to open fully. While there are no right or wrong loading times, the shorter the time, the better. But don't be misled by cached images or files. You may think your pages load a lot faster than they really do. Here's why and what to do about it.
When viewing your web page, your browser holds some of the elements of the page in the cache. You won't get a true picture of the page download times since some things are already being cached on your hard drive. You'll need to clear the cache before timing your page's loading time. Clearing the browser cache is easy, but you should clear it while off line.
If you use Netscape Communicator, select Edit/Preferences. Press the plus sign beside Advanced and highlight Cache. Press both Clear Memory Cache and Clear Disk Cache. Then press OK and close Netscape. Go online, open Netscape and type in your URL to time the page loading.
If you use Internet Explorer, select View/Options. Click on Advanced. In the area called Temporary Internet Files, press Settings. Then press Empty Folder to clear the cache. Before pressing Empty Folder, you can press View to see all the web pages currently being stored on your hard drive. You may be surprised.
When you press Empty Folder, Explorer will ask you if you want to delete all the temporary Internet files. Press Yes. Then press OK and close Explorer. Go online, open Internet Explorer and type in your URL to time the page loading. Clearing your browser cache does not delete any passwords or other information you may wish to store with your browser.
The reason browsers cache web pages is to help them load faster. Your frequent web site visitors will have your pages in their cache. But don't count on getting a lot of new visitors if your pages take forever to load for them. Check your loading times again whenever you make major changes to your site, or if you add banners or images.
Generally, images take longer to load than text. Don't overuse images if you can avoid it. If you use banners on your web pages, try to store them on your own server. You have no control over how long they will take to download to your pages if they reside on another site.
A clean, fast-loading web page will always keep your visitors happier, even if you must remove some of the whistles and bells.
The above article was written by Curt Berresford, webmaster of http://www.PaperDots.com. Contact him at:
Curt Berresford 682 Third St. Beaver, PA 15009
You may also email Curt at
curt@paperdots.com
Or get some of his newest home business offers by FOD at (770) 908-3480. The Action Team offers tons of mail order and Internet resources. Visit the Team's two flagship web sites at
http://www.paperdots.com and http://www.jkpowermail.com
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