Top Reasons Why Your Website Is Slow

Your site may be great, but its appearance and functionality won’t matter if it takes a long time to load.

Today’s users are increasingly impatient, and the level of impatience is likely to grow with the increasing share of mobile devices as “guides” to the Internet.  Unfortunately, the list of reasons that can force a user to leave the site is long enough, and any of them can turn a new client into a missed opportunity.  From a technical point of view, many of the causes of failure can be eliminated.  If you know what to fix, of course.

Any problems can be fixed on your own or with the help of Halo-lab professionals, which is the best option. Let’s consider a list of reasons why sites can take a very long time to load.

1. Social media buttons

Your desire to receive Likes from Facebook users is understandable, but social media buttons that access external Java scripts can significantly slow down page loading speed, especially if you are not using asynchronous mode when loading them.  They can also render an entire site useless to the visitor (and owner), which some webmasters have experienced firsthand.

2. Ad networks code

Ads can be an important source of income, but ad network code, most of which is JavaScript-based, can slow down page loading.  Some networks have implemented asynchronous loading methods that prevent Java scripts from blocking the resource, however many site owners still do not use them.

3. Analytics tags

Analytics are extremely important, but just like social media buttons and ad code, JavaScript-based analytics tags can negatively impact page load times.  The good news is that many analytics services offer an asynchronous method for loading code.  Bad news: Often, site owners use multiple analytics providers at once, which is redundant and ineffective.

4. JavaScript-based functionality

JavaScript is sometimes a necessary evil, especially when it comes to ads and analytics.  But many sites use JavaScript to provide functionality that can be implemented on the server side.  One striking example: many sites use Disqus and Facebook to collect comments, which is perhaps the least efficient way to implement this functionality.

5. Unoptimized images

High-speed internet access is currently available to almost everyone, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t optimize your images.  On pages with a lot of images sometimes make the site slow, reducing file sizes by even 5-10% can have a significant impact on loading speed.

6. Bloated HTML

It is quite difficult to achieve the correct display of the site in all major browsers (cross-browser compatibility);  it is even more difficult to maintain effective HTML markup on the page.  Bloated HTML not only increases the amount of data that is passed to your users, but can also have a significant impact on JavaScript performance when manipulating DOM elements.

7. CSS (useless style sheets)

Optimizing your HTML is just as important as optimizing your CSS styles.  Unfortunately, useless CSS styles are easy to find on many sites.  There are many ways to make your pages load slower, from resource-intensive Descendant selectors to advanced CSS3 selectors that are just as useful as they are harmful.

8. Amateur jQuery

JQuery is considered the most popular JavaScript library for a reason: it makes it much easier to build complex JavaScript functions.  But not everyone who works with jQuery uses it effectively.  There are many areas of jQuery, from event handlers to manipulating DOM elements, where the actions of an inexperienced developer can wreak havoc.

However, everything can be fixed by adhering to simple tips or with the help of professionals.  For more information, you can Check here.