How to Increase Website Page-Load Time

Google (GOOG) is revamping its search tool to speed things up for users. Website load-time is a new factor in search-engine rankings, meaning that websites could have a hard time loading due to their site’s structure. Google has confirmed that site speed will be a factor (albeit not a major one). Here are some ways to speed up a website:

1. Images. The website should not be image-heavy. Try to reduce the number of images as well as their resolutions. In most cases, a reduced PNG or JPG will work just fine. The higher the quality of the image, the longer the load time of the website will be. The same applies to flash introductions. An example of an image-rich website that loads quickly is www.ice.com.
2. Code. Make sure the website’s code is clean. Sometimes websites are built with much more code than they really need, which can slow them down. Many scripts and actions make a website slow, so focus on using more-straightforward HTML. A good example is the John Deere website.
3. Widgets. These devices can be fun, but they can slow website-loading time. If a company wants to increase site speed, it has to tone down its use of widgets. It is enticing to fill the website sidebar with nice widgets to keep people on the website. However, too many can harm — rather than help — the experience.

User-experience is very important for websites, so the search engines want websites to be as streamlined as possible. Keep this in mind when doing any sort of website upgrades.