Page Load Times:
The Need for Speed
Part 1 of 2
by Brandon Jubar
Size DOES Matter
Frequently, business people will talk about the concept of 'internet time'. The
idea is that, in the online arena, the time allowed for anything is compressed. Thus it is
that many eCommerce sites burst on the scene and within months went public with an IPO.
This concept of 'internet time' has a place in Web site design as well.
Unfortunately, many organizations fail to emphasize this 'need for speed' in the proper
context. Time after time, organizations rush through the process of planning, designing
and implementing their Web site so that they can get it to the public quickly. While there
is nothing inherently wrong with being fast and efficient during this process, the most
important focal point for increasing speed has to do with your Parish Web site's usability
rather than its initial availability. The speed at which your Web pages are rendered
within the users' browsers is on of the most important factors in keeping visitors at your
site.
Obviously, speed alone is not the reason that visitors will stay on your site.
The speed at which your Parish Web site can begin to deliver relevant information has a
significant effect as well. These two factors are neither one and the same, nor mutually
exclusive. As is often the case, focusing on both will tend to yield the best results.
Know the Size of Your Page
The terminology 'page size', as we use it in regards to a Web site, is actually
the sum of the file sizes of each of the elements which produce a given Web page.
Therefore, the page size is the sum of the defining HTML file and any embedded objects
within the page (graphics, pictures, javascript).
Study after study have shown that the speed at which a page downloads has the
greatest impact upon the bail-out rate (the rate at which visitors abandon the page before
it has completely downloaded to their browser). Web pages that take longer than ten (10)
seconds to download will usually have a bail-out rate over 25%. (Using a 56k modem, a page
that is over 35k will usually top the ten (10) second mark.) Drop the download time to ten
(10) seconds or less and the bail-out rate will usually drop dramatically - to less than
10%!
By limiting the number and size of the page elements (including optimizing
graphics), you can easily keep your page size below 35k without sacrificing important
content.
Pick Your Graphics Carefully
If the 50k full-color photo of your church causes 30% of your visitors to click
elsewhere before they even see what your site has to offer, then you would be hard-pressed
to argue that it is important content. Besides, visitors from out of town don't care what
your church looks like, and members of your Parish see it all the time... so who is your
audience?
The graphics you choose for your Parish Web site should be extremely relevant to
the message you are delivering. One very simple way to check for relevance is to view your
Web site in a browser that has the graphics turned off. When your page is void of
graphics, does the content deteriorate significantly? Not the visual appeal of the page
(presentation), but the information itself (meaning)... does the lack of graphics make it
significantly less effective?
If the answer is "no", then you probably do not need the graphic for
content purposes. The only other question is whether or not the graphic is necessary to
create the site 'identity'. If it is needed for this purpose, then you should at least
optimize the graphic to decrease its file size.
Use 'Alt' Tags Liberally
Using HTML <alt> tags is an excellent way to give your viewers an
alternative to the graphics on your Parish Web site. The word or phrase contained in these
tags provides the browser with text to display in relation to the applicable graphic.
(Thus the name 'alt'... for 'alternative'.)
Placing relevant text in HTML <alt> tags will do a number of things:
- Visitors to your Parish Web site who have set there browsers to display only text
and no graphics will be able to see textual explanations of the graphics on your site. If
your graphics add a great deal of value to the content of your site, the alternative text
may convince such visitors to change the setting on their browser (at least while viewing
your Parish Web site).
- Another benefit of using <alt> tags is that the text you choose will be
displayed on a visitor's screen before the actual graphics finish loading. If a particular
page is loading a bit too slow, this text may alert the visitor to the relevance of your
graphics and thus make the difference between whether or not they wait for it to load...
or bail-out.
- One other important reason to use <alt> tags is to increase your Parish Web
site's usability for your visually impaired visitors. When their special browsers turn
your page into the spoken word, there will be much more meaning to a graphic described as
"Jesus on cross" than to one described as "cross_02.gif".
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