Your website’s loading speed is the first thing visitors notice about your website. Web hosting dictates the speed in which visitors will reach your sit. Whether you are a word press hosting service or a blogger, every extra second it takes your website to load, the less likely you are to retain an audience. Having a quick loading time is essential for maintaining high volumes of visitor sessions and a strong online presence.

Optimize your website’s loading time by addressing these commonly overlooked issues.

Data-Heavy CMS Pages

Large photos and impressive content are sure to please your visitors, but can also slow down your website. Consider a realistic amount of content when designing or building your pages. Utilize multiple pages for each topic to limit the page size and keep your loading time short. If your homepage is taking a long time to load, narrow down your slider to 2-3 images rather than 5+ and keep the content short and concise. The more detailed information can be stored in topic-specific pages to keep your homepage clean and fast.

Distant Server Location

The location of your hosting company should be relative to the location of your visitors. Using a US based web hosting company is the most beneficial if you have a majority of US based visitors. Hosting a site in another country is tempting for many business, but ultimately slows down the website as a whole. Keep in mind your visitor demographics when selecting a web hosting company.

Overuse of Ads

Hosting advertisements throughout your website might make you some extra income, but will also slow down the loading time of your website. The more ads you have, the slower your site will be. Additionally, visitors tend to turn away from websites with too many advertisements. Keep the ads to a minimum, about 1 or 2 per page, to speed up your website and maintain a professional image with your visitors.

Social Media Sharing Scripts

Many websites are slowed down by the amount of options to share a post or page to social media. Each social media script you add will slow down your site’s loading time. Think of your audience – do you need social media options for every page? Probably not. Minimize your site’s density by keeping social media scripts on pages where users are likely to share. Only include the platforms that your audience is using. Keeping more options than the big 5 (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google+) is unnecessary as most visitors will only share, if they share at all, on those platforms.