Fast Loading Websites

As more internet users subscribe to DSL and high speed cable, faster downloading sites are becoming less problematic. Nevertheless, any opportunity to make a site fast to download should be implemented. There are still many users with dial-up connections and you can't afford to lose any potential traffic.

Download Speed

When you visit a web page, your computer must download all the files and graphics associated with it. As the total amount of supporting files in a page goes up, the total "weight", or size of the page increases. Good designers try to keep their pages lean and mean. This page, for example, is only 6K in total. It should load quickly.

Speed Matters

Yahoo, at one time, was a more popular search engine than Google when their site was simple. Yahoo's pages are so busy now, that they have slipped below Google in popularity as a preferred search tool. Google.com is one of the most successful search engine sites on the Internet. Google's success, for the most part, can be attributted to the fact that it is fast loading, easy to use, and uncomplicated.

Factors That Influence Load Time

(from slow to fast)

• Movies
• Animation
• Sound
• Photos
• Complex Graphics
• Simple Graphics
• Page Text

Text adds virtually no weight to a page. The more you can accomplish with text and simple graphics, the faster your site will load.

Design With Focus and Purpose

Keep your pages light and fast. If your business is travel or entertainment, then a site with Flash animation and sound may be appropriate, but it should still be kept as lean as possible. The most effective way to ensure a fast loading site is by implementing CSS while designing for a purpose, keeping your audience in mind, staying focused on your business and making the site user-friendly.