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home > speed > tweak > web-performance

The Psychology of Web Performance

Users experience psychological and physiological effects when interacting with web pages, experiencing frustration when not completing tasks and engagement at faster web sites. Learn how web page response times affect user psychology and behavior. more »

By website optimization on 30 May 2008 AM | | Comments (0)

Average Web Page Size Triples Since 2003

Within the last five years, the size of the average web page has more than tripled, and the number of external objects has nearly doubled. While broadband users have experienced somewhat faster response times, dial-up users have been left behind. more »

By website optimization on 28 Apr 2008 AM | | Comments (2)

Inline Images with Data URLs

Learn how to embed images into your web pages with data URLs. The data: URI scheme includes images directly into your XHTML pages using code instead of external files, saving valuable HTTP requests. more »

By website optimization on 28 Feb 2008 AM | | Comments (0)

The Cost of Banner Advertising on Web Performance

The cost of banner ads for the average website is about one-sixth more objects and one-third more latency. Learn how online advertising affects web page response times, user behavior, and satisfaction. more »

By website optimization on 31 Jan 2008 PM | | Comments (0)

Optimize Parallel Downloads to Minimize Object Overhead

With the average web page growing past 50 external objects, object overhead now dominates most web page delays. Increasing parallel downloads by using multiple hostnames can realize up to a 40% improvement in web page latency. more »

By website optimization on 26 Dec 2007 AM | | Comments (3)

Use Delta Encoding to Compress RSS newsfeeds

Learn how to use delta encoding to compress your RSS XML newsfeeds. Save bandwidth by using delta compression for your RSS files. more »

By website optimization on 30 Nov 2007 PM | | Comments (0)

Suture CSS or JavaScript Files to Reduce HTTP Requests

Learn how to "suture" CSS or JavaScript files together before delivery from the server to save HTTP requests. You'll have your organization and eat it too with this server-side approach to merging files. more »

By website optimization on 31 Oct 2007 PM | | Comments (0)

CSS Sprites: How Yahoo.com and AOL.com Improve Web Performance

Learn how AOL and Yahoo! use CSS sprites to improve performance for their busy home pages. CSS sprites save HTTP requests by using CSS positioning to selectively display composite background images. To maximize accessibility and usability, CSS sprites are best used for icons or decorative effects. more »

By website optimization on 26 Sep 2007 AM | | Comments (6)

Mono-Image CSS Rollovers

Learn how to create menu rollovers with different graphic backgrounds with one image. Save HTTP requests by combining on and off images into one mini-sprite and position with CSS. more »

By website optimization on 31 Aug 2007 PM | | Comments (3)

Web Video Optimization Tips

Optimizing web videos has become more important as the use and size of videos has increased on the Web. Learn some best practices to help optimize your videos. more »

By website optimization on 29 Jun 2007 AM | | Comments (0)

Home Page Usability and Credibility Survey

A usability survey revealed that high growth companies are not evaluating and improving their home page designs in a systematic way. By comparing the home pages of the Fortune 30 against Inc Magazine's fastest growing companies, researchers from Minnesota State University found the Fortune 30 had a usability score over 36% higher than the fast growing companies. more »

By website optimization on 31 May 2007 PM | | Comments (0)

Update: Pro Ball Head Review

A solid ball head dampens sharpness-robbing vibration for sharper and smaller images and videos for the Web. Updated with the newest models, we compare some pro-level ball heads and offer some tips for sharper photographs. more »

By website optimization on 23 Apr 2007 AM | | Comments (4)

Replace GIF with PNG Images

PNGs are designed to be a more efficient, flexible, and patent-free replacement for GIFs. By replacing your GIFs with PNGs you can speed up your web pages and save bandwidth. more »

By website optimization on 31 Mar 2007 AM | | Comments (10)

Don't Let the Graphics Grinch Steal Your Christmas Bonus

Know what jolly old site owners get when they let their graphics get so plump they shake like a bowl full of jelly? A lump of coal for Christmas. Let our Rudolph guide your way to a merry Christmas and happy New Year with an inspirational rendering of 'Twas the night before Christmas. more »

By website optimization on 11 Dec 2006 PM | | Comments (0)

The Interactive Effects of Website Delay, Breadth, and Familiarity

A recent study examined whether website delay, breadth, and familiarity have interactive effects on user psychology and performance. A significant three-way interaction among all three factors showed that the ill effects of delay can be dampened by familiarity and breadth. Developers are urged to consider site familiarity, breadth, and delay together rather than separately. more »

By website optimization on 29 Nov 2006 AM | | Comments (0)

Use a Web Accelerator

We review google web accelerator to see how well it speeds up web browsing. Web accelerators speed up web browsers with look-ahead caching, http compression, and proxy servers. This tutorial includes webmaster information. more »

By website optimization on 25 Oct 2006 PM | | Comments (4)

Optimize PDF Files

We review Acrobat 8 Professional (pre-release) and PDF Enhancer 3.1 for optimizing PDF files. The new Acrobat features faster operations, smaller PDFs, a new interface, and the ability to combine different types of files into one PDF. Learn how to use PDF optimization tools to remove redundancies, subset and outline fonts, and compress text and images for faster downloads and higher user satisfaction. more »

By website optimization on 25 Sep 2006 AM | | Comments (72)

Clickstream Study Reveals Dynamic Web

A new browser study revealed a shift in how we interact with the Web. University of Hamburg researchers found the Web moving from static hypertext information to dynamic interactive services. Clickstream heatmaps and web page statistics show rapid interaction over smaller areas of the screen. The authors recommend that web developers create concise, flexible, and fast loading web pages to keep pace with the speed of web navigation. more »

By website optimization on 26 Jul 2006 AM | | Comments (18)

Highlight the Current Page with CSS: The Body ID/Class Method

This article shows how to automatically highlight menu items that correspond to the current page using CSS and XHTML. These "you are here" waypoints help orient users and improve usability. Using CSS avoids the need for complex scripting which simplifies maintenance and improves performance. more »

By website optimization on 30 Jun 2006 AM | | Comments (1)

Combine Images to Save HTTP Requests

Learn how to reduce the number of HTTP requests required by your web pages by combining adjacent images and optionally imagemapping the links. This tutorial shows both client and server side techniques you can use to save precious HTTP requests and speed up your site. more »

By website optimization on 31 May 2006 PM | | Comments (3)

Bookend Lists: Using CSS to Float a Masthead

Learn how to create that 'bookend' look with lists and CSS positioning. This CSS-layout technique saves a significant amount of XHTML code over tables. more »

By website optimization on 25 Feb 2006 AM | | Comments (9)

First Impressions Count in Website Design

Web designers have as little as 50 milliseconds to capture the interest of potential customers. Through the halo effect, first impressions can influence subsequent judgments of website credibility and buying decisions. more »

By website optimization on 17 Jan 2006 AM | | Comments (29)

Crop Images Contextually

Crop images contextually for faster downloads and higher impact. By cropping maximally and resizing you can convey meaning without slowing down your web pages. more »

By website optimization on 17 Dec 2004 AM | | Comments (3)

Refactor to Improve Code Design

Refactoring restructures your code into a more simplified or efficient form in a disciplined way. Refactoring software code improves its internal structure without changing external functionality for more efficient execution, faster download speed, and easier updates. more »

By website optimization on 24 Nov 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

Sink the Splash Pages

Skip intro splash pages degrade performance, increase bailout rates, and decrease your search engine rankings. Most importantly splash screens reduce web credibility with up to 71% traffic loss. more »

By website optimization on 9 Nov 2004 AM | | Comments (1)

Use Server Cache Control to Improve Performance

Configure your Apache server for more efficient caching to save bandwidth and improve web site performance. A web cache reduces latency and improves web site response times. more »

By website optimization on 23 Oct 2004 AM | | Comments (7)

Get a Dedicated Server Hosting Your Web Site

Upgrading to your own server improves performance, reliability, and control over your website. Andy King talks about his experience moving to a dedicated server for WebSiteOptimization.com. more »

By website optimization on 4 Oct 2004 AM | | Comments (4)

Abbreviate URLs with mod_rewrite

We look behind the screens at Yahoo and Webreference to see how using short abbreviated URLs and mod_rewrite can save space for maximum speed. more »

By website optimization on 13 Jul 2004 AM | | Comments (1)

Use an Optimization Tool

Web page analysis and optimization tools can help locate and minimize performance bottlenecks. They can improve accessibility, spelling, XHTML markup, and even search engine visibility. We survey the webpage optimization tool landscape. more »

By website optimization on 22 Jun 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

CSS: Use Shorthand Hex Colors

Shorthand hex notation substitutes 3-character color values for 6-character colors when each of the color channels is identical in an RRGGBB hex triplet. Shorthand hexadecimal colors can help optimize your style sheets, especially when combined with shorthand properties and grouping. more »

By website optimization on 14 Jun 2004 AM | | Comments (1)

Use Conditional Server Side Includes

Conditional SSI let you deliver customized content to different browsers and platforms without requiring additional HTTP requests. With conditional CSS, you can include additional styles for modern browsers, without upsetting older ones. more »

By website optimization on 7 Jun 2004 AM | | Comments (1)

Graphics: Blur Backgrounds for Optimized JPEGs

Background blurring reduces non-critical details to make the JPEG algorithm work more efficiently. Converting to Lab Color mode allows you to maximize blur for minimum file size. more »

By website optimization on 1 Jun 2004 PM | | Comments (1)

Graphics: Minimize Dithering

Dithering uses existing colors to strategically change pixels to minimize apparent banding. While dithering increases file size, when used in combination with lossy compression and weighted optimization, dithering can allow lower bit-depths for GIFs and PNGs. more »

By website optimization on 24 May 2004 PM | | Comments (2)

Graphics: Influence Histograms

Histogram influencing minimizes banding in GIFs and PNGs by weighting color palettes towards problem areas. Lower banding at lower bit-depths makes for smaller images. more »

By website optimization on 17 May 2004 PM | | Comments (2)

Graphics: Minimize Bit-Depth

Minimize the number of colors in GIFs and PNGs to optimize file size. Lower bit-depths mean smaller palettes and code widths, which makes for smaller images. more »

By website optimization on 10 May 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

CSS: Substitute CSS2 Menus

Substituting CSS2-styled lists for graphic menus and JavaScript can streamline your pages and make them more accessible. more »

By website optimization on 3 May 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

Graphics: Use Lossy Compression for Smaller GIFs and PNGs

Lossy compression lets you squeeze more bytes out of your GIFs and PNGs. Lossy compression increases identical pixel patterns to improve compression in indexed-color images. more »

By website optimization on 26 Apr 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

XHTML: Omit Redundant Classes and Default Attributes

Omitting redundant classes and default attributes shrinks xhtml code to speed page response times. Many tags and duplicate attributes can be safely removed with no change in appearance. more »

By website optimization on 18 Apr 2004 AM | | Comments (1)

XHTML: Layer Tables and Divs

By layering your content you can display useful content quickly to make your pages appear faster. Feedback can increase your users' pain threshold for delay. more »

By website optimization on 11 Apr 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

XHTML: Use Structural Markup

By using purely structural XHTML markup you can easily target your content with CSS selectors. more »

By website optimization on 4 Apr 2004 AM | | Comments (0)

Graphics: Use Weighted Optimization

Weighted optimization or regional compression applies different degrees of compression to different areas of your image. By varying the quality within images you can improve file size. more »

By website optimization on 28 Mar 2004 AM | | Comments (0)

Graphics: Choose the Right Image Format

Choosing the right image format is the first step in optimizing web graphics. Learn how to choose between the GIF, PNG, and JPEG formats for different image types. more »

By website optimization on 19 Mar 2004 AM | | Comments (0)

Multimedia: Use a Stable Tripod

A stable tripod creates sharper pictures and videos by damping out vibration. Sharper shots mean smaller multimedia destined for the Web. more »

By website optimization on 5 Mar 2004 PM | | Comments (1)

Multimedia: Use Image Stabilization

Image stabilization creates sharper pictures by damping vibration to avoid motion blur. Gyroscopic stabilizers steady cameras for sharper photographs and videos. more »

By website optimization on 24 Feb 2004 AM | | Comments (10)

Remove Whitespace

Whitespace removal eliminates unnecessary spaces, tabs, and returns in your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code for faster downloads. more »

By website optimization on 10 Feb 2004 AM | | Comments (3)

CSS: Use Descendant Selectors

Descendant selectors are an elegant way to apply styles to specific areas of your page while reducing the need to embed classes within elements. more »

By website optimization on 6 Feb 2004 PM | | Comments (0)

CSS: Use Type Selectors

High-level type selectors style identical elements in your document without the need for extra classes. more »

By website optimization on 28 Jan 2004 AM | | Comments (0)

JavaScript: Defer Execution

Defer execution of your JavaScripts with the defer attribute to speed initial content display. more »