Web Hosting Speed

Getting your website to load and run fast should be a goal of all site owners. When considering speed issues, be sure to take into account both your web design and web hosting. Both sides can have a big impact on your website’s speed and potential audience.

I always hate going to a site and then having to wait while it loads—either with a partial screen or some percentage countdown 10% loaded, 20% loaded, and so on. I usually just move on or close the browser. While some might enjoy glitzy multimedia home pages, I think the majority of web users just want to get the information they’re seeking as quick as possible. I’m definitely not a big fan of Flash. Also, eliminating multiple overly large images is another way to decrease site load time.

A good way to see what items on your site are taking up the most bandwidth is to launch your web stat program like Webalizer and take a look at the Top 10 Items by Kbytes. By identifying what is being too much of a drag on your site’s speed, you can then make changes or eliminate these items.

On the web hosting side of things, you might want to choose a hosting company that has a data center closer to your area. While not a guarantee of faster speed, this usually helps. One of the best examples of data center location choice comes from InMotion Hosting. They utilize what they call their Max Speed Zone Technology to provide faster web site performance. You can learn more about it by visiting the InMotion website.

A number of other web hosting providers also have demo or test areas on their sites where you can test certain features out. I would certainly use these as a base to see how well they perform speed-wise. After all, if they can’t get their own sites to run smoothly, chances are pretty good if they host your site, it isn’t going to run exactly lightning fast.