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Images are one of the most important components to a website’s performance. When people visit your site, you want them to quickly understand what they’re looking at and how it relates to what they’re doing.
Too many images can prevent someone from leaving a comment or buying something, so your goal should be to use images only when they help get the message across.
That said, there are ways to add images while still keeping your site speed efficient. Reducing the number of images you use is also helpful since more pictures mean bigger files.
Here are some strategies for reducing the amount of image-based content on your site.
Many products have samples of colors; these are often represented by the product color palette, which uses different shades to indicate the available colors. By using predefined colors, you avoid loading new images with high bandwidth and large file sizes.
You may also display stock photos that represent the products you sell. To save time, download these from a public source such as Wikimedia Commons. Then paste the photo into your store, either inside the single page or under the corresponding product gallery.
Finally, ensure that all comments placed on your site are brief, informative and not promotional. Someone who searches for information will also look to purchase something.
There’s an app for that! It’s called Optimizer by Magna Apps. Here are some useful tips from the developer about using this tool to improve your store performance.
There are two ways to perform A/B tests:
You can either create different pages that all lead to the same place, one version of which gets more traffic or you can have several pages that all lead to the same place, but contain different versions of the page layout.
The first option is better for conversions since it keeps customers on the same page and reduces the number of steps in the process. The second option is better for navigation since visitors will be able to see each variation of the design without landing on a homepage featuring a big chunk of text.
Here is how you do it:
On the interface, there is a feature called “Recent Changes.” This is where you find out what changes were made to the template recently. Before taking any action, read through the list and decide what change you want to test.
Another important setting to tweak is the name of the new product after choosing the starting page as the base template. Namely, choose another page under the newly created section (named something like “Product Pages”) and set it as the main index page.
In order to compare the two versions, you need to make them both active. To do so, click on the button labeled “Live Update.” You will be taken to the updated page where variations can now be tested.
Once you open the live update test module, you will see several options listed. Set the ones you want to test and only those will be applied to the current front-page variation. Then, track results and go back again to Live Updates to continue testing till you reach perfection.
Another common cause of website speed issues is ad blocks. Many bloggers set up custom ad spots in their blogs. These are usually placed between paragraphs or sections, called hotspots.
When you run a blog site with several articles, there may be multiple instances of ad boxes across your sites, including footers, at the bottom, right, left and/or top of an article.
Each time you run a blog post that has one or more advertisements, it can take away from the overall loading speed of your website.
If you have installed Google Adsense, Yahoo Affiliates for example, then go to settings-->adsense. There you can customize your ads. Then click “load new ads” because some things about your advertising already need to be updated.
Does this sound like something you could do?
Google announced that their webs design was optimized for speed. This means your site should load more quickly than others.
If you sell products, they may even give your page a rating after testing various versions of your website. These tests were done to see which pages were faster and which weren’t. Based on these test results, along with other metrics (such as pageration time), they then gave each page a score.
A higher number indicates better performance. If your score is below five, there are several things you can do to make it quicker.
You can read about some of those options in the next section.
More people are turning to YouTube instead of buying products from websites. If you’re not showing videos that demonstrate how to use your product or service, then people will choose another site that does offer tutorial videos.
Without video tutorials, visitors may feel like they can’t find out how to use your app or website. Even if those followers don’t end up purchasing anything else from you, failing to promote your tutorials may reduce traffic to your store.
Consistently maintaining and promoting your tutorial system is also important. You want customers to know there’s a place for them in your shop. When someone searches for information about your brand, it should be easy to see what questions they have and where they might look for an answer.
If your business doesn’t have any tutorial content, consider hiring someone who has some skill as a videographer to create videos using good cinematography. Then send these videos to bloggers and other web publishers to put up for viewers.
When you have a website, you need to understand that people can access it from anywhere around the world. You must use platforms like WordPress or Shopify to put up a good online presence.
But more important than that is your advertising effort. People love free stuff! So how do you advertise? Pay-per-click ads are very effective.
However, they are expensive.
You can invest in pay-per-click ads, but also look at other ways to get traffic. Reddit posts are great for generating traffic.
Twitter gives you both paid and unpaid options for getting new followers. Facebook does not give you unlimited views, you can buy extra views.
Believe it or not, your website is probably slower than you think. You might believe that your beautiful, newly created web design with all of its unique features makes your site fast, but that’s just how it appears to users.
But if you look closer, you’ll see there are lots of hidden issues that contribute to slow loading times.
Each time you load a page into your browser, your computer has to do several tasks. It checks for any updates to your browsing software, it loads font files, it starts running scripts for layout styles, then finally it displays the page onto the screen for you to view.
If you make many pages on your site, each page has to repeat these same steps for every single thing displayed on the page.
So why does everything take so long? Well, let’s run through everything that needs to happen when you click on a link in an email, scroll down a webpage, or open a facebook message.
You’ve got four choices here: use image content, use video content, include audio content, or create a special form using html and css. If you don’t know what you’re doing, uploading and preparing graphics can be extremely difficult and cause them to fail.
Don’t worry though, as we’re going to focus on coding videos directly into your site which cut out the need for photos/videos and also reduced loading times.
Branding is an important element of any business’s image, both online and off. Your brand tells people who you are and what you have to offer.
Your shopify store includes several default themes and templates, but if you don’t use them, try to find something that matches your style.
If you’re not using custom graphics or logos, now is the time to create those. With each order placed, you will get a chance to highlight your work and help strengthen your brand identity.
Brand awareness starts with the basics – the logo you use, the colors you choose, and the materials you use. Then it extends to the website itself, including the layout, design, and most importantly, the speed at which users navigate through the site.
The faster your website is, the more likely people will stay and engage with everything you have to say. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee traffic, except by creating better content and more engaging pages. But having a fast and easy-to-use website can certainly help!
Images are one of the most important components to a website’s performance. When people visit your site, you want them to quickly understand what they’re looking at and how it relates to what they’re doing. Too many images can prevent someone from leaving a comment or buying something, so your goal should be to use images only when they help get the message across. That said, there are ways to add images while still keeping your site speed efficient. Reducing the number of images you use is also helpful since more pictures mean bigger files. Here are some strategies for reducing the amount of image-based content on your site. Many products have samples of colors; these are often represented by the product color palette, which uses different shades to indicate the available colors. By using predefined colors, you avoid loading new images with high bandwidth and large file sizes. You may also display stock photos that represent the products you sell. To save time, download these from a public source such as Wikimedia Commons. Then paste the photo into your store, either inside the single page or under the corresponding product gallery. Finally, ensure that all comments placed on your site are brief, informative and not promotional. Someone who searches for information will also look to purchase something. There’s an app for that! It’s called Optimizer by Magna Apps. Here are some useful tips from the developer about using this tool to improve your store performance. There are two ways to perform A/B tests: You can either create different pages that all lead to the same place, one version of which gets more traffic or you can have several pages that all lead to the same place, but contain different versions of the page layout. The first option is better for conversions since it keeps customers on the same page and reduces the number of steps in the process. The second option is better for navigation since visitors will be able to see each variation of the design without landing on a homepage featuring a big chunk of text. Here is how you do it: On the interface, there is a feature called “Recent Changes.” This is where you find out what changes were made to the template recently. Before taking any action, read through the list and decide what change you want to test. Another important setting to tweak is the name of the new product after choosing the starting page as the base template. Namely, choose another page under the newly created section (named something like “Product Pages”) and set it as the main index page. In order to compare the two versions, you need to make them both active. To do so, click on the button labeled “Live Update.” You will be taken to the updated page where variations can now be tested. Once you open the live update test module, you will see several options listed. Set the ones you want to test and only those will be applied to the current front-page variation. Then, track results and go back again to Live Updates to continue testing till you reach perfection. Another common cause of website speed issues is ad blocks. Many bloggers set up custom ad spots in their blogs. These are usually placed between paragraphs or sections, called hotspots. When you run a blog site with several articles, there may be multiple instances of ad boxes across your sites, including footers, at the bottom, right, left and/or top of an article. Each time you run a blog post that has one or more advertisements, it can take away from the overall loading speed of your website. If you have installed Google Adsense, Yahoo Affiliates for example, then go to settings-->adsense. There you can customize your ads. Then click “load new ads” because some things about your advertising already need to be updated. Does this sound like something you could do?Too many images in my shop
I use A/B testing with products
I have a lot of ads running
Few users my site
Google announced that their webs design was optimized for speed. This means your site should load more quickly than others.
If you sell products, they may even give your page a rating after testing various versions of your website. These tests were done to see which pages were faster and which weren’t. Based on these test results, along with other metrics (such as pageration time), they then gave each page a score.
A higher number indicates better performance. If your score is below five, there are several things you can do to make it quicker.
You can read about some of those options in the next section.
More people are turning to YouTube instead of buying products from websites. If you’re not showing videos that demonstrate how to use your product or service, then people will choose another site that does offer tutorial videos.
Without video tutorials, visitors may feel like they can’t find out how to use your app or website. Even if those followers don’t end up purchasing anything else from you, failing to promote your tutorials may reduce traffic to your store.
Consistently maintaining and promoting your tutorial system is also important. You want customers to know there’s a place for them in your shop. When someone searches for information about your brand, it should be easy to see what questions they have and where they might look for an answer.
If your business doesn’t have any tutorial content, consider hiring someone who has some skill as a videographer to create videos using good cinematography. Then send these videos to bloggers and other web publishers to put up for viewers.
When you have a website, you need to understand that people can access it from anywhere around the world. You must use platforms like WordPress or Shopify to put up a good online presence.
But more important than that is your advertising effort. People love free stuff! So how do you advertise? Pay-per-click ads are very effective.
However, they are expensive.
You can invest in pay-per-click ads, but also look at other ways to get traffic. Reddit posts are great for generating traffic.
Twitter gives you both paid and unpaid options for getting new followers. Facebook does not give you unlimited views, you can buy extra views.
Believe it or not, your website is probably slower than you think. You might believe that your beautiful, newly created web design with all of its unique features makes your site fast, but that’s just how it appears to users.
But if you look closer, you’ll see there are lots of hidden issues that contribute to slow loading times.
Each time you load a page into your browser, your computer has to do several tasks. It checks for any updates to your browsing software, it loads font files, it starts running scripts for layout styles, then finally it displays the page onto the screen for you to view.
If you make many pages on your site, each page has to repeat these same steps for every single thing displayed on the page.
So why does everything take so long? Well, let’s run through everything that needs to happen when you click on a link in an email, scroll down a webpage, or open a facebook message.
You’ve got four choices here: use image content, use video content, include audio content, or create a special form using html and css. If you don’t know what you’re doing, uploading and preparing graphics can be extremely difficult and cause them to fail.
Don’t worry though, as we’re going to focus on coding videos directly into your site which cut out the need for photos/videos and also reduced loading times.
Branding is an important element of any business’s image, both online and off. Your brand tells people who you are and what you have to offer.
Your shopify store includes several default themes and templates, but if you don’t use them, try to find something that matches your style.
If you’re not using custom graphics or logos, now is the time to create those. With each order placed, you will get a chance to highlight your work and help strengthen your brand identity.
Brand awareness starts with the basics – the logo you use, the colors you choose, and the materials you use. Then it extends to the website itself, including the layout, design, and most importantly, the speed at which users navigate through the site.
The faster your website is, the more likely people will stay and engage with everything you have to say. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee traffic, except by creating better content and more engaging pages. But having a fast and easy-to-use website can certainly help!
Coming soon!
More info!