Given the time and trouble it takes to get a site up on the Web, one would think that most sites would be designed with quick performance and usability in mind. Fortunately, some are; remarkably, some still are not. I'd like to present a few examples here of both the good and the bad, in order to highlight how implementing good practices when building a site will help make sure users don't doze off while waiting for your site to load. But first, consider the main content factors affecting site performance.

Content Factors That Affect Site Performance

Here is a list of things that affect site performance, and therefore affect down load times.

File Size

A commonly accepted size for page content (images and text) is 40 kilobytes (KB) . It is not uncommon for sites to be around 100 KB (for instance, drugstore.com's), but the fastest-loading sites, such as Yahoo!'s, are even smaller than 40 KB. Obviously, carefully managing page file sizes will help keep your site download time speedy.

Locally vs. Remotely Stored Image Content

When images are stored on a remote server (a server other than the one serving up most of the page), the entire URL request process takes place to obtain those images (for example, TCP/IP handshaking, page setup, content access and transfer, and so on). This process is subject to delays that occur between the remote and local servers, which invariably result in slow download times. So whenever possible, store your images locally. For example, Amazon.com is a fast-loading site. Part of the reason is that Amazon has minimized the remote image content on its pages.

Flash Animation and Embedded Objects

Flash has a pretty bad reputation among Web performance experts: Search engine ranking experts say it can be detrimental to getting sites indexed by search engine spiders; usability experts talk of how frustrating it can be for the user; and I'm going to tell you it can slow your site download time to a crawl. Use it judiciously, if at all.

Third-Party Components (Such as Banner Ads)

As is the case with remotely served images, third-party components on your Web page (for example, content served from Web servers other than your own, such as a banner ads) can be hazardous to download speed. You can only monitor the performance of your own server(s); you have no control over remote servers where the banner ads are located.

You can evaluate how well your own site follows these four guidelines by using WebPartner's free Instacheck tool. Aside from generating a snapshot view of site data that compares your site's download time to the download times of WebPartner's Top 30 index of e-commerce sites, Instacheck will generate graphs of file sizes and download times by component (text, images, applets, or embedded objects), to help you determine which parts of your Web site are slowing your page download times.
 

Your Own Professional Site in less than 48 Hours

You too can have a website like this with all our products installed.  Don't waste time typing descriptions and linking images to your site.  We can generate a professional looking website in less than 48 hours.  You have complete control.  Uses your domain name.  You can add, edit or delete products from the database.  You also get free upgraded membership and website submission packages.  

• What you get:  

• Professional Looking Web Site

• Products to sell (over 500 at 75% off retail)

• Complete control as to what's on your site, Add your own, edit or delete any product(s) you wish

• Submission of your site to over 800,000 search engines and directories all for this great low price. 

• Upgraded Membership

• and much more....

  
(USERID: demo   PASS:  demo )

DETAILS....