If someone visits your website, the browser will make a lot of requests. These HTTP requests directly affect how quickly a web page loads.
In general, fewer HTTP requests translate to a website’s faster loading.
The speed of loading websites is now a significant index of search engine rankings. On average, the loading time for Google’s top 10 results is only 1.65 seconds.
What Are HTTP Requests?
When you create websites, they have numerous parts. You will have the various images that you can use on your site, the CSS stylesheets that determine the appearance of content, the JavaScript files that give you all that fantastic functionality, and more.
When someone visits your website, their browser requires them to download all the resources needed for the webpage from your server. To do this, it sends HTTP requests to your server for every resource.
For instance, it could read, “Hey server, I need that coolimage.png file” and “Hey server, I also need the CSS stylesheet for that contact form plugin.” The server will then reply to these requests by sending the files requested.
When the browser receives these files, it’s able to build the website page for your visitors. Of course, it’s not that simple. However, this is the principle.
HTTP, abbreviated as Hypertext Transfer Protocol, describes the way these computers (the browsers of your visitors as well as your website server) communicate.
The most important thing to remember is that every element is a distinct HTTP request. For instance, If you have five images on a website, the browser must create five distinct HTTP requests for each image.
In the same way, if you install four WordPress plugins and each includes their own CSS stylesheet, your visitor’s browser will have to make four distinct HTTP requests, each one for the stylesheets of the plugins.
Eliminate images that aren’t needed.
- As we’ve discussed, more files means more requests The aim is to reduce the number of images and files that a website page needs to load. Reducing HTTP requests will speed up page loading.
- Cleanse your media library and remove any images that aren’t needed. You’ll be shocked to find numerous images that you do not even use anymore. For instance, images that are used on websites that are no longer in use.
- Do not sacrifice images to reduce HTTP server requests. The goal is to remove unwanted images and not to reduce the amount of images you typically use.
After you have completed the process of removing images, go through and eliminate any other unnecessary files. For instance, it could be embedded videos or an external social feed plugin for media.
Discover the various elements that your website utilizes and then select the ones that aren’t required but consume your resources. Eliminate them and increase the speed of loading for your website.
1. Reduce the Size of Images.
You might have deleted a fair number of images. However, there remain plenty of photos. It’s impossible to eliminate them. It could be a better idea.
The next step is to minimize the size of the images you intend to make use of on your website pages.
You can make use of plugins such as WP Smush and EWWW optimizer to reduce the size of the images you are using. Additionally, it is strongly recommended to use web-friendly pictures. For instance, make use of .jpg images over .png whenever you can.
The reduction of the size of images is one of the most fundamental methods to speed up the loading time of webpages.
Also, it is recommended to use image caching to reduce server load and improve the speed of websites. Watch the video below to find out more about image caching.
2. Implement the Lazy Loading Technique.
You must have heard about the technique of lazy loading, isn’t it?
If you have yet to be aware of it, here’s an overview of the concept and how it operates.
A web page may contain several images. When a person visits the page, your site will send HTTP server requests to all the images. Depending on how large your website is, this could cause it to slow down.
But what is the case if the user has never planned to scroll to the end of the page to be able to see all the images?
The technique of lazy loading is a solution to the issue.
Instead of sending inefficient HTTP requests, this method is only sending server requests when the user scrolls towards an image.
Utilizing resources efficiently using lazy loading techniques can drastically reduce the amount of HTTP requests and increase the speed of loading for your website.
3. Don’t Overlook any Irrelevant Assets on the Page.
In the absence of relevant elements on a website page, it is similar to lazy loading.
The slow loading process, which we’ve just mentioned, causes delays in sending server requests for images not viewed.
Additionally, it is possible to install plugins such as WP Asset Cleanup Plugin, which will detect plugins and files within your theme, but only on a particular page. Once these files are detected, the plugin will block the loading of these files within the webpage.
This is another effective way to reduce the amount of HTTP server requests without impacting the performance of your website.
4. Minifying CSS and JavaScript Files
Minification is a crucial technique used to improve the speed of loading the website.
It’s about removing code that isn’t necessary to run, such as white space, characters that are not needed, comments, etc. -removed from CSS, JavaScript, and HTML files.
5. Combining CSS with JavaScript Files
Similar to magnification, combining CSS as well as JavaScript files is an excellent method to reduce the overall size of your site.
It is a good idea to merge all of your CSS and JavaScript files into a separate file for each. For instance, if a website includes four external JavaScript files and 3 external CSS files, that could mean seven requests.
However, when you combine the three CSS files together into a single CSS file and then combine the 4 JS files into one file, your site will only send 2 requests instead of seven.
Combining and reducing CSS with JavaScript files is an excellent method to cut down on the amount of HTTP requests and improve the speed of loading on your website.
6. Eliminating the Need for External Scripts
It is recommended to also identify the other applications that are contributing to requests. You can do this within the Google Chrome Network panel.
It is not unusual for scripts from outside to boost the amount of HTTP requests. For instance, it could be a social feed plugin from Twitter, Gravatar, or marketing scripts that are no longer being used and adding a few seconds to the loading time.
Identifying the specific third-party integrations and external scripts slows your website down. It allows you to make an informed decision about which assets you want to keep and which ones to sacrifice.
7. Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
Suppose you need help keeping the volume of HTTP requests to a manageable level. In that case, We recommend making use of a content delivery network (CDN).
A CDN is a collection of servers situated in various parts of the globe. CDNs store static information on your site and then serve the cached content each time the user visits your website. Cache content is served by the server closest to the user’s location.
Whether you decide to make use of a CDN or not is contingent on a variety of factors. The most crucial factor is the type of traffic you receive, whether locally or internationally. If the majority of your website’s visitors are local or international, a content delivery system is optional.
If visitors from all across the globe visit your site, A CDN could be beneficial to speed up the loading time of your site.
Conclusion
HubSpot recommends that you limit the amount of files to between 10 to 30. This might not be feasible for large websites that have numerous images, content, and high-quality videos; however, it’s an excellent benchmark for the majority of websites.
When it comes to web design, there are many players in the game. But when it comes to creating an efficient website there aren’t many with that skill. Company’s like KERYAR focus more on how your website will look better while performing at its best.
Find out precisely how many HTTP requests your website receives and then track it through the process by carefully analyzing each component.
This will allow you to reduce the amount of HTTP requests, improve the speed of loading your website, and improve engagement, retention metrics, conversion rates, and sales online.
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