Today’s consumers (all of us!) have been spoiled by the instant gratification of “on-demand” products and services. If a website takes more than an agonizing two to three seconds (!) to load, chances are the visitor will bounce from your website.
Not only that, but Google penalized websites that take long to load too. This means that slower websites are less likely to rank high in search engine results.
Losing potential customers because your website takes a second longer to load can add up to thousands of dollars in lost sales. And that’s definitely no bueno. But thankfully, there are a few things you can do to boost your Wix website speed.
First, you should check your website’s current loading time. You can use the Wix Speed Test tool for this. If your test result is less than desirable, then read on for some best practices for boosting your site’s speed and performance.
1. Images
JPG image files are better for web use than PNG since they tend to be smaller. Ensure that you optimize your image sizes so that they load quickly. Fortunately, Wix users don’t have to worry about this extra step because Wix automatically resizes and optimizes all images.
2. Videos The good news is that videos are super engaging on your website. The bad news is that they can slow down your website… even the ones you embed from social media. My recommendation is that you try not to use videos above the fold. That’s the area of the page visible to visitors without scrolling.
3. Fonts
Yes, even your font choices have an impact on your website’s speed. Uploading and using custom fonts on your Wix website may also cause your website to load more slowly.
Stick to two or three fonts. As a Wix website design expert, I also recommend this from a design perspective. Too many fonts on a page can lack cohesion and be distracting.
4. Animations and Special Effects
These can be cute and add pizzazz to your page but not at the expense of a speedy website. Text and images load faster than animations and special effects so use them sparingly and try to avoid using them above the fold on your website.
5. Third-Party Apps and iFrames
Third-party apps are things like embedded YouTube videos and social feeds and they take longer to load. Unfortunately, they cannot be optimized because they are hosted externally.
If you think these third-party apps might be behind the slow speed of your website, Wix suggests creating a dedicated page for them as a workaround. You’ll just need to create a link button for them on your homepage.
6. Homepage Design
Given all of the above, focus on optimizing the loading time of your homepage above the fold. When people land on your homepage, they would get a quick snapshot of key information to draw them in while the rest of your page loads below the fold.
7. Mobile Site
Sometimes you may find that your site loads fine on your desktop but slowly on mobile. Wix users can optimize their websites in the Wix mobile editor, using the same best practices shared above.
Happy website creating! Need help? Let me help you embrace your creative side by teaching you how to create a stunning - and blazingly fast - Wix website. Sign up for my Wix Website Mini e-course.