Darren Addy
EF5
There are a HECK of a lot of chaser blogs out there (and why not, they are fun!) , so I thought I would start this thread for people to suggest ways to improve chaser blogs and ask questions.
I'd like to start with a few tips and observations of my own:
Tip #1: Nobody like a slow page load. So how do you test to see if your blog is a slow loader? First of all, install the free Firefox web browser (version 3 or higher). Besides being a great browser for other reasons, Firefox can install useful "extensions" and you need one now called Firebug. Get it here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843
If you go to that URL using Firefox, just click on the "Add to Firefox" button and follow the simple instructions. When Firefox restarts you will see a little bug down in the lower right corner of your browser window.
So here's how you use it. Go to a page you want to test (like your blog's home page). Click the Firebug to open the NET tab. Now reload the page. What you'll see is each individual component of your page and how long it takes to load. Like this:
Now you can see just how much each item on your page "costs" in download time. (Obviously, the exact amount of time depends on each users connection speed, and can vary from request to request, but doing it a few times will give you a good idea of the "speed bumps" on your page.
Tip 2: Pre-size your pictures and choose the most economical file format and quality that still gives you the image quality you demand.
You'd be surprised how many people upload a big image and then have it resized in the HTML. It will look OK, but why would you make the user download a bigger file than you need them to see? The download time difference can be substantial. Figure out how big an image you want to display and resize it. If it is a JPEG, see how much difference you see when you save it at a lower "Quality" level. For monitor display, I find a JPG quality of 5 is find for web page use, in most cases. YMMV, but the point is don't save it in a higher quality than you can SEE A DIFFERENCE that matters to you.
Tip 3: Eliminate page elements that have too high of a "cost" in download time. There are lots of widgets and stuff out there and it is easy to get your page so loaded with them that pretty soon nobody wants to wait for the page to load to see them. Again, there is no right or wrong, and it is YOUR SITE. You can do what you want with it, but if you want readers and aren't just doing this to entertain yourself, then you will want to make some informed decisions in this regard.
That's just to get the ball rolling. I'll probably have a few more. Feel free to discuss and add your own suggestions in this thread.
I'd like to start with a few tips and observations of my own:
Tip #1: Nobody like a slow page load. So how do you test to see if your blog is a slow loader? First of all, install the free Firefox web browser (version 3 or higher). Besides being a great browser for other reasons, Firefox can install useful "extensions" and you need one now called Firebug. Get it here: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1843
If you go to that URL using Firefox, just click on the "Add to Firefox" button and follow the simple instructions. When Firefox restarts you will see a little bug down in the lower right corner of your browser window.
So here's how you use it. Go to a page you want to test (like your blog's home page). Click the Firebug to open the NET tab. Now reload the page. What you'll see is each individual component of your page and how long it takes to load. Like this:
Now you can see just how much each item on your page "costs" in download time. (Obviously, the exact amount of time depends on each users connection speed, and can vary from request to request, but doing it a few times will give you a good idea of the "speed bumps" on your page.
Tip 2: Pre-size your pictures and choose the most economical file format and quality that still gives you the image quality you demand.
You'd be surprised how many people upload a big image and then have it resized in the HTML. It will look OK, but why would you make the user download a bigger file than you need them to see? The download time difference can be substantial. Figure out how big an image you want to display and resize it. If it is a JPEG, see how much difference you see when you save it at a lower "Quality" level. For monitor display, I find a JPG quality of 5 is find for web page use, in most cases. YMMV, but the point is don't save it in a higher quality than you can SEE A DIFFERENCE that matters to you.
Tip 3: Eliminate page elements that have too high of a "cost" in download time. There are lots of widgets and stuff out there and it is easy to get your page so loaded with them that pretty soon nobody wants to wait for the page to load to see them. Again, there is no right or wrong, and it is YOUR SITE. You can do what you want with it, but if you want readers and aren't just doing this to entertain yourself, then you will want to make some informed decisions in this regard.
That's just to get the ball rolling. I'll probably have a few more. Feel free to discuss and add your own suggestions in this thread.
