Website speed is crucial for the success of any online business in today's fast-paced digital world. Sitecore is a powerful content management system that enables businesses to create and manage digital experiences across multiple channels. However, with great power comes great responsibility, and optimizing Sitecore's website speed is essential for providing an excellent user experience, improving search engine rankings, and increasing conversions. In this article, QEdge will discuss the methods you can use to improve your Sitecore website speed and provide you with tips for maintaining optimal performance.
Why should we care about site speed?
Site speed is essential for providing an excellent user experience, improving search engine rankings, and increasing conversions. A slow-loading website can drive visitors away, increase bounce rates, and reduce engagement. In addition, search engines like Google consider page speed as a ranking factor, so optimizing your site speed can improve your SEO efforts.
Sitecore seo tips
- SUBMIT AN XML SITEMAP
An XML sitemap is a file that outlines all your site's pages to make Google's job easier. Register with Google Search Console, then submit your sitemap. This gives Google a roadmap to discover and prioritize your content. - REQUEST INDEXING THROUGH THE SEARCH CONSOLE
In Google Search Console, you can manually request Googlebot to crawl and index specific pages or the entire domain. Use this to index key pages faster after publishing content. - PUBLISH MORE OPTIMIZED, HIGH-QUALITY CONTENT
Creating more pages and blog posts builds authority and offers more keywords to potentially rank for. But focus on expertise-building content written for humans, not just keywords. - GET MORE REFERRING DOMAINS LINKING TO YOU
The quantity, authority, and relevancy of external sites linking to you signals trust and relevance. Reach out to high-quality sites in your niche to build credible backlinks through guest posts, resource links, etc. - REDUCE SITE CRAWL BUDGET IN GOOGLE SEARCH CONSOLE
On very large sites, you can restrict Googlebot with the "Crawl-Budget" tag. This forces Googlebot to index fewer pages per visit. Set new content to crawl-budget-free so it gets indexed faster. - FIX TECHNICAL SEO ERRORS IMPACTING CRAWLABILITY
Site speed, security protocols, structured data markup, site architecture, meta tags, and other technical factors heavily impact indexing and crawlability. Tighten up your technical SEO foundations. - TARGET LOCAL SEARCH TRAFFIC
Focus on optimizing for geographic keywords and local intent if you want to rank in specific cities, states, or countries. Creating location-optimized content tailored for local searchers is powerful.
Understanding Sitecore Performance
Before we dive into the methods to improve Sitecore website speed, it's crucial to understand how Sitecore performance impacts website speed. Sitecore is a complex system that runs on the .NET framework, and its performance can be affected by several factors, including server hardware, software, and configuration.
One of the critical components that can improve Sitecore performance and website speed is caching. Sitecore caching works by storing frequently accessed data in memory, which reduces the number of database queries required to load a page. This can significantly improve page load times and reduce server load.
Methods to improve Sitecore website speed
1. Minimize HTTP requests
One of the most effective ways to improve website speed is to reduce the number of HTTP requests. HTTP requests are made when a browser requests files, scripts, and images from the server. By minimizing the number of files, scripts, and images on your website, you can reduce the number of HTTP requests required to load a page, which can significantly improve page load times.
To minimize HTTP requests, you can:
- Combine multiple CSS and JavaScript files into a single file.
- Remove unnecessary images and scripts from your website.
- Use CSS sprites to reduce the number of image requests.
2. Optimize images
Images are an essential component of any website, but they can also slow down your website if they are not optimized correctly. Large images can take a long time to load, which can significantly impact page load times and user experience.
To optimize images, you can:
- Compress images to reduce their file size without sacrificing quality.
- Use image compression tools or plugins to automate the process.
- Use responsive images that are optimized for different screen sizes.
3. Enable caching
Caching is an effective way to improve website speed by reducing server load and improving page load times. There are several types of caching that you can enable to improve website performance, including:
- Browser caching: This type of caching stores static files like images, CSS, and JavaScript files in a browser's cache, which can significantly reduce page load times for repeat visitors.
- Server-side caching: This type of caching stores frequently accessed data in memory, which can reduce the number of database queries required to load a page.
- Content delivery network (CDN) caching: A CDN stores website content across multiple servers worldwide, which can significantly reduce page load times for visitors in different geographic locations.
4. Use a content delivery network (CDN)
A CDN can help distribute your website's content across multiple servers, which can reduce the time it takes to load pages. By using a CDN, website content can be cached on servers located closer to the user, which can significantly reduce page load times.
To use a CDN, you can:
- Sign up for a CDN service like Cloudflare or Akamai.
- Configure your Sitecore website to use the CDN service.
- Monitor your website's performance to ensure that the CDN is working correctly.
5. Implement the lazy loading
Lazy loading is a technique where images and videos only load when they are needed. By implementing lazy loading, you can significantly reduce page load times, especially for pages with a lot of images or videos.
To implement lazy loading, you can:
- Use a lazy loading plugin or tool to automate the process.
- Configure your Sitecore website to use lazy loading.
- Test your website's performance to ensure that lazy loading is working correctly.
6. Optimize code
Optimizing your website's code can significantly improve website speed. By minimizing the size of CSS and JavaScript files, removing unnecessary code, and using code compression techniques, you can reduce the size of files that need to be loaded, which can improve page load times.
To optimize your website's code, you can:
- Minify JavaScript and CSS files to reduce their size.
- Remove unnecessary code and comments from your website's code.
- Use code compression techniques like Gzip compression to reduce the size of files that need to be loaded.
7. Use a performance monitoring tool
Using a performance monitoring tool like Sitecore Experience Analytics can help you identify performance issues and optimize your website's speed. Sitecore Experience Analytics provides real-time data on website performance, including page load times, bounce rates, and user engagement, which can help you identify areas for improvement.
To use Sitecore Experience Analytics, you can:
- Install the Sitecore Experience Analytics module on your Sitecore website.
- Configure the module to collect performance data.
- Analyze the data to identify performance issues and opportunities for optimization.
Sitecore-specific optimizations
In addition to the methods discussed above, there are several Sitecore-specific optimizations that you can implement to improve website speed. These include:
- Enabling page output caching: By enabling page output caching, you can cache the output of Sitecore pages, which can significantly reduce page load times.
- Optimizing SQL queries: Sitecore uses SQL databases to store content and data. By optimizing SQL queries, you can reduce the time it takes to retrieve data from the database, which can improve website speed.
- Reducing the number of renderings: Renderings are components that display content on Sitecore pages. By reducing the number of renderings on a page, you can reduce the time it takes to load the page, which can improve website speed.
8. Testing and monitoring
Testing and monitoring website speed regularly are essential to ensure that your website remains fast and responsive. In addition to Sitecore Experience Analytics, there are several tools that you can use to test and monitor website speed, including:
- Google PageSpeed Insights: This tool analyzes website speed and provides recommendations for improvement.
- Pingdom: This tool tests website speed from multiple geographic locations and provides detailed performance data.
Conclusion
Optimizing your Sitecore website speed is an ongoing process that requires constant monitoring and adjustment. By implementing the methods and tips discussed in this article, you can significantly improve website speed and performance, providing your visitors with a fast and responsive digital experience. Remember to test and monitor your website regularly, make adjustments as needed, and continue to optimize your website speed to stay ahead of the competition. By prioritizing website speed, you can improve user experience, increase conversions, and achieve your online business goals.
If you have any questions, contact us today to learn about our Sitecore FAQs Uncovered: Top 8 Questions Answered for 2023. Our team of Sitecore Certified Developers, Architects, and Support Engineers have over 16 years of Sitecore experience, and we can’t wait to help you with your site. Feel free to contact us on QEdge LinkedIn.
