Bigcommerce is a leading ecommerce platform that enables online merchants to set up and manage their online stores. However, with the ever-increasing competition in the ecommerce industry, it is important for businesses to ensure that their websites are optimized for speed and performance to provide their customers with a seamless online shopping experience.
Here are 5 tips for improving your Bigcommerce website speed:
Optimize your images
Images are an important part of any ecommerce website as they help to showcase the products and entice customers to make a purchase. However, large image files can slow down your website, leading to a poor user experience. To optimize your images, you can compress them to reduce their file size while maintaining their quality. There are various image optimization tools available online, such as Kraken.io and TinyPNG, which can help you compress your images.Another way to optimize your images is to use the correct format. JPEG is the best format for photographs, while PNG is ideal for graphics and illustrations. By optimizing your images, you can significantly improve your website’s speed and performance.
Minimize HTTP requests
HTTP requests are made when a user visits your website, and each request takes time to process. The more HTTP requests your website has, the slower it will load. To minimize HTTP requests, you can simplify your website design by reducing the number of elements on each page. This means using fewer images, scripts, and plugins.
You can also combine multiple CSS and JavaScript files into a single file to reduce the number of HTTP requests made by your website. Bigcommerce offers a built-in feature called Stencil Optimizer that can help you minimize HTTP requests and improve your website speed.
Use a content delivery network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of servers located in different geographic locations that work together to deliver content to users. By using a CDN, you can reduce the distance between your website and your users, which can significantly improve your website’s speed and performance.
Bigcommerce offers a built-in CDN called Akamai that can help you improve your website speed. You can enable Akamai from your Bigcommerce dashboard, and it will automatically distribute your website’s content to servers located closer to your users.
Enable browser caching
Browser caching is a technique that allows your website’s files to be stored on a user’s computer so that they don’t have to be downloaded every time the user visits your website. By enabling browser caching, you can reduce the number of HTTP requests made by your website, which can improve your website’s speed and performance.
To enable browser caching, you can add a code snippet to your website’s .htaccess file. Bigcommerce also offers a built-in feature called Stencil Caching that can help you enable browser caching and improve your website speed.
Optimize your website code
Your website’s code plays a crucial role in determining its speed and performance. By optimizing your website’s code, you can reduce the amount of time it takes to load your website and improve your website’s speed.
One way to optimize your website’s code is to minify your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files. Minification removes unnecessary characters from your code, such as white space and comments, which can significantly reduce the file size and improve your website’s speed.
Another way to optimize your website’s code is to use lazy loading. Lazy loading delays the loading of images and other elements until they are needed, which can reduce the amount of time it takes to load your website.
In conclusion, improving your Bigcommerce website speed is essential for providing your customers with a seamless online shopping experience. By optimizing your images, minimizing HTTP requests, using a content delivery network, enabling browser caching, and optimizing your website’s code, you can significantly improve your website’s speed.
