October 10, 2017

Struggling with Speed? Think about switching to a static site

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Michael Jenkins
Michael Jenkins

CEO - Shout Agency
[email protected]

Overview

You have 8 seconds to make an impression on the internet today. 8 seconds to let customers know why they should spend the next 8 seconds learning more about your business.

You need every second to make a good impression then. To help you with that, you want to start by ensuring your site loads way before your 8 second timer finishes.

One method some companies might explore is whether they want to continue using a CMS platform, or move to a static website.

What is a Static Site?

A static website is just that: static. Instead of using a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or SquareSpace, you have developer code your static site with HTML, PHP, and/or CSS.

That said, HTML code is lightweight and requires less time to read than the PHP code.

This means if you want to create a blog, you need to know how to code. However, if you don’t add content to your website every week like we do here at Shout it might not be the worst conversion to help you improve your site’s speed.

Especially with Google looking at site speed more after the switch to mobile sites, it is vital to consider how fast your site loads today.

Enterprise companies should consider the switch, because they have the resources to manage a static site.

For example, QueryClick.com tested static websites for their B2B site over the past few months. They wanted to test how this impacted their search traffic.

The test reduced their load time by 74% from 6.99 seconds to 1.8 seconds in one month.

One interesting factoid to add, QueryClick has the same scores for mobile as Google. In fact, I have not found one site that scores over an 80 for mobile traffic on Google including the search engine giant.

Google loads a little faster than QueryClick. Yet, both sites score the same on mobile because QueryClick’s move to a static website.

What is the downside of running a static site?

The biggest item is if you produce any type of regular content on your website, you might not want to use a static site.

For example, many bloggers, podcasters, and video producers should avoid this strategy. Without an understanding in coding, it might be too cumbersome to do this on a regular basis.

Furthermore, small business owners who manage their own website would not be an ideal fit for this strategy. Again, an understanding of coding is necessary.

Large companies and those working with development companies like Shout do have an advantage over the competition.

What are some alternatives?

Content Delivery Network (CDN)- A great alternative to a CMS platform is a CDN. CDN’s offload the heavy, modern-day content like images and videos.

Generally, the less information your website pulls directly from your server, the faster your website loads.

Also, a CDN protects your content in case of an emergency. Solid CDN providers like Amazon protect your content under the most stressful environments.

Caching- Another option is to use a Cache on your website. Usually you can use this along with a CDN to significantly reduce your load times.

WordPress plugins like Super Cache and W3 Cache help you cache your site in seconds.

Google AMP- The third option is to use Google AMP. Google came out with their own mobile platform last year that strips away a lot of the code on a mobile website.

However, the pages load at a blazing 1-2 seconds on a mobile device. WordPress users can use the AMP plugin to set up their Google AMP page.

Next, optimise your site with the Glue for YOAST SEO AMP plugin to help your mobile AMP site gets the search traffic it deserves.

Final Thoughts

You need to move fast today if you want your site found. Therefore, consider every edge possible including transitioning to a static website. Consider the pros and cons and decide if it is the right decision for your business.

If you have further questions on static website and site load times then give us a Shout! Our team can help you come up with the right solution for your website that ensures your sites loads quickly and you can manage the website.

Book a free 45 minute consultation today.

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        As Founder and Director of Shout Web Strategy, Michael Jenkins is at the forefront of digital marketing. Since it’s inception in 2009, Shout has built a strong reputation as one of Australia’s leading strategic SEO agencies, assisting online businesses to formulate, implement and track successful marketing strategies. Michael is a respected thought leader and digital strategist, specialising in online strategy, corporate SEO, Google retargeting, email and conversion rate optimisation, and online reputation management. Follow Michael on Google+, connect with him through LinkedIn or visit the Shout Web Strategy website.

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