Optimizing the Speed of Responsive Websites

Following TIPS Vol.13: “Why We Recommend Responsive Web Design”, this time we will talk about improving the speed of responsive websites. Even if the display speed of a responsive website does not seem slow on a PC, it may feel slow when viewed on smartphones using 3G or 4G network environments. Let’s take a look at some methods that can help improve website loading speed, even if only slightly.

Browser cache is a feature that allows the browser to store information from websites it has displayed.
By utilizing browser cache, files that have already been loaded no longer need to be fetched again from the server, which can help improve website loading speed.
This time, we will configure caching so that content is stored on the user’s device.
The settings are written in the .htaccess file.
First, specify the file extensions you want to cache.
If specifying multiple extensions, separate them with a | character.
Next, specify the cache expiration time. The expiration period is defined in seconds.

<Files ~ ".(gif|jpe?g|png|ico)$">
Header set Cache-Control "max-age=2592000, public"
</Files>

For more detailed information, including how to configure different settings depending on file extensions, please refer to the following website:
Just a Few Minutes! Configure Cache Settings in .htaccess for Faster Pages!

If there are errors or missing elements in the HTML code, the browser may become confused when trying to locate files.
As a result, it can take more time to load the page.
To avoid errors or omissions, and to make it easier for the browser to find information, the site structure should be kept as simple as possible.
Avoid overly deep hierarchies and use a simple directory structure so that browsers can navigate layers more easily, which helps improve loading speed.
Additionally, removing unnecessary tags and properly setting image width and height can also improve display performance.

CSS sprites are a method of combining multiple small images, such as icons, into a single image and displaying specific parts of it using CSS.
By combining images in this way, the number of HTTP requests (requests sent to the server for data) can be reduced.
This is a CSS technique used to improve website performance, so it is worth making use of it for faster loading times.

TIPS Vol.2: “Dramatically Faster Loading Speeds – Web Performance Optimization” summarizes ways to improve page speed.
It also introduces lossless compression.
A recommended compression tool is TinyPNG.
Please also refer to TIPS Vol.2.

How did you find it?
It is said that users will only wait up to 2 seconds for a web page to load.
Research also shows that if it takes more than 3 seconds, over 40% of users will leave the page.
To create a website that satisfies users, speed optimization is essential.
We hope this helps you in creating better websites.