10 More Rules for Even Faster Websites

Update: How-To Minimize Load Time for Fast User Experiences. Shows how to analyze the bottlenecks preventing websites and blogs from loading quickly and how to resolve them.

80-90% of the end-user response time is spent on the frontend, so it makes sense to concentrate efforts there before heroically rewriting the backend. Take a shower before buying a Porsche, if you know what I mean. Steve Souders, author of High Performance Websites and Yslow, has ten more best practices to speed up your website:

  • Split the initial payload
  • Load scripts without blocking
  • Don’t scatter scripts
  • Split dominant content domains
  • Make static content cookie-free
  • Reduce cookie weight
  • Minify CSS
  • Optimize images
  • Use iframes sparingly
  • To www or not to www

    Sadly, according to String Theory, there are only 26.7 rules left, so get them while they're still in our dimension.

    Here are slides on the first few rules. Love the speeding dog slide. That's exactly what my dog looks like traveling down the road, head hanging out the window, joyfully battling the wind.

    Also see 20 New Rules for Faster Web Pages.