So now that we’ve covered templating in our last tutorial, here are some other tips for making your webpage move faster.

1. Use External CSS Documents:  Rahter than implamenting your CSS into the HEAD of your local document,  link your webpage to an external CSS document.  Do this by templating your CSS in the header like normal, making sure you have the webpage looking like it should.  Then copy all the CSS code into a new notepad document and save it as “styles.css” After that, erase the CSS from the HEAD of your webpage and replace it with “<link rel=’stylesheet’ href=’styles.css’ type=’text/css’ media=’all’ />Doing this keeps browsers from having to load the same stylesheet over and over by allowing it to store one stylesheet file to reuse.
2. Validate your CSS:  Go to http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ and have your stylesheet(s)/webpage(s) validated.  If you have ANY errors in your CSS, fix them.  Browsers like IExplorer fix some CSS issues to make the webpage look like it’s supposed to, which can cause your website to move slower for alot of users.  Also it can keep your website from looking right in 3rd party browsers, like FireFox (of course, FireFox is so huge right now I don’t think I should be calling it 3rd party )
3. Validate your HTML:  Go to http://validator.w3.org/ and have your webpage(s) validated.  If there are any errors, FIX THEM.  This will help users from all different browsers to see the website as it is meant to be, giving them a pleasant and enjoyable experience.
4. Adding to other browsers, test your website in multiple browsers like IExplorer, Firefox, etc.  Different browsers decode websites differently, therefor they display them differently.  To improve your websites performance, fine-tune your code so that it is compatible with major browsers so that it looks and feels beautiful
5. Finally, make sure your content’s filesizes aren’t too big.  For example, if you have alot of pictures in your web page, lower the quality just a little bit, and (if possible) make them smaller in dimension.  The less a web browser has to load, the quicker your website will move.

If you have followed all these steps, you should have a smooth, sleek, multi-browser compatible, user-friendly website. 

What Do You Think?
Did these tips help you to build a smooth running website?  Do you have questions about web design?  Do you have any other ways to boost a website’s performance?  I want to know what you have to say – I would love to share your information with the world here at FunkyTower!  Send me an e-mail at david@funkytower.com   I hope to hear from you soon!

Take it easy,
David Crandall