#29 - Small is Beautiful

Small is Beautiful

By Chris Maher

Today's HTML authoring software is amazing. It's easy to add beautiful graphics, colorful photographs, fancy backgrounds and even java appletts to your home page. But beware! You could be driving most of your visitors away before your first page even loads. Large pages load slowly, and studies have shown that surfers on the World Wide Web are an impatient lot.

Claire Schaeffer relates the following story. "At Proven Edge, Inc. (http://www.provenedge.com/), we set our original weight per page at 40 KB. After three months of reviewing the log files, I found that one page had a 30% bailout rate (people not waiting for the page to load), when every other page at the same level of the site had a bailout rate of only 6-8%."

"The difference between the pages? The one with the high bailout rate was just at the 40KB limit -- the pages with the low bailout rates ranged from 32-35KB. Could a mere extra 5 KB make that much difference? Well, it was worth a check -- we tweaked and tuned and reduced the "fat" page to ~34KB. And yes, it was almost immediate -- the bailout rate dropped from 30% to the 6-8% of all the other pages and has maintained that rate ever since."

The "bailout rate" on larger pages can even be worse. On one site with a 70kb home page an analysis of the log files showed that more than half the visitors were leaving before that first page finished loading.

So how can you create a site that has quick loading pages and still shows your work in all it's detail and beauty?

First, keep your initial, or home page fairly simple. There is no need for heavy graphics right up front. You should make your home page inviting, with a promise of more. Make the navigational choices simple and clear. Link only to your own internal pages from here, never to a outside site.

Next, take advantage of the "layering" aspect of the web. Your descriptive written links could lead to pages of thumbnails, or small previews of your work. These small pictures, at about 2-5kb each, then can be linked to a full page view of the individual piece.

If more detail is needed than can fit on a full computer screen, add further links to show enlarged closeup views. Try to keep even your full screen views below 40kb. (for tips on how, be sure to check out my article, Improve the Visual Power of Your Web Site at http://1x.com/advisor/maher22.htm).

Knowing what to leave out can be important too. Avoid Java appletts unless they are critical to the function of your site. Never add something that takes up a lot of bandwidth just because it "looks cool".

Framed pages also take longer to load. Unless you absolutely need to keep something in front of your visitor at all times, avoid the use of frames.

You still should use large image files when they are the only way you can effectively show what you need to. For example, If you work in a 3-D media, like sculpture, you can show the piece from all sides in a animated GIF file, or using an AVI movie file. But since these files will be quite large, they should only be offered as a option, never as the default view.

A statement like, "Click here to see this Dichroic Glass Vase rotate. Please allow sufficient time for the 112kb file to load." will keep the casual viewer, or the surfer with a 14.4 modem, from leaving in frustration. A serious buyer, however, would most likely be willing to wait and see the work from all sides.

So, how large are your pages? What are the tricks you have used to keep your graphically appealing pages fast loading and effective? E-mail me and share your thoughts.

This page last updated: 09/02/04

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