Archives

What Is Website Performance and Why Is It Important?

Performance
Website performance can be a maze of buzzwords, but it really boils down to one thing. Have you ever visited a website that loaded slowly (or incorrectly) to the extent that you immediately navigated away? If so, you’ve experienced poor website performance, and know first hand the impact it can have on a visitor's experience.

What is Website Performance?

It’s a catch-all term referring to a number of factors which contribute to how quickly, efficiently, and correctly a web page loads. It’s possible for a website to load fast but do so in a visually unappealing way, or in a manner that uses up much more of the server’s resources than necessary. This article will provide a brief overview of the most significant factors that contribute to website performance, as well as a few pointers for how to make some common quick fixes.

Why Website Performance is Important

Google has found that an extra half a second in page load time can lead to as much as a 20% drop in traffic. Since determining this, Google has not been shy about letting people know that website speed (specifically, mobile speed) can and does impact search rankings. But there’s more to it than that. If a website or page performs poorly, it’s possible people won’t spend any time visiting it. However, there are other less apparent reasons that make this a key consideration. A poorly optimized website is likely to put a much higher demand on the available resources than a properly designed one. This means that poorly optimized websites will become bloated and require a hosting upgrade much sooner than sleeker sites. Accessibility is another factor which makes website performance important. If a site doesn’t load properly on devices of all types and sizes , it can lose visitors just as easily as if it took ten seconds to load a page. In extreme cases, poor website performance can even contribute to certain functionality not working properly. As an example, if you install Google Analytics incorrectly, the code may fail to fire, leading to inconsistent or nonexistent data.

What Affects Website Performance?

This list is by no means meant to be exhaustive, but it does cover the most common and important factors that can be improved upon for a majority of websites.

Available System Resources

The speed of your web host’s systems, along with how many users are sharing those same resources (sometimes referred to as system density) will impact how fast your websites will load. This includes CPU share (the more CPU you have, the faster your PHP scripts will load), RAM (random access memory: the more you have the more concurrent users you’ll be able to handle), and storage speed the system has allotted for your website’s use (the faster the storage, the faster you’ll be able to complete heavier operations such as upgrades, exports, and backups). If you have Cloud or a dedicated server, you should have access to dedicated resources. With web hosting, you will be using a fraction of the resources available in a larger server, but you’ll also be able to upgrade your share of resources with just a few clicks when needed.
Web Hosting Canada offers plenty of CPU & RAM with its hosting plans, and includes super-fast SSD storage to make even complex websites load much faster.

Hosting Software (Stack)

A stack refers to a set of software which works together to create a platform upon which an application can run seamlessly. In the case of web hosting, the stack makes it possible for a web application (also known as a website) to be constantly available to visitors. The most common web hosting stack is probably the LAMP stack, which refers to Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. Linux (such as Ubuntu, Debian, or CentOS) is the operating system upon which the rest of the software is installed. Linux is an open-source operating system which is extremely popular for its power, stability and flexibility. A properly configured and optimized operating system will improve your website’s stability, security and load speed.
Web Hosting Canada relies on CloudLinux, the industry standard for high performance operating systems. It includes resource allocation limits and security features to keep your account running smoothly.
Apache is a popular open-source web server. A web server is the software that serves web pages to your visitor, so performance is key! Apache is a stable and popular server for Linux systems. On Windows, the web server of choice is called Internet Information Services (IIS).
Web Hosting Canada uses LiteSpeed Web Server, a modern replacement of Apache that provides up to 10x faster performance with built-in caching.
MySQL (or its near-equivalent, MariaDB) is a database management system (DBMS) which can be connected to a website in order to help manage its content. Most popular apps such as WordPress need a database to function, so this is a critical component! An optimized DBMS will help your site load faster and handle more simultaneous visitors without slowing down.
Web Hosting Canada uses an optimized, modern version of MariaDB, ensuring your queries get executed quickly, even under high load.
PHP, the final element of the LAMP stack, is a powerful coding language used in popular web applications such as WordPress. Many of the advanced functions used on interactive websites would not be possible without PHP. In general, the newer the version of PHP, the faster and more secure it will be.
Web Hosting Canada supports all major versions of PHP. Select the one you want from your Control Panel, and switch it at any time!

CMS, Theme, and Plugin Choices

Once you’ve selected a type of hosting and a hosting provider, which will determine your server resources and stack, the next consideration is to decide which Content Management System to use. WordPress is the most popular CMS mostly due to its flexibility and user-friendliness, but other popular options exist, including Drupal, Joomla and Magento. Themes control the look and feel of a website, and plugins add custom functionality. When selecting themes and plugins, unless you have enough expertise to properly evaluate them, it’s best to stick with popular options that have many positive ratings and a strong support staff. Unsupported plugins and themes that aren’t maintained and updated are the main source of vulnerabilities on websites.

Responsiveness

This refers to whether or not a website is capable of responding to the type (and size!) of the device it is viewed on. Because so many people use mobile devices these days, having a properly responsive website is a must. Fortunately, most popular website themes are responsive out of the box, so it’s not something you’ll necessarily have to worry too much about. If you don’t want to keep switching devices, you can use your browser’s developer tools to see what your site looks like on different mobile devices.
Consider using a tool like Responsinator to quickly test your website on different devices and screen sizes.

Render Blocking and Unused Code

If you use a page builder to construct your website rather than a theme template, or if your theme is not well coded, you may find that your website is slow due to render blocking and unused code. This occurs when the code that constructs the site is either poorly arranged or completely unnecessary. Sometimes it’s possible to use a plugin to remedy render blocking code, but the better solution is to build your website in such a way that it loads efficiently. Not only will this allow the pages to load faster, it will also create less demand on your server’s resources.

Page Size and Compression

This concept is a little more straightforward than some of the others; if your web pages contain large files, they will load slower. Enabling website compression using server settings or website plugins can help reduce page size overall, but it’s important to reduce the files that contribute to each page as much as possible before uploading them. This means properly scaling images and losslessly compressing them is incredibly important, especially for sites that feature many high quality images.

Caching

Caching refers to temporarily storing data in order to serve future requests faster, and it can be employed at a number of levels. The server can cache a website in order to deliver it faster upon the next request, but the web app itself can also create a cache for easier access and control. Most modern web browsers also cache websites, making subsequent visits to web pages much faster than the original visit. If you clear your browser’s cache, you may find that the next time you visit your favorite sites, they load a little slower.
Web Hosting Canada includes free advanced caching on its web hosting using LiteSpeed technology. Learn how to leverage LiteSpeed Cache effectively on your WordPress installations.

Content Delivery Networks

Also called Content Distribution Network, a CDN is a network of servers which cache and deliver data, with the goal being providing fast global or near-global availability. To put it in non-nerdy terms, a CDN allows a cached version of your website to be stored on virtual machines around the globe. That way if your web host’s servers are in Canada and someone in China visits your website, they won’t have to wait for it to load all the way around the world. They can just access the version store closest to them, which can be almost as fast as if the website were being hosted nearby.
Web Hosting Canada includes free CDN services with CloudFlare. Learn how to leverage Cloudflare for your websites.

Lazy Loading

Lazy loading can be an extremely effective way of speeding up longer web pages, by delaying the loading of any content that appears further down the page until it is needed. Long form sales pages are often in particular need of lazy loading if they include many images and videos to accompany their text. With lazy loading properly enabled, the content loads in as the visitor scrolls rather than attempting to compose itself all at once.

How to Test Website Performance

There are a number of excellent, free tools available online, which can help you determine not only how your website performs, but also what may need to be fixed. Google Pagespeed Insights is a tool by Google which gives an approximate loading time for mobile and desktop, as well as a score and a list of issues and recommendations. It’s handy for spotting problems quickly and getting basic suggestions toward how to fix them, and includes screenshots of what the website looks like as it initially paints its image. GTMetrix is a similar tool which scans your site and performs a series of tests. It provides an approximate load time and page size, as well as lists of issues and suggestions for fixes. WebPageTest provides a more accurate load time for your site because you can actually select the region you want to run the test from as well as the speed of internet connection to be simulated. It provides advanced details and includes the option to record a video of the web page’s loading process.

Quick Fixes For Page Speed

Future posts will delve further into most of the performance factors listed above, but for now here are some quick tips and best practices that will help get you on the path towards a faster website:
  • Get a hosting package that includes at least 1 CPU and 1 gigabyte of RAM. More is naturally better, but this should be considered a good starting point for any professional website that will get actual traffic.
  • Make sure your hosting provider offers website caching technology, as well as support for modern versions of PHP.
  • Use popular themes and plugins with good reviews and support staff.
  • Don’t use more plugins than you need.
  • Keep the number of elements on the page (especially flashier ones that require JavaScript to function) to a minimum.
  • Scale images to appropriate sizes and losslessly compress them using a tool such as tinypng.
  • Embed videos from a third party host (such as YouTube or Vimeo) rather than uploading them to your website.

Looking Deeper Into Optimization

Website performance is an enormous topic with many key subtopics for consideration, which we’ll explore in more detail in later posts. Depending on the type of website you have, optimizing it could take as little as a few hours or it could potentially be an enormous task. One thing is certain though; it is definitely worth dedicating time and effort towards improving your website’s performance. It will inevitably bring you more traffic, and ensure that the people who land on your pages have a reason to stay there!

Web Hosting Level 2 Support Specialist

Uncategorized
Apply now
Back to Job List
Are you an experienced web technician, and do you like helping others? Then this might be the job for you! Web Hosting Canada (WHC) is looking for an enthusiastic techie to fill a new Web Hosting Level 2 Support Specialist in our Montreal office, and help support our growing user base.

Responsibilities

  • Help solve complex problems for Canadian Businesses trying to grow and succeed online
  • Provide Escalation support and coaching to Level 1 support agents, by phone and chat
  • Provide Level 2 technical assistance to customers by phone, chat, and online helpdesk
  • Coordinate issue resolutions, feature requests, and bug fixes with Level 3 System Administrators and Dev teams
  • Troubleshoot email, DNS, domain, and LAMP stack problems
  • Install, analyze, troubleshoot and optimize installations of WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and other content management systems
  • Help maintain the proper functioning of a production environment for shared, dedicated, and virtualized web hosting servers

Required Skills and Experience

  • 2+ years of experience with providing operational support for website hosting, domain names & DNS management, cloud infrastructure, or equivalent
  • 2+ years of experience using cPanel/WHM or other control panels
  • Excellent understanding of web concepts such as DNS and IP
  • Excellent understanding of email systems and protocols (POP/IMAP/SMTP), and mail servers (Exim, Dovecot, Courier)
  • 1+ year(s) working with MySQL DBMS (or equivalent)
  • Skilled communicator in both French and English
  • Knowledge of PHP or Bash scripting an asset
  • Knowledge of WHMCS an asset
  • Basic knowledge of SEO/SEM concepts

Hours and Salary

This is a full-time position. WHC offers flexible scheduling with the possibility of working during weekends and/or evenings.

We offer competitive salaries with performance bonuses.
Apply now
Back to Job List

7 Tips For Increasing Contact Form Engagement

Small Business Success
Does your contact form call out to visitors, convincing them to enter text and click the friendly button beneath the fields? Or does it create a barren wasteland on your website, an empty page visited only by spambots? In a previous post, we discussed 4 Reasons to Use a Contact Form On Your Website. This post will follow up by exploring some of the best practices for encouraging user responses. Despite the mass introduction of livechat software as well as chatbots to many websites, contact forms remain a staple of the modern online experience, being expected and used by many website visitors. But just having a form is not enough. If your form isn’t optimized for quality submissions, it may hinder rather than help.

1. Keep Your Forms Short

Multiple studies have indicated that having fewer form fields relates directly to higher conversion rates. One option is to just strip your form down to the basics: name, email address, and message. Although this may seem overly simple and non specialized (and it is), that simplicity and familiarity can make the form more appealing to some people. The fewer fields you have, and the more specific the requirements for those fields are, the more likely you are to receive valuable visitor input.

2. Use an Appealing Layout

If your form requires a larger number of fields, group them in a logical sequence and make sure they all relate to the reason for submission. According to Smashing Magazine, it’s also ideal to keep form elements in a single column - and to further benefit desktop users, each field should be easily cycled to from the previous one using the TAB button. That's why using one of the 6 Best WordPress Contact Form Plugins or a comparable resource is important.

3. Ask Questions That Value Visitor Contribution

Depending on your website and your goals , forms can take many shapes and sizes, but they will always have common characteristics. Questions that value the visitor’s experience will make them more likely to come back and continue engaging with your website, even if you never respond to their submission (though you should!). For example, one way to spruce up the classic “name, email, message” form would be to add a fourth field with a relevant survey question. This would serve the dual purpose of engaging the user and providing you with valuable information. These questions could include asking how they found the site, what they like most or think needs the most improvement, or even their overall satisfaction rating. As an extra tip, remember to keep your intentions and requirements clear. If someone is confused about the information you’re asking for, they either won’t submit the form, or may end up submitting the wrong information. If you need more inspiration, take a look at these Examples of Good Feedback Form Questions, provided by AidaForm.

4. Use Multiple Steps to Break Up Longer Forms

In addition to grouping fields into logical sequences, you can break up longer forms by using a multi-step process. This is a tactic used by some e-commerce stores that require a lot of information - for example, a new customer filling out their shipping information. Rather than slap the customer with a 20-field form to fill out all at once, they’ll ask for name and email, then move them to a new page for the payment gateway and other personal information. Not only do multiple step forms increase the likelihood of engagement, but they also give you a chance to collect the visitor’s email address right away. This can then be used to send a follow up, such as an abandoned cart notice if a customer fails to complete a purchase. If you’re not sure where to draw the line, aim to keep the number of fields per form-step under 6, but make sure you keep them all logically grouped.

5. Implement Streamlined Spam Protection

Although spambots have evolved at a mind-boggling rate, methods of preventing form spam have just about kept up with them. There are a number of different types of software which can be used to prevent spambots from completing your form. This type of program is referred to as a “CAPTCHA,” and it typically provides some type of challenge or trap for bots. These range from simple mathematical captchas, to difficult-to-read graphics that then require that you type out barely distinguishable characters. However, many of them are time-consuming, visually unappealing, and annoying enough to discourage most people from filling them out. Fortunately, there are several modern options that can be used in combination. Google’s Recaptcha is an excellent choice, which involves simply placing a checkbox at the bottom of the form. Checking the box confirms that the visitor “is not a robot”, and they’re free to send their data off to your database or email. To learn more about Recaptcha, check out How to Add CAPTCHA to WordPress Contact Forms. Google has also introduced an Invisible Recaptcha, which detects bots based on their behavior and interaction with the website, blocking them before they have a chance to send you any information. Another invisible means of controlling form spam is “the honeypot.” A honeypot in this case refers to an invisible field or fields which humans cannot see, but which bots will instinctively interact with. If the honeypot field is filled out, the form will not submit. Because they don’t interrupt the user experience at all, honeypots can be ideal, but unfortunately more sophisticated bots can be programmed to work around them.

6. Don’t Use a “Submit” Button

According to a Hubspot Study, actually using the word “submit” on your submit button can hurt your form’s conversion rate. The same study found that simpler calls to action, such as “click here” and “go,” were the most effective for encouraging completed submissions. My personal preference for CTAs on contact forms is to make them relevant to the action the user is taking. On my website’s form , the button says “Send Message” because that’s the only purpose behind the form. If I were accepting job applications through the form, I might use a button text that said “upload application,” or something similar. If you’re using a form to unlock a content upgrade (whether paid or as a lead capture), using “learn more” as a call to action has proven to be a powerful option throughplatforms such as Facebook advertising and email marketing.

7. Remember to Be On-Brand and Creative

At the end of the day, one of the strongest deciding factors for form submission is going to be the text you attach to it. If it rings true with the brand voice your visitor has become familiar with, and it evokes a sense of curiosity or humor, filling out your form will feel like a breeze even if it contains multiple steps and many fields. On the other hand, if your contact form is flat and boring, or difficult to navigate, most people will decide they have better things to do with their time. Now that you know how to make your contact form engaging, you should also know how to make it secure. Check out part 3 of our 4-part contact form series: How to Add CAPTCHA to WordPress Contact Forms.

4 Great Reasons to Use a Contact Form on Your Website

Small Business Success
If you’ve ever visited a website with a contact page, you may have noticed that some use forms to initiate first contact whereas others simply display their email address for you to reach out. While simply displaying your company’s email can make sense for some businesses, contact forms unlock a world of possibilities! They’re fairly simple to set up and fill out, and can dramatically increase visitor engagement when used effectively. In part 1 of this 4-part series delving into the topic of Contact Forms for your website, we’ll present 4 reasons why you should definitely use a contact form on your website. Contact forms can take on many shapes and sizes, but they’re essentially a set of fields and a button which allows visitors to submit information directly to you, from your website. These fields can be customized in numerous ways, to accept certain types of text (such as phone numbers or email) or even to allow visitors to upload files. Contact forms serve as an ideal first line of communication with your site’s visitors, but there are a number of other great reasons to use them.

1. Increase Visitor Engagement

Keeping visitors on your website and converting them into leads is all about engagement. The problem is, even with recent advancements in code and site builders, many websites remain static and relatively uninteresting. If there isn’t anything for the visitor to do other than read and look at pictures, they’ll be less likely to stay engaged. A contact form can significantly increase someone’s time on the site, since it doesn’t require the visitor to open their email to contact you. Even if someone doesn’t end up filling it out, just seeing that you have a form might make them think about contacting you and check out other pages on your website as a result. This is also much more convenient for people visiting your site using public WiFi, who may not want to open their email on an insecure connection. A form can also be used in creative ways - to develop a survey, for example - or to generate feedback about the website itself. It gives your visitors an easy way of contacting you without logging in to their email, creating additional touch points with visitors who interact with your website or brand.

2. Protect Yourself and Your Visitors

If you don’t use a contact form, you’re likely listing your email publicly on your website. While this may not seem like such a bad thing at first, it can easily lead to a massive amount of spam. How? Today, the Internet is filled with bots which spend their days crawling the internet, searching for exposed email addresses to collect and add to their mass mailing lists. Using a contact form leaves nothing for these robots to find. Exposing your email address can also be a potential security risk. If you use that email as a login for your website or anything else, you’ve given malicious individuals half of what they need in order to crack your account. Contact forms can also protect your visitor’s submission as it’s being transmitted to you, through the use of SSL security. Email, on the other hand, is not encrypted and all information transmitted should be considered insecure. Of course, it's possible for forms to be spammed as well, which is why it's important to understand How to Add CAPTCHA to Website Contact Forms.

3. Collect the Right Information

When you use a form to initiate contact with your visitors, you get to determine what information you ask for and whether or not the fields are mandatory. That means you can guide people in sending you the type of information that will help you decide whether you want to work with them or not. You can, for example, include an optional field where you ask about their aspirations for the next five years, or include a mandatory field asking about their interests, or even the amount they’re used to spending on products or services such as yours. Asking the right questions, in the right way, on your contact form can potentially save you lots of time qualifying leads and saying no to tire-kickers. It allows you to dictate how the conversation starts; that way, the wrong type of people won’t even engage, while the right type will more likely buy what you’re selling.

4. Automate Your Marketing

Many contact form plugins have advanced functionality which allows them to integrate with automation software such as email marketing platforms. So long as you clarify the process for visitors, you can record their submission, email them a “thank you”, email yourself a reminder, and add them to a marketing list - all without lifting a finger. This can all take some time to set up, but assuming your website gets a decent amount of visitors, it can save time in the long run. It can also lead to finding better clients, because of the built-in lead qualification and the ability to immediately follow up through your preferred marketing platform. If you were so inclined, you could even establish a form which sends an email linking the visitor to a related sales funnel. This is also something you may want to communicate to the visitor up front, while ensuring that your privacy policy accurately reflects your intentions. To learn more about the functions of different contact forms, check out our list of The 6 Best WordPress Contact Form Plugins.

Ready to Create Your First Contact Form?

Clearly, there are numerous benefits to using a contact form on your website. The extra privacy and security it affords is paramount, but it can also help create visitor engagement and new leads. When we factor in the marketing automation that a contact form can unlock, it seems like a good idea to have one on your website. Do you use a standard contact form on your website, or use them in other creative ways in order to drive more visitor engagement? Feel free to reach out to me with your ideas or share them with others in the comments below! In our next article in this series, we’ll be taking a closer look at 7 Tips For Increasing Contact Form Engagement. Stay tuned! WHC Team

2019 Year in Review & a Look at 2020!

WHC News & Events
As 2019 ends, we’re not only saying goodbye to a busy year full of great moments, but also to a defining decade for Canadian businesses online! With 2020 freshly underway, it’s the perfect time to look back at what was done, and look ahead at what’s coming.

What happened at WHC in 2019?

Here’s a quick glance at what went down in the last year:

Better Hosting for Faster, more Secure Websites

Web Hosting got some love with free SSL certificates now included with most plans to help protect you and your visitors, free Cloudflare CDN for faster load times, a new inodes plugin to track where your account may be getting sluggish, and PHP 7.3 support to help your website run even faster. PHP 7.4 support is coming very soon!

Improved WordPress Hosting with Staging

Managed WordPress Hosting got a lot of love, as we released our much-anticipated WordPress Staging at WordCamp Montreal 2019. WordPress Staging helps you test your updates safely before pushing changes to your live website. We’ve also added simple email options, upgraded the platform to default to WordPress 5.3, and deployed over 100 bug fixes and performance improvements over the past year.

Better Content to Help you Make Smart Choices

WHC released a lot of fresh content, including a very thorough Search Engine Optimisation guide to help your business get found online. WHC launched a new YouTube channel with video tutorials showing you how to get more done, faster. The WHC Blog continues to be a great resource for Canadians looking to build a successful online presence for their business or projects. Notable posts include 6 Great Chrome Extensions for Web Designers, the Canadian Guide to Finding your Perfect Domain, a how-to guide to prepare your website for Black Friday, and a handy article showing you how to use WordPress categories and tags to organise your blog.

Greener Solutions for a Greener Planet

Amid growing concerns for our planet, WHC got serious about its environmental impact. We announced our Green Badge initiative to help promote green hosting to Canadian businesses and got ourselves Green Business Certified as well. We’re making it a point to help Canadian businesses Go Green both online and off.

We grew our team to serve you better

In January 2020, over 35,000 Canadian entrepreneurs and small businesses trust us with their websites, emails and domains. We’ve scaled our own team and systems to provide you with the solid service you’ve come to rely on. We’ve grown to over 60 full-time techies, engineers, and web specialists in order to help you solve your problems or lend a helping hand. We’ve built a solid network of partners to make sure we don’t go at it alone. In 2019, we’ve handled over 136,743 exchanges by phone, chat and email. We ensured our systems provided outstanding availability, surpassing our guaranteed commitment of 99.99% average uptime!

What’s coming in 2020?

There’s a lot brewing at WHC. Here’s a sneak peek at a few of the things you can expect in the upcoming year!

A better WordPress Ecommerce Experience

Selling your products and services within Canada and beyond is going to be easier than ever with an improved WordPress platform that features a new, streamlined ecommerce experience.

A more Elastic Cloud

We’re improving our Cloud infrastructure under-the-hood, to empower our business users with better performance, easier scaling, and improved security as well as stability.

More Domains, Faster

We’re adding more domain extensions to our available portfolio and including aftermarket domains to give you better options when choosing the name of your new online home.

Better Guides & Help Content

Including video tutorials, eBooks, and new Help Center articles to guide both new and experienced users in making their online presence a success.

A new office!

We’ll soon be moving our digs to accommodate a growing team. Looking to embark on a new challenge? We’re hiring!

Looking forward to the journey ahead!

We’re excited to break new ground this year, and continue to help Canadian businesses get ahead and stay ahead of the competition. As the web helps bring people closer wherever they may reside, we’ll continue to be here to help you and your business reach clients even further. Is there something in particular you’d like to see changed, added or improved in 2020? Reach out to us and let us know! Happy hosting, WHC Team