Online gaming websites usually experience huge traffic on their systems as many gamers are using the website at one time. This can cause lag in the websites calling for ways of improving loading speeds to ensure smooth gaming.
How can you ensure that the casino website loads fast? Our expert Conrad Brennan (check out his page) highlights some methods of improving loading speeds.
Use good hosting
There exist three main types of hosting:
Shared hosting
This is the most popular type of hosting used worldwide. Not only is it a cheap way of getting your website online, but it also takes a short set-up time. This means that many websites using the same server share RAM and CPU resources, hence making it slower than VPS hosting or a dedicated server. However, the cost is much lower and it works very well for simple to medium information or ecommerce sites.
Virtual Private Servers hosting (VPS)
Unlike shared hosting, having a VPS helps you have a part in the virtual server where your configuration doesn’t affect other users. It is the optimal solution for sites with periods of traffic spikes. It also costs less than dedicated servers.
Dedicated server
This is the most expensive form of hosting. However, you must be ready to pay the price when you choose fast hosting. You can choose to own your physical server where you incur server rent fees and admin fees for maintenance.
You can also choose to rent dedicated resources from public cloud providers like Google or Amazon AWS. The advantage of using a dedicated server is that you are in full control and all resources are at your disposal, hence fast loading speeds. A typical fastest payout online casino Canada uses a dedicated server and some of the best payment processors.
Use a Content Delivery Network
Popularly referred to as CDN, a content delivery network is a set of web servers distributed across various locations providing web content to users according to their geographical location. When hosting a website using one server, other users’ requests are sent to the same server, hence increasing the time required in the processing of all requests.
This also means that time taken to load will increase with users who are further away from the server. CDN comes in handy as requests from users who are far are redirected to the servers near them. This implies that the website will work faster since there is faster delivery of content. This is an expensive method to use but effective in optimizing load time.
Reduce the number of plugins
Plugins are common components in any online gaming website as they add unique features generated by third parties. Unfortunately, the plugins installed need resources to run them hence a higher number of plugins calls for more resources leading to slow working of the website.
Plugins grow as time goes by and some may be outdated and out of use. This calls for you to constantly check on plugins that are not in use and delete them. You should also check on plugins that load a few scripts, styles, and database queries. Also, keep your plugins up to date for the smooth running of the website.
Optimizing image sizes on your website
Having a successful website entails you having catchy images and photos with high graphic content that display to gamers to improve their gaming experience. However, these images are big files that play a role in slowing down your website. Thankfully there exist ways of reducing their sizes without affecting their quality. Though it takes time, using tools such as Kraken, ImageOptim, and JpegMin, you can compress your images to optimal levels. You may also want to use HTML-responsive images that adjust image size based on display properties.
Minimize JavaScript and CSS files
Many HTTP requests are generated from websites containing CSS and JavaScript when gamers need to access files on the website. The problem with this is that all requests are treated individually, reducing your website speed.
It is advisable to reduce JavaScript and CSS files by grouping them into one. This ultimately reduces the cumulative number of HTTP requests hence greater website speeds. There also exist tools like Script Minifier, WillPeavy, and Grunt tools that help minimize CSS and JavaScript files.
Use website caching
Caching simply refers to the process of storing the current version of your website on the hosting such that web pages do not keep sending data requests every time. In the case of online gaming, a lot of gamers access the website at one time, making the servers work slowly hence slow loading.
Caching helps in displaying the previous version of the website until your website is updated. Depending on your website developer you can use plugins for caching like W3 Super Cache and W3 Total Cache. When using a dedicated server, you can set up caching on your settings.
Slow loading speeds can be boring to the gamer and even discourage him from playing on your website. Make use of the methods we have discussed to ensure you attain website loading speeds optimally.
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