Optimizing Templates?
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- Jeff Kershner
- Sr. Rocketeer
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Using some tools to watch the network traffic, I noticed that there are far too many HTTP requests to load a default template (I am using Omnicron Joomla template).
I am interested in optimizing my template but I don't have a firm grasp on the Gantry framework yet. Is there anyone that has started worked on something like this?
So in the HTTP traffic, I see the following requests:
14 CSS files
15 javascript files (loaded before the page in drawn)
72 image files
I would like to:
Minify and combine the CSS and javascript files
Figure out which javascript files can be loaded after the page is benig rendered (bottom of the body)
Optimize images
Create CSS sprite images where appropriate
Has anyone done any research in this?
Thanks,
--Jeff
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- JEM
- Preeminent Rocketeer
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Not an answer to all your questions, but a good place to start:
www.rockettheme.com/forum/index.php?f=15&t=92880&rb_v=viewtopic - Thanks,
jim
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- Jeff Kershner
- Sr. Rocketeer
- Posts: 220
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- Caching is one example of optimization, but I was more interested in the optimizations listed above. But thanks for showing that link... very informative.
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- JessieB
- Newbie
- Posts: 17
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- Marketing Coordinator/Admin. Assistant
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I'm having the same issue with my template--it's causing my site to take ten seconds or longer to load each page. I've already changed everything to your recommendations in the Cache thread, optimized my mySQL tables, checked the configuration.php file to ensure it's formatted correctly...and my site is still running ridiculously slow. My host is telling me this is because of all the pictures that are loading when you pull it up. I think it might be my host (it was running faster on my last host, but maybe something changed in translation?)
The site is: www.process-systemsinc.com
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- Rosenborg
- Hero Rocketeer
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kers7754 wrote:
So in the HTTP traffic, I see the following requests:
14 CSS files
15 javascript files (loaded before the page in drawn)
72 image files
I have had the same problem (slow loading) but didn´t check the template like you did.
If this is the case (quote above), then shouldn´t this been taken care of by the developers of the templates?
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- JEM
- Preeminent Rocketeer
- Posts: 17917
- Thanks: 4
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:arrowu:
Ståle Løvseth wrote:kers7754 wrote:If this is the case (quote above), then shouldn´t this been taken care of by the developers of the templates?
In all cases, check the demo vs. your site.
Could be a problem with shared hosting vs. the template itself.
You have a choice to compress the files for your site after development.
But if you are on a shared server with a lot of traffic, it is going to impact your load times in relation to their server load. - Thanks,
jim
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- Cretan Studies Association
- Hero Rocketeer
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- Social Anthropology Student
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JessieB wrote:
I'm having the same issue with my template--it's causing my site to take ten seconds or longer to load each page. I've already changed everything to your recommendations in the Cache thread, optimized my mySQL tables, checked the configuration.php file to ensure it's formatted correctly...and my site is still running ridiculously slow. My host is telling me this is because of all the pictures that are loading when you pull it up. I think it might be my host (it was running faster on my last host, but maybe something changed in translation?)You don't have that many images...on the contrary...
The site is: www.process-systemsinc.com
I guess it might be the host's problem...
But besides css minification etc, there are also other things to check like your installed and used extensions, which you could try disabling / enabling one by one and checking whether they have any impact...
I was able to make my site load faster by:
- Removing all extensions that I was not actively using.
- Removing extensions that I could afford to do without even if I had been using them (especially if they contained javascript), like RokAjaxSearch
- Testing alternative extensions to the existing ones, which might be more efficient, e.g. my thumbnails load faster with sigplus than with simple image gallery.
- Choosing "lighter" options in the configuration of various extensions and for the template, e.g. Suckerfish menu instead of mootools transitions/effects menu
- Hunting for javascript errors and conflicts using relevant browsers tools and making changes, e.g. switched from Addthis social bookmarking/sharing to other extensions which did not produce css errors for the major browsers (I would also fix template css errors, but I don't have a clue about such things really)
- Using some informative website testing tools like www.woorank.com/ and making proposed changes (those that I can make at least for my knowledge level, limited elementary stuff -if any- really for me)
- Frequently checking for updates for my installed extensions
- Using an optimized version of the htaccess file joomlacode.org/gf/project/joomla/tracker...racker_item_id=25090
- Using Global Gzip and Cache
My website now generally loads in 2 sec or less (WooRank measured it at 1.161 seconds), whereas before it could easily take 4 seconds (if I remove the 12 images that load from Picasa on every page, I could do better still)
As I said, I have no knowledge on the subject so I just search for the obvious things and for ready-made solutions...but I have seen improvement
A useful link
and code.google.com/speed/articles/ - You can call me George
J2.5.8, Panacea v1.6.6 - www.eks-ik.eu
J2.5.8, Syndicate 1.6.5
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- JessieB
- Newbie
- Posts: 17
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- Marketing Coordinator/Admin. Assistant
- Great tips, thanks! I've fixed alllll these things and it's still so flow. We'll be switching from Network Solutions (whom I now abhor) to another hosting company this weekend. Cue the hair pulling!
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- JEM
- Preeminent Rocketeer
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Move site +
www.akeebabackup.com/
= no hair pulling!
- Thanks,
jim
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