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Bandwidth and Data Transfer

How to Reduce Data Transfer
Your web host sends you an exceeded bandwidth usage warning, and suggests reducing the size of your web files.

What is "bandwidth usage"?
This refers to the total amount of information that has been transferred from your web server to your visitors. Each file on your website has a specific size. Your website is the sum of these files. Each time a visitor visits your website, their browser sends a request to your web server, asking for the files. These files are downloaded onto their browser to be viewed.

In other words, the larger your web files, the higher the bandwidth usage. Also, the more requests to your website, the more "bandwidth" you will use.

How can I reduce my "bandwidth usage"?
You certainly do not want to reduce the number of visitors. So, the most effective way is to reduce the size of the files on your website.
  • Build simpler, more efficient websites. Remove any unnecessary text, images or other files. Keep your pages as small as possible.
  • Optimize your graphics. Use JPEG image format for photos and GIF form for graphics.
  • Refrain from fancy flash presentations, audio or video. This includes any music playing the background.
  • Use CSS and call Javascripts externally instead of embedding in every page. This reduces the HTML file size.
  • Remove unwanted tags, white space and comments
  • Limit your Meta tags to those absolutely necessary
  • Consider caching your website, but set an expiry date in the HTTP headers so your visitors' browsers will refresh the content after a certain time (this allows their browser to save a copy of your website, and each time the visitor visits your website, the pages are served from the copy on the browser and not your web server)


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