Data compression reduces the size of files to be transferred, allowing for faster loading of web pages by saving bandwidth and reducing transfer times.
When a web page is compressed, the files become smaller and travel faster between the site's server and your browser. Less data to transfer means that your browser has to exert less effort, so the page loads significantly faster. This improves your browsing experience both on a computer and on your smartphone, where the connection is sometimes slower. Sending less data also means less bandwidth consumed, which eases your mobile data plan while reducing server load. The direct impact: lightweight, fast pages, and a smooth user experience.
Most often, websites use the Gzip method to easily compress their files before sending them to the browser. It's a bit like putting your data in a vacuum bag before sending it: lighter, and therefore faster to transmit. More recently, techniques like Brotli, developed by Google, are gaining popularity as they reduce file sizes even more than Gzip, further boosting loading times. When it comes to images, we’re talking about compression formats like WebP or AVIF, which allow for maintaining excellent image quality while cutting their size by half or more. Finally, minimizing CSS, HTML, and JavaScript files — that is, removing all unnecessary spaces, line breaks, and characters — also results in a nice reduction of the data weight sent.
Compression primarily helps to lighten the file sizes, which means faster page loading for visitors. This particularly prevents your site from being slow, cumbersome to use, or driving away impatient users. It also means consuming less bandwidth, which is very interesting if you want to reduce your hosting costs. Another nice benefit: compressed sites are more favored by Google, which clearly prioritizes fast-loading pages in its organic search ranking (SEO). Finally, by reducing the size of files sent over the network, compression assists mobile users (and their limited data plans), leading to smoother and less data-intensive browsing.
For a good choice, first consider performance: a tool that is too slow could slow down your server, which would be counterproductive. Also, look at browser compatibility. It would be a shame to have a fast site but one that is unusable on certain common browsers. Another important point is ease of use and integration: it's better to choose a system that is simple to set up rather than a complicated solution that is difficult to maintain. Finally, assess the compression ratios: the more efficiently a tool compresses, the faster the loading will be. But be careful, excessive compression can sometimes reduce quality when it comes to images or media. Choose the tool that best fits your actual needs, not just the one that seems trendy or packed with unnecessary features.
HTTP/2 and HTTP/3, the new versions of the internet protocol, use header compression to speed up the transfer of web resources, resulting in a significant improvement in the rendering performance of websites.
According to a study by Google, an increase in web page loading time of just 1 second can reduce conversions by up to 20%. Therefore, data compression is crucial for maintaining optimal loading times and boosting your conversions.
The Brotli compression format, launched by Google in 2015, allows for compression rates that are up to 26% more efficient compared to the classic gzip format. Its adoption is becoming increasingly widespread to significantly speed up the loading of modern web pages.
About half of internet users expect web pages to load in less than 2 seconds, according to Akamai. Resource compression thus becomes essential to meet this expectation and enhance user satisfaction.
Compression aims to improve page loading times, which is an important criterion for search engine optimization used by search engines like Google. Thus, better compression can indirectly boost your SEO ranking by enhancing user experience and display speed.
Typically, text files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) greatly benefit from compression techniques like Gzip or Brotli. Media files, particularly images and videos, also take advantage of format-specific compressions, significantly reducing their size without drastically impacting their visual quality.
Although Gzip is older and widely supported, Brotli is a newer technique developed by Google that generally offers superior compression rates. This allows files to be loaded more quickly by the browser, further improving page load times.
Yes, it is common to use multiple techniques simultaneously, but applied to specific file types. For example: an algorithm such as Brotli or Gzip for your text and CSS files, and image-specific compression (JPEG, WebP, AVIF) or for videos. Using multiple methods further optimizes your overall performance.
No, there are two types of compression: 'lossy' compression, which slightly affects the quality of media such as images, and 'lossless' compression, which maintains the same quality as the original while reducing file size. Thus, using the appropriate compression ensures an optimal balance between visual quality and speed.
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