Bornegraphics is LIVE!!!!!

[bornegraphics]

Fellow DynamicForum users,

Let me start of by saying what a great forum this is. I have posted several questions and problems here all of which have been answered. I thank you all for taking the time to help a fellow designer out. Your help has been greatly appreciated and has helped me launch my website.

I invite you all to check out the final product. I am continuously adding content and I do welcome and would appreciate any and all feedback.

www.bornegraphics.com

Best regards,
Alan

[djr33]

The images on your portfolio page loaded very slowly. Did you do that intentionally so that all of them were preloaded? The initial delay is more problematic than waiting a few seconds each time you click "next", I think.

Generally, looks good. I prefer minimal sites (like this one), and the design seems effective. One missing component is any explanation of what the site is or what it is for on the main page. If someone accidentally finds your site, it would be good to have a sentence or two explaining why they should take a look around.

[bornegraphics]

djr33,

I want to thank you for taking the time to visit my site, your feedback is greatly appreciated. With regards to the portfolio images, at second glance I did see that some of the images are between 100-200kb, which by the sounds of it are way too large and need to be optimized. What is the recommend file size for images like I use, any suggestions?

You make a valid point about an explanation of what my site does or is used for. Very smart, thanks for suggesting it.

Thanks again,
Alan

[djr33]

100-200kb isn't too bad for portfolio images, especially when you don't want to make them look bad (since you're demonstrating how good they look).

But they shouldn't take that long to load.

Here's a more complete description of what happened:
1. I clicked the link to your portfolio page.
2. For about 20-30 seconds, the first image VERY slowly (line by line) loaded on the page.
3. After the image was fully loaded, then I clicked the "next" arrow.
4. Each new image loaded instantaneously.

Is there a reason that first image should be delayed? I have a fast connection and images don't usually take that long to load. I wouldn't mind a 1-3 second delay (which is all that 100kb should take), but the 20-30 seconds was weird.

Note: it's not happening again. But the images are probably cached in my browser.

This might be due to your server, but I'm not sure. I also notice that there's now a "moon" image on the homepage, and that wasn't there before-- probably delayed loading too. Checking your site from a few computers to be sure everything loads consistently might help. If not, maybe look into getting a new host. There are lots of cheap hosts, so don't limit yourself to one that isn't loading quickly.

[bornegraphics]

That is weird the it took 20-30secs to load. I've check on a few computers that I have and it takes maybe 5-10secs if that. There is no reason why the first image should take so long to load. Like you I would prefer the image to load right away, maybe 5secs max but definitely no more than that.

I think I will try and reduce the file size first and see what happens after that. The only other thing I can think of that might cause the delay, is the type of slideshow script I am using. Do you think that could cause the delayed loading time?

I am currently using GoDaddy as my host, are they good to use or should I which to a definitely host/server provider?

[djr33]

Well, I'm just remembering what happened. It might have been 10 seconds. But remember than in "web browsing time" that's still a lot-- users tend to make a decision about liking a page within 1-3 seconds (I've heard this cited in a wide range, but something close to that is reasonable).
I don't see why the first image would take longer than the others either-- that's why I asked if you have a preloader script (loading all images slowly, then they're all preloaded and show up instantly when you click "next").

[bornegraphics]

Mind having a look at the initial page that is viewed when you click on portfolio. Perhaps you are seeing something in the code that I am not.

Zipped file attached.

[bornegraphics]

djr33,

any chance you could have a look at the initial portfolio page now and see if you still have the long load time. I might have found a 'preload' image code that I removed.

Did this help?

I still plan on revising the image sizes which I think will help the load time as well.

Cheers,

Alan

[djr33]

I wasn't looking at the code. It's going to depend on your server, so I'd need to see a live page (you can use a new filename that isn't linked if you don't want it to be seen by visitors). If I look at it on my computer, it will load instantaneously (because there's no transfer time from my computer to my computer).

[bornegraphics]

If you re-visit the portfolio section of bornegraphics.com and view the web development page I remove what seemed to be a preloader code. Does it load any faster?

What about the homepage graphic, does the moon image load faster. I reduced the file size.

I also reduced the file size of some of the identity and digital artwork portfolio pieces. Perhaps if and when you have time you could view those pages and see how fast or slow they load.

Thanks again for all your help.

Cheers,
Alan

[djr33]

That's a significant improvement. The background image on your portfolio page should be saved with a little bit higher quality-- the image compression* is currently making it have color "bands" because the blurring distinctions aren't preserved and that looks a little unprofessional-- definitely worth a few more KB to avoid it.

(*Banding can also come about from another source: using 8-bit mode while editing images. This is the default and almost always works fine, but with gradients it can make ugly transitions. So if you can switch the image mode to 16+ bit while working on it and blur in that larger color space (read "more distinctions of colors") then the final result can be converted back to a normal 8-bit image and (perhaps 'magically') now not have the banding. This is probably NOT your issue now, but in case it is I wanted to mention it so you don't waste hours trying to get rid of them in 8-bit color space if it's not possible. Let me know if you have questions about this particularly technical problem.)


Overall, your site now loads reasonably fast. But it's still slow. Even the little arrow icons in the portfolio took a few seconds to load (when they really shouldn't be delayed-- they can't be more than a couple KB). So I think this really could be the server. Are you invested in your current hosting? I don't know what company you're using now, but there are LOTS of reasonable companies for $5/mo., and they should be faster than this. It's not a practical problem any more, but unless you have a reason to stay where you are, I don't see why you wouldn't want to move.

[bornegraphics]

Perfect, I am glad to hear things are loading faster for you and you noticed a different in loading time for certain graphics. I will continue to make alterations in file size while maintaining image quality. Thanks again for all your help and advise you have been a huge help. I can't thank you enough.

I am currently using GoDaddy as my web host, from what you said there sounds be to better ones out there, any chance you can recommend a better one, a link to a list of web hosting providers or perhaps even the web hosting provide you use.

Again, I can't thank you enough for your help.

I appreciate it greatly.

Cheers,
Alan

[djr33]

That's odd. I use godaddy (and I have for years) and there's no reason that it should be slow. Maybe you can check with them. Or maybe something was particularly wrong with my connection. It does seem to be loading a little faster now (and at the moment I'm using my university's wifi).
What I suggest then is to check on this from time to time from different connections. If it seems frequently slow, then maybe you should consider a new host. Godaddy is pretty easy to use, but they're support is bad-- there probably are better hosts for the same amount of money, but I use them because they have cheap domains (and actually use another host for one of my more serious projects). Godaddy is generally reliable and fast, though, so I'm not sure this is their fault... let me know if you figure anything out about it. Either way, everything is loading within a reasonable amount of time now so it isn't an issue.

Remember also when checking these things that there are two speeds: 1. loading speed (transfer speed, eg, "100kb/s"); 2. request speed (how long it takes for the server to start sending information after you ask for it). Often the second part is overlooked and is always responsible for slow speeds on loading small files (like an HTML page or a small icon image), while the transfer speed only really matters for bigger images, audio, video, etc.

[bornegraphics]

Awesome! I'm glad to hear things are loading faster now. Still a few files I want to change the size of which I think will again help with load time.

If you don't mind me asking what is the other web hosting provider you use? Have you heard bluehost? I've been reading up on them and they seem to offer good incentives with some unlimited features. I am considering giving them a try. Any thoughts?

I want to thank you again for all your help, you have made a world of difference. If there is anything you ever need designed or help with please do not hesitate to ask.

Cheers,
Alan