Book Description

There's a time bomb on the web: user patience. It starts ticking each time someone opens one of your pages. You only have a few seconds to get compelling content onto the screen. Fail, and you can kiss your customers and profits goodbye.You can't count on fast connections either. Most of your customers are still sucking content through a 56K straw. You have to serve up greased lightning or they'll bail. That's why you picked up this book. In it you'll learn how to cut file sizes in half. You'll trim (X)HTML, CSS, graphics, JavaScript, multimedia, and bandwidth costs. Real-world examples illustrate techniques with before and after code and percentage savings. After reading this book, you'll know how to make your pages literally "pop" onto the screen.


From the Publisher
Andy King has put together a book that is packed densely with information. If you have a web site, you'll find something helpful in this book. From the psychology of user satisfaction on the web; to CSS, JavaScript, HTML, and XHTML optimization tips; to graphics, audio, and video; and finally, search engine optimization and case studies of real web sites, you'll find information that will help you speed up your site. And a faster site equals happier users and longer visits to your site. We hope you'll find this book a key resource for optimizing your site.


From the Author
I wrote this book to help speed up the web. As a webmaster and teacher of webmasters at WebReference.com, I learned that site speed is critical to online success and happy users. Articles alone are not enough; this subject needs a book. I also wanted to give something back to the community that has nurtured my career for the last decade. This book is the result of years of collaboration and research. I'd like to thank everyone who selflessly shared their insights with me. I hope you find this information useful.


From the Back Cover
There's a time bomb on the web: user patience. It starts ticking each time someone opens one of your pages. You only have a few seconds to get compelling content onto the screen. Fail, and you can kiss your customers and profits goodbye.You can't count on fast connections either. Most of your customers are still sucking content through a 56K straw. You have to serve up greased lightning or they'll bail. That's why you picked up this book. In it you'll learn how to cut file sizes in half. You'll trim (X)HTML, CSS, graphics, JavaScript, multimedia, and bandwidth costs. Real-world examples illustrate techniques with before and after code and percentage savings. After reading this book, you'll know how to make your pages literally "pop" onto the screen.


About the Author
Andrew B. King (Andy) is the founder of WebReference.com and JavaScript.com, both award-winning web developer sites. Created in 1995 and subsequently acquired by Mecklermedia (now Jupitermedia) in 1997, WebReference has grown into one of the most popular developer sites on the Internet. WebReference.com has won more than 100 awards, including PC Magazine's Top 100 Web Sites (nine-time winner). As Managing Editor of WebReference.com and JavaScript.com, Andy became the "Usability Czar" at internet.com, optimizing the speed and usability of their sites. He continues to write the three weekly newsletters he started for WebReference.com and JavaScript.com. Andy has been studying, practicing, and teaching optimization techniques for more than 20 years. For his BSME and MSME from the University of Michigan, he specialized in design optimization. Recruited by NASA, he chose instead to join the fast-paced world of engineering consulting at ETA, Inc., a structural engineering firm. He worked for Ford and GM, optimizing entire automotive structures and suspensions with finite element analysis. In 1993, he discovered the web. Volunteer work with a local Free-net in 1993 led to a position as one of the first employees of Internet Connect, Inc., a web design firm. He's been working the web ever since. In addition to his work with WebReference.com, Andy has also written for MacWeek and Web Techniques (now New Architect), and contributed to Jim Heid's HTML & Web Publishing Secrets. When he's not optimizing web sites or writing newsletters, you'll find Andy out taking pictures, sailing, or bicycling. Contact Andy through the companion site to this book at http://www.WebSiteOptimization.com.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
Slow sites stink. Broadband isn't the solution: It'll be nearly 2005 before even half of your visitors have it. Many sites are unacceptably slow even at cable modem speeds. And you're paying to serve all that crud. What to do? Read Speed Up Your Site -- and do what it tells you.

Andrew B. King begins with the "psychology" of web performance. How fast is "fast enough"? What does the research say? How do you give users the pleasurable experience of "flow" as they navigate your site? Then, it's on to optimizations of every imaginable type: HTML and XHTML; CSS, JavaScript, and DHTML; graphics and multimedia, server-side techniques and GZIP compression -- which can slash HTML file size by 80 percent.

You'll discover "crunchers" that shorten scripts dramatically (and make them harder to steal). You'll learn how to refactor JavaScripts for speed (for example, by minimizing DOM interaction and tuning regular expressions). You'll learn how to shoot photos for better JPEG compression (minimize background details by using large apertures or telephoto lenses); and how to control compression more finely with third-party tools.

King sought out one of the most bloated home pages he could find: a prominent magazine that, at 138,548 Kb, is a "poster child" for site optimization. He then put that page on a "crash diet." He used SpaceAgent to squeeze out 27 percent in associated HTML junk. He eliminated redundant CSS and overly complex JavaScript. He trimmed overspecified tables and excess comments; eliminated lengthy absolute links; and finally, applied compression. At 8.4 Kb, the revamped page loads in less than three seconds at 56K. Amazing. Bill Camarda

Bill Camarda is a consultant, writer, and web/multimedia content developer. His 15 books include Special Edition Using Word 2000 and Upgrading & Fixing Networks for Dummies, Second Edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER