Introduction

Have you ever stumbled upon a slow-loading website and thought, "I have time for this"? I suspect, no.

„You only have time if you take it.“ ― Karl Heinrich Waggerl 8

In today's digital world, speed is king, and as a web designer at Lindner IT, nothing is closer to my heart than the speed and performance of our websites.

But how do we achieve this? Let's take a look behind the curtain together.

The magic of content delivery networks (CDNs)

Suppose you're in New York, and your absolute favorite ice cream store is in Berlin. What would you do if you had an irrepressible craving for a scoop of that irresistibly delicious ice cream right now? You'd probably wish that your favorite ice cream would just magically appear at your place, right? While we at Lindner IT unfortunately can't teleport ice cream scoops just yet, we do just that with data on our websites. And that's the magic of content delivery networks (CDNs).

A CDN is basically a network of servers spread around the world that store a copy of your website data. Think of it like an army of hard-working ice cream couriers, making sure that every customer, no matter where they are in the world, gets their ice cream as quickly as possible. Except in this case, we're not delivering ice cream scoops, we're delivering data.

Instant Enjoyment: Caching with bunny.net

Now imagine your favorite ice cream already waiting pre-cooled in your freezer, ready to be enjoyed right away. That's exactly what caching makes possible. It ensures that frequently accessed data is available more quickly by storing a copy of it and keeping it ready.

With bunny.net we have the possibility to integrate caching directly in the CDN. This means that your website's data not only reaches the user in the fastest way possible, but is also available immediately. It's as if your ice cream is already waiting for you before you even ask for it.

And now comes the exciting part: At Lindner IT you have the option to use a CDN if you wish. But not just any CDN, but our favorite one: bunny.net. Why bunny.net, you ask? Because according to CDNPerf it is the fastest CDN worldwide and in Europe. It's a bit like we hired Usain Bolt to deliver the ice. And who wouldn't want the fastest man in the world to deliver their ice?

Not only is it super fast, but it's also reliable. Because just like a good ice cream parlor, you can count on the ice cream always being there when you want it. With bunny.net, we ensure that the content of our websites is always available and quickly accessible, no matter where our visitors are.

In the world of the Internet, speed can make the difference between a successful website and a mediocre one. And at Lindner IT, we believe our customers deserve only the best. So, why not use the best CDN in the world for the best performance? After all, we don't want you to have to wait for your ice cream.... er, your data, do we?

Choosing the right CDN that makes optimal use of DNS performance and caching is an art in itself. And we at Lindner IT have mastered this art. With our experience and expertise, we can ensure that your website always runs fast and reliably. Because we believe you deserve to enjoy your "ice cream" as quickly as possible.

On the move in the digital fast lane: DNS performance and bunny.net

The digital world is quite large and the data that makes up a website often has to travel a long distance to reach the end user. This is where DNS performance plays an important role. It is, so to speak, the pilot in the sea of data that knows the fastest way.

Fortunately, bunny.net, our preferred CDN, offers its own name server. This is comparable to a personal navigator that always knows the fastest route. It's as if we personally hired Usain Bolt to pave the way for your data.

If you like to dive into the technical depths, this article will tell you how name resolution and a DNS server works.

Images: A decisive factor for website speed

Let's look at it the sweet way again: Imagine ordering an ice cream cake for a party. Would you order a huge cake that barely fits in your fridge and is too much for your guests? Probably not. You would tailor the cake to the size of your celebration and the space in your fridge. It is similar with images on a website. The size and format of the images can have a significant impact on the speed of your website.

Let's talk about the format first. WebP is a modern image format that offers excellent compression while maintaining high quality. It's like the "light" version of your favorite ice cream - same great taste, but fewer "calories" (in this case, less data). At Lindner IT, we recommend the WebP format to increase website speed without sacrificing image quality.

Learn more about how the WebP format works and why it compresses so well here.

Your images can be converted to WebP here for free.

And what about the size of the images? Well, just like you wouldn't order an ice cream cake that's too big for your fridge, you shouldn't use images on your website that are larger than necessary. This means that images should be properly cropped and scaled to fit perfectly on your website. And that's where we come in: At Lindner IT, we help you to adjust your images optimally for your website.

With the right format and size, images on a website can be "light" and "fast", just like a refreshing ice cream on a hot summer day. Because at Lindner IT, we want you and your website visitors to have the best possible experience. And that means that your website loads just as fast as you'd like to enjoy your ice cream. Or maybe even faster!

Compression to the minimum!

Everyone likes things to be neat and tidy, including the Internet. By minimizing and compressing our HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files, we put our websites on a diet and make them leaner and faster. A bit like a digital spring cleaning. I bet your mom would be proud!

Loading on demand: Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is like the turtle race of the Internet world: slow and steady wins the race. It involves loading images and other content only when they are supposed to appear on the screen. It's like you're reading the newspaper and the next page doesn't print until you turn the page. At Lindner IT, we use lazy loading to ensure that you never have to wait for content to load that you can't see yet. Could you imagine the internet being patient?

New protocols for faster loading: HTTP/3

Protocols are the rules of the data highway. They determine how quickly and efficiently data is transferred. At Lindner IT, we always drive in the fast lane by using the latest protocols such as HTTP/2 and HTTP/3. It's a bit like driving to work in a Formula 1 car - only without the risk of speeding.

Time to First Byte (TTFB): A Meaningful Indicator of Web Performance

Imagine ordering your favorite ice cream and the ice cream man behind the counter handing you your desired flavor in a split second. Almost magical, right? That's the kind of experience we're aiming for for your website users when we talk about TTFB or Time to First Byte.

TTFB refers to the time that elapses from the moment a user sends a request to the server (for example, by clicking a link or going to a web page) to the moment the user's browser receives the first response from the server (that is, gets the first byte from the server). You can think of it as the time it takes the ice cream man to respond to your order and deliver your ice cream to you.

A short TTFB means that your website's data gets to the user faster, resulting in faster page rendering and an overall better user experience. It's like the ice cream man making and serving your ice cream as soon as you ask for it.

There are many factors that can affect TTFB, including network latency, server throughput, and server logic. For example, we use high-quality website hosts (through our partner raidboxes), optimize the website code, and use technologies such as CDNs and caching, as mentioned earlier.

Summary

In conclusion, in today's digital world, speed is not an option, but a necessity. At Lindner IT, we have made it our mission to ensure that your website not only works, but excels in every way.

Our approach combines proven techniques like CDN, WebP image optimization, lazy loading, state-of-the-art protocols, and more to make your website as fast and reliable as possible. Like Usain Bolt racing across the finish line at unmatched speed, we strive to deliver our websites in the fastest time possible.

Because we know that in the world of the web, every second counts. With Lindner IT, you're in good hands - let us work together to create the fastest, most efficient and most appealing website you can imagine.