This is the first blog update for 2010 which covers most if not all the changes I’ve made/done to JaypeeOnline since my last blog update back in November. Most of the recent changes were done to improve page load times for JaypeeOnline. Why the sudden focus/concern about page speed/page load time? Because these past couple of months, I’ve read several articles that talk about page speed becoming a ranking factor this year and Google’s recent release of the Page Speed Report Tool in Webmaster Tools. With that, I checked JaypeeOnline’s page load times and identified the files, scripts/widgets that sends a lot of requests or extra DNS lookups, adding to the overal page speed/page load time.
Uninstalled Plugins
- SexyBookmarks – adds a (X)HTML compliant list of social bookmarking icons to each post.
- TweetMeme Button – Adds a button which easily lets you retweet your blog posts.
- Where did they go from here – Show “Readers who viewed this page, also viewed” links on your page. Much like Amazon.com’s product pages.
Uninstalled the SexyBookmarks and TweetMeme Button plugins because they make several large connections in order for them to do their job, which amounts to a higher page load time. If not for the issue of page speed, I wouldn’t have removed these plugins as I really like them, they’re very useful and they go well with the design/layout of my blog theme. I was able to hit two birds with one stone on this because I was able to get rid of two plugins and I was able to reduce the overall page load time. The Where did they go from here plugin worked well but I had to remove it because I had to move back the Adsense unit to that spot.
Installed Plugins
- Clicky for WordPress – Integrates Clicky (analytics) on your blog!
- WP Minify – this plugin uses the Minify engine to combine and compress JS and CSS files to improve page load time.
Re-installed the Clicky for WordPress plugin (blog statistics/analytics) because I needed something that would let me check my blog stats on the iPhone. There’s a Google Analytics app on iTunes but I prefer Clicky over Google Analytics. I installed the WP Minify plugin to help me compress JS and CSS files in order to improve JaypeeOnline’s page load time. The first time I installed (a couple months back), I got errors, so I decided to uninstall it. I gave it another try and this time it worked fine without any errors.
Other Changes
- Removed the JaypeeOnline Facebook Fan Page widget from the sidebar.
- Edited the Author Info section and added/removed some stuff.
- Added Chitika Premium ads which show up only to visitors referred by search engines.
- Created a custom social bookmark section, located at the bottom of every post (BOOKMARK or SHARE IT!). This is not a plugin. I’ve manually coded it into theme.
I removed the Facebook Fan Page widget because it was erratic. There were times when it was messed up and somtimes it won’t load at all. It’s javascript and it really slowed down the page load time. I would’ve kept it if it at least brought in some traffic from Facebook, but it didn’t. So it wasn’t really worth having. Edited the Author Info section and added my Twitter and Facebook links. I added the Chitika Premium ads two months ago, but I wasn’t able to include it in my blog update. Because I uninstalled the SexyBookmarks plugin, I had to find an alternative social bookmarking plugin but decided to create a custom social bookmarking section. I downloaded some social bookmarking icons and created the “Bookmark or Share It!” graphic using Adobe Photoshop. Hope you guys like it. Let me know what you think about it, okay?
I’m also thinking about reinstalling the WP Polls plugin and having a weekly or monthly poll here on JaypeeOnline. What do you think?
If any of you guys have comments, ideas or suggestions to make JaypeeOnline better, please don’t hesitate to share it with me via the comments section or if you want to remain anonymous, you can send me a message via the contact page. I’d also appreciate it if you could inform me of any errors or issues that you may encounter on the blog. Thank you!
[image source: flickr.com/photos/clement127]
I’ll definitely look forward to that tutorial, thanks buddy. :)
@Sir jayp. I’ve tried Minify but there was some error.Im also trying to cut down load times on my blog..I guess i need to hit the sweet spot between eye-candy and performance
@Industry News – Indeed, especially with the recent developments regarding page speed. No, I don’t and haven’t used the All in One SEO plugin so I can’t tell if it has an effect on page load or page speed. Sorry about that.
Speed is of the essense, and cutting out the bloat does have its advantages! Are you using the All in One SEO plugin? Does anybody know how it affects load speed?
@Kimwell – The cons outweighed the pros for the Facebook Fan Page widget so I decided to take it down. Yeah, you should try the WP Minify plugin and if you do, please share your experience using it. It’s my pleasure and thank you for sharing your thoughts. :)
I agree with the facebook thing..I have been also struggling with it..I think I’m gonna try the Minify plugin..thanks for this very informative post sir jaypee!
@joie – You’re welcome bai! You guys (readers), are the VIPs here so I’ll do everything I can to keep you informed and make your stay here as comfortable as possible. Oh yeah, thanks for the kind words. :D
Thanks Jaypee for informing us readers on the updates of your blog. I agree with elmot about the customized bookmark thing. It is always good to visit this website. Keep it coming bai.
@Dennis – That’s actually a good idea. Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll write a short tutorial on how I made that custom bookmark section soon. :D
Perhaps a (simple) tutorial on the hard-coding of the bookmarks? :)
@Anne – Thanks! Appreciate the feedback. My primarily goal in doing these blog updates is to inform my readers of the changes and at the same time, it servers as a marker/reminder of the changes I’ve made and things I’ve added/removed so I have something to refer too in case I encounter problems in the future. Glad you like the bookmark thing too :D
@Archon Digital – Actually, this custom bookmarks thingy is somewhat inspired by the Socialize plugin and I just added a few touches of my own. Thanks for the compliment! :)
I left MT a long time ago. I’m now on managed VPS via ServInt. Been with them for about 4 months now and everything has been doing great. Uptime is great, only had 2 downtimes so far (lasted a couple of minutes) and customer service is the best I’ve had so far.
I always wanted to implement a customized bookmarking thing. I’m thinking of using sociable and customizing all the icons and adding some branding. Great work.
Off topic: Are you still with Mediatemple? How is is going along?
I haven’t read one of your blog updates before, but I really like how you explain why you are/are not using certain features/plug-ins. It’s really helpful to know why the changes are being made. The customized bookmark bar is great as well.
@Jhay – Thanks dude! I’m happy to hear that there’s an improvement with page load. Haha..its all good, I know you’re into simple and minimalistic stuff so its all good. ;)
A nice round of blog update. Page load has indeed improved. The custom bookmark plugin is a neat idea but the graphic seems to be screaming out a bit too loud. But you know the minimalist me. ;)
@elmot – Thank you! Glad you like it. Was trying to figure out what I would do after I uninstalled the Sexy Bookmarks plugin and came up with this. :D
Man love this customized bookmark thing at the end of your post bro! Branding….love it really. You are a genius :D