It can be frustrating when your code doesn't work or give you the desired results. To make it work, we try our best to fix it in any way we can. But sometimes, we may end up causing more harm than good. Your code may eventually give you the desired outcome, but at what cost?
Code bloating is a common issue that websites come across from time to time. It's when your website code is unnecessarily heavy and ends up affecting the experience offered by the platform to its visitors.
Code bloating significantly affects a website's ability to engage the target audience and drive the intended call to action.
To ensure high performance and offer a seamless experience to your visitors, it's essential to avoid having a bloated website.
And here are a few useful tips that may come in handy:
1. Avoid Repetition
It's normal for you to be in the zone when you code. In fact, total concentration is the key to making your code work and getting the desired outcome from it.
However, just because your code works doesn't mean that it's written the right way. When you're focused on the task at hand, it's possible that you may zone out and make your code unnecessarily long.
Your code may still work after this. However, it doesn't mean that it won't affect your website's performance.
It's reported that a 1-second delay in the load time of your website may cost you up to 11% of page views and decrease your conversions by 7%.
So, it's highly recommended that you review your code after you're done and tidy it up by removing unnecessary repetitions.
2. Keep Things Simple
Being ambitious is a good thing, but try not to overcomplicate stuff. It's understandable that you want to stand out from the competitors in your respective industry and want your website to appear distinct or unique.
However, you must know where to draw the line so you don't end up complicating things for yourself and your visitors.
The goal of creating a website is to facilitate your audience's access to relevant information and help them make informed buying decisions.
You won't be able to achieve this by offering a clunky user experience. So, if you think about it, having a simple-looking website isn't a bad thing after all. It facilitates seamless information navigation for your visitors and makes periodic maintenance much easier for you.
3. Leverage Modularity
Modularity is the best practice often used by expert programmers to ensure that their code is clean and free from repetitions.
Here, a programmer breaks the code into small chunks, each capable of representing a separate task or function.
These independent yet cohesive units are generally called modules and help you avoid issues like code bloating.
We have already talked about the importance of avoiding code repetition when it comes to improving your website's performance.
Leveraging modularity makes it easier to do so and helps you ensure that it does everything it's supposed to.
4. Consider Refactoring
Refactoring refers to the process that enables programmers to restructure their codes without having to change or alter the key functionality.
The process allows you to maximize your efficiency as you make small changes to your code without altering the code's external behavior.
They say if your code works, don't touch it. Well, in a way, you can't argue with them. However, if you can improve your code and make it more optimal, then why not?
Refactoring helps you tidy up your code, making it possible for you to remove repetitions, keep things simple, and reduce the huge chunks of your code into much smaller modules.
The lighter your website is, the easier it will be for you to engage your audience and retain your visitors.
So, even if your code works, it's best to consider refactoring to get rid of the excess bulk and ensure optimal website performance.
5. Test Your Code
No matter how careful you are with your code, it's best to test it before deployment. The core objective here is to offer a seamless experience to get more traction and create a website that appeals to visitors.
So, it's best to conduct audience testing before taking your website live. For this, you can ask your team to take your website for a spin and provide genuine feedback with respect to their experience.
Based on the feedback you receive, don't mind if you have to go back to the drawing board and make alterations to your code.
You should expect a bit of back and forth before you finally create a simple yet highly engaging or interactive website for your visitors.
A stellar website will help you grow your business with ease. So, don't shy away from making the tweaks necessary, as all your effort will be worth it in the end.
On the other hand, a clunky user interface may make your visitors feel disoriented, leading you to struggle with bounce rate problems or poor engagement.
Final Words
There you have it: the 5 useful tips to avoid code bloating and create a highly engaging website.
If you have been wanting to improve your website performance, start from the bottom and see if you can make improvements to your code.
A well-written and cleaner code may help optimize the experience you offer to your visitors and help you get more eyeballs.
So, feel free to leverage the recommendations in this article and see if they work out for you.
Top comments (0)