Web performance skyrockets: 110% speed increase, 57% more engagement

Solution

Phase I: Audit

• We initiated website audit in three high-level categories, namely in terms of performance, design and user experience.
• By using various 3rd party as well as proprietary website performance testing tools, we benchmarked the detailed website performance and identified possible loopholes present in the website’s performance.
• With agile & frequent testing, we tested website’s design for its robustness and compatibility across different platforms and browsers. 
• We analyzed user behaviour using multiple platforms as well as heat maps across site pages to identify various aspects right from content to creative and site structure that promote users bouncing off.

Phase 2: First-steps first

• We started first with improving the overall site structure such that the website can facilitate a 3-click-navigation strategy. By implementing this, any user, on any page of the website, can navigate to any other intended pages within 3 clicks. 
• Second step was closing website performance gaps. This involved serving scaled images, deferring JavaScript and CSS files, leveraging browser caching, etc.
• We then moved to fix the design and compatibility issues identified in the audit to make sure the website can be experienced perfectly on all major browsers and operating systems.

Phase 3: Deploying CDN

• The website was being accessed from over 150 plus countries, while being hosted at only 1 location on AWS. This increased latency, hampered user experience and promoted user bounce rates. 
• We implemented a Content Delivery Network (CDN) so that the website’s static content was cached in over 200 nodes worldwide, each serving to nearest location.
• This drastically improved website loading speeds across locations and also helped minimize load on the origin server.

Phase 4: Security

• Since the website housed a lot of mission-critical client data and APIs, it was imperative to have a secure environment all across.
• We started with carrying out server hardening which involved installing various security patches on the server, closing unused ports, using the latest web protocols, etc.
• Second step was securing the website code from any possible exploits or bugs. This involved upgrading CMS and plugins to latest versions, reviewing file permissions, and limiting suspicious user activities.
• Third and final step was securing the website from large outside attacks like DDOS. The CDN helped implement this layer where the site stays online despite any ongoing DDOS attacks.