Depending on how your website is built, there are two main methods you can use to make the redirection setup:

1. By using a .htaccess file that gives rules to the server and makes the redirecting from HTTP to HTTPS
2. By using the settings on your CMS platform, should your website be based on one.

N.B: This is a quick guide on redirecting HTTP to HTTPS. If you wish to delve into details, then check out our comprehensive guide on the topic:

How do I Redirect HTTP Traffic to HTTPS

Redirect Your Website from HTTP to HTTPS with a .htaccess File

To redirect your website from HTTP to HTTPS with an .htaccess file, you should follow these steps:

1. Get an SSL certificate. To be able to redirect to HTTPS, you need to get an SSL certificate for your domain name.
2. Access your website’s File Manager section in the Hosting Control Panel
3. Within the File Manager section, search for a file named “.htaccess”.
4. If there is no such file within the website’s directory, create a new file and name it “.htaccess”.
5. Open the .access file for editing.
6. Choose one of the following rules to add to your website:Force “www.”: Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS and the “www.” version of your domain:

   RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://www.protected-site.com%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]Force “non-www.”:

   Redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS and to the “non-www.” version of your domain name:

   RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://protected-site.com%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]

   Allow both “www.” and “non-www.” on your domain:

   RewriteEngine On RewriteBase / RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off RewriteRule ^(.*)$ https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R=301]Copy the preferred code to the .htaccess file and save it.

Read also: What is an SSL Certificate and Why is it Important to Use One on Your Website

Redirect Your Website from HTTP to HTTPS with a CMS

You can quickly set up your CMS to redirect HTTP to HTTPS. The setup usually involves changing the settings within the given CMS.

WordPress

Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.

Navigate to Settings > General.

Update the WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) fields to use HTTPS instead of HTTP. Save changes.

Update any hardcoded HTTP links within your content or theme files to HTTPS.

Install and activate a plugin like “Really Simple SSL” or “WP Force SSL” to automatically handle HTTPS redirection and update insecure content.

Verify redirection by accessing your site using HTTP and ensuring that it automatically redirects to HTTPS.

Drupal:

Log in to your Drupal admin dashboard.

Navigate to Configuration > System > Trusted Host Settings.

Add your HTTPS domain to the list of trusted hosts.

Install and enable the “Redirect” module if not already installed.

Configure the Redirect module to redirect all HTTP traffic to HTTPS.

Save configuration changes and verify redirection by accessing your site using HTTP.

Joomla:

Log in to your Joomla admin dashboard.

Navigate to System > Global Configuration.

Under the Server tab, locate the “Force HTTPS” setting and set it to “Entire Site.”

Save changes and verify redirection by accessing your site using HTTP.

Magento:

Log in to your Magento admin dashboard.

Navigate to Stores > Configuration > General > Web.

Update the Base URL settings for both Secure and Unsecure sections to use HTTPS.

Flush Magento cache and verify redirection by accessing your site using HTTP.

Other CMS Platforms

For other CMS platforms, check the official documentation or consult the community support forums for guidance on setting up HTTPS redirection. In some cases, you may need to edit configuration files or use plugins/extensions to achieve redirection.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can set up your website to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS, therefore enhancing the security of your website.

The post How to Redirect My Website From HTTP to HTTPS appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

In this article, you will read how to install an SSL certificate on your website.

 How to Get an SSL Certificate

There are several steps you need to take to install your SSL certificate:

1. Log into the AwardSpace hosting control panel.
2. Once you log in to the hosting panel, head to SSL Manager:

3. After you click on SSL Manager, a list of your hosted websites will appear. From this list, find the website on which you wish to add an SSL certificate and click the blue + sign on the left of the domain name:

4. Clicking the + button will open a menu with 3 blue buttons. From them, click on Buy SSL Certificate:

5. After you click on the Buy SSL Certificate, a message box with brief information about SSL Certificates will appear:

6. While this box is opened, click on the blue Get an SSL Certificate button, located within the box:
   
7. After you click the button, a list with available types of SSL certificates will appear. Choose the one that fits your needs best by adding a tick to the left of the name:
   
8. After you add a tick to the SSL certificate you want to install a new field will appear. Once you see it, add your website’s domain name, so the SSL certificate be added to this particular website:
   
9. (Optional). For an additional safety layer, add a private IP for your SSL Certificate. To do so, in the Private IPs (SSL) add a tick to the IP for SSL box and add your website’s domain name in the field on the right:

10. Once you have chosen an SSL certificate, specified the website it will be applied on, and added a private IP, it is time to continue with the purchase process. For this reason, click on the blue Continue button at the bottom of the page:

11. In the next step, check whether the correct SSL certificate is selected, select a payment method, and add contact details. Also, this is the place from which you can add a promo code for discounts. Also, don’t forget to agree with the AwardSpace agreement policy:

12. Once you select a paying method, add your data, and agree to the AwardSpace agreement policies, click on the blue Continue button at the bottom of the page:

13. Follow further the instructions, check whether everything looks fine, and at the final stage of the purchase process, click on the blue Pay with 2Checkout! button:

14. Then, check the items you are about to purchase, add billing information, and choose a payment method within the new page that would open and finalize the purchasing process:

15. Once the payment is made, within a short period, our Sales team will install the SSL certificate on your website.

The post How to Get an SSL Certificate appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

Two of the most efficient ways of doing so are by using HTTPS and SSL certificates. In this article, we will delve into the topic of SSL certificates.

If you are interested in HTTPS, how it works, and what it does, then check out our article on the topic: How Does HTTPS Work? and also read How to Redirect My Website From HTTP to HTTPS

What is an SSL Certificate

SSL certificate, or a Secure Socket Layer certificate, is a type of software that can authenticate the identity of a website, and provide secure communication between said website, the user’s web browser, and the web server.

In other words, SSL certificates serve as a digital ID card that verifies the trustworthiness of your website and safeguards any data transmitted between the server and the browser. This protects your website and site visitors from various types of cyberattacks.

Website owners need an SSL certificate, as it proves that their website is secure and trustworthy and any sensitive data that it collects (such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and others) is safe and secure.

To know more about SSL certificates, check out our in-depth guide on the topic: What is SSL and How Does it Protect My Website?

Also, read about how to get an SSL certificate for your website.

The Importance of SSL Certificate on Your Website

Installing an SSL certificate on your website can bring you numerous benefits. Such are:

• Data encryption. SSL certificates encrypt the data that is being transmitted via your website and make it impossible to comprehend by unauthorized third parties such as hackers.
• Validation. SSL certificates serve as proof of validation for your website, which can greatly build trust among your potential site visitors and customers. In short, authentication makes your website trustworthy, which can contribute to more visitors and customers.
• SEO benefits. Websites with SSL certificates are prioritized by search engines such as Google and therefore often rank higher in search engine rankings. So, when working on SEO, definitely consider adding an SSL certificate to your website.

Conclusion

SSL certificates protect your website and site visitors from unauthorized access and data breaches. This is why, SSL certificates have become an essential part of each contemporary website project.

The post What is an SSL Certificate and Why is it Important to Use One on Your Website appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

One of the most effective technologies you can use to protect your website and visitors is HTTPS. Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (abbreviated as HTTPS) secures the backbone of the World Wide Web and establishes safe communication between servers and clients.

Because of the paramount importance HTTPS has on contemporary websites, we delve deep into the topic of what it is, how HTTPS works, and how it provides a safe web browsing experience for everyone.

Table of Contents:

• What is HTTPS
• How Does HTTPS Work
• Advantages of Using HTTPS on Your Website
• How to Add HTTPS to My Website

What is HTTPS

Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol, abbreviated as HTTPS is the main protocol used to safely transfer data between devices that are connected to the Internet. HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP.

In more detail, HTTPS makes sure that computer devices (such as clients and servers) can transmit data that is encrypted, so no unauthorized third party can know what exactly has been transmitted between the devices, and therefore can’t use this data for any nefarious and illegal purposes. For this reason, HTTPS is very important for securing websites and online activities such as shopping, banking, and registration to various services, as the technology encrypts sensitive data such as bank accounts, passwords, IBANs, and similar.

Encryption means that the data transmitted between a client and a server is scrambled in such a way that only the authorized parties can understand the information, and everyone else will see a string of random symbols.

Here’s an example of encryption:

Before encryption, a transmitted message can look like this:

“Username: Hank; Password: 89230Afdf; Account #: 4909034897023; Account email: hank@email.com.”

However, when this message is encrypted, it can look like this:

2+W2gU0<Kn8pBGBU;~iYKqA49’3J.Bg”T}=[2NaFi|hEiQ`.HP(SyC7B21kqsA9Ak*.Zv!JRQh6@NGsGrL>T>|y)wGUp5wBUWd3{

Adding HTTPS helps websites that operate with sensitive data and greatly enhances their safety and trustworthiness.

How Does HTTPS Work

Just like HTTP, HTTPS is based on the request-response model. This means that the web browser (the client) sends a request to a given server, so the requested server responds to that request.

Unlike HTTP, HTTPS uses a secure sockets layer (SSL) and transport layer security (TLS) certificates for encryption. These two certificates are digital documents that prove the identity of a given website. Once the identity is provided, the encrypted connection can be established.

How does HTTPS work:

1. Once you type in a given domain name in your browser, or click on a given link, your web browser tries to connect to the website corresponding to that domain name/link via HTTPS.
2. The website’s hosting server responds to the initiated connection of the web browser by sending its SSL certificates or TSL certificates to the browser. These certificates contain an encryption key and are used to establish an encrypted (secure) connection.
3. Once the browser receives the sent certificates, it verifies them by checking whether they are issued by a reliable authority (such as AwardSpace).
4. After the browser confirms authority, it connects to the server and both establish an encrypted connection by exchanging their SSL/TLS keys after the certificates are verified.
5. Now that the encrypted connection is established, all data transfer between your web browser and the requested server is being encrypted. This means that the web browser and the server can decrypt the exchanged data, thanks to the keys they send each other. This also means that no one else except your browser and the requested server can read this data, should it be intercepted (because instead of any actual information, a string of random symbols will be displayed).
6. After the encrypted connection is established, the requested server receives the encrypted data from your browser, decrypts it by using a private key, processes the request, and sends back the requested information, which is also encrypted. Then, after your web browser receives this encrypted data, it decrypts it and displays the website content to you in the form that it was initially intended to be displayed.

Advantages of Using HTTPS on Your Website

We have already mentioned that using HTTPS is beneficial for your website. Now, we share a detailed list of the main advantages of using HTTPS on your website:

Advanced-Data Privacy

HTTPS protects the privacy of your website users. By using this protocol, you make sure that their sensitive information such as credit card numbers, login details, or anything else, remains confidential and inaccessible to unauthorized third parties.

Improved User Experience

As each website displays whether it uses HTTPS encryption, users can choose which sites to use and which not, based on the encryption features, or the lack of such.

Websites that use HTTPS positively impact user experience, as such security feature sends trust signals to all potential website visitors.

Something more, users become increasingly aware of what security features they should be looking and a website that provides data encryption has greater chances of being opened and used for transactions, registrations, and other activities.

In other words, by using HTTPS, you can retain your visitors, reduce the overall bounce rates, and eventually increase your conversions.

There are two ways to see whether a website has established HTTPS:

1. 1. 1. Once you enter the website, click the URL. If the website features HTTPS, then the URL should display htttps:// at the left of the domain name. If you see this detail on the right of the domain name, then the website is using an HTTPS encryption:

1. 1. 2. You can check whether the connection is secure, by clicking the site information button next to the URL address bar of your browser:

Once you click this button, a box with information about the website will appear. Should the given website feature HTTPS  and SSL encryption, the box will contain a security confirmation message:

If you click on the confirmation message, additional information will appear:

Improved SEO Rankings

Along with providing your website with advanced security, HTTPS can also boost your rankings and visibility in search engines such as Google.

This is possible, as using HTTPS is a positive ranking signal. This means that websites that use HTTPS encryption are more likely to appear in search results and in higher positions, compared to websites that don’t feature such safety measures.

Keep in mind that SEO is very important for your website and business, as a well-optimized website can generate a ton of organic traffic.

To learn more about how to make your website attract more visitors, check out our comprehensive SEO guide – we delve deeply into what this is, how it works and how can it help your website and business thrive.

How to Add HTTPS to My Website

The most effective and secure way of adding HTTPS encryption to your website is by installing an SSL certificate on your website. AwardSpace provides a wide list of SSL certificates, all suitable for different website purposes. Browse our list of advanced protection certificates and protect your website today.

Read: How to Redirect My Website From HTTP to HTTPS

Read further: How to Get an SSL Certificate

How Does HTTPS Work – Conclusion

HTTPS plays an important role in providing security, privacy, and trustworthiness in the world of the Internet. HTTPS encrypts the data that is being transmitted between browsers and servers and therefore establishes a safe connection and mitigates the risk of sensitive data being stolen and the risk of cyberattacks.

As the Internet advances and evolves, the adoption of HTTPS remains essential for each website on the web.

Read Further:

• How Do I Redirect HTTP Traffic to HTTPS?
• What Is the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?
• How to Install SSL and HTTPS on a WordPress Site

The post How Does HTTPS Work appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

• It keeps your site visitors engaged,
• Fast website speed helps for higher ranking in search results
• Increases chances for website monetization

Luckily, there’s a lot you can do to improve website speed and in this article, we share our best tips to make your website lightning fast.

In this article:

• Use a Reliable and High-Performance Web Hosting Service
• Optimize Website Images
• Minimize HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Code
• Reduce and Optimize Website Redirects
• Cache Your Pages
• Use Browser Caching
• Remove Unused Plugins
• Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)
• Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests
• Remove the Unnecessary Render-Blocking JavaScript

How to Improve Website Speed: 10 Pro Tips

There are various aspects of website speed optimization that include server performance, website code efficiency, media optimization, and more. Here are 10 techniques to speed up your website.

Use a Reliable and High-Performance Hosting Service

The hosting provider for your website is essential for the loading speed of your website.

The more advanced the technical infrastructure of the provider you choose, the better. As a rule of thumb, search for a brand that is well-established in the hosting niche and is known for its reliability and advanced performance.

One such is AwardSpace – we have provided reliable hosting services for more than two decades and know how to satisfy the needs of even the most demanding clients. Browse among all our hosting services and choose the most fitting option for your needs.

For example, if you are looking for an affordable yet reliable solution, try out one of our shared hosting plans, or check out our advanced VPS hosting that would endure any performance challenge you put it through. Also, you can try out our WordPress hosting plan, should you build your website with this CMS, or simply try our services without any payment via our free hosting plan.

Optimize Website Media

Images, videos, and audio files on your website can make it slower, as media files require more time and resources to be processed. To enhance website speed, make sure to optimize the images and all other media files – compress them, so they take up less disc space, and yet retain their sharpness.

Minimize HTML, CSS, and JavaScript Code

Similar to images, bulky code can slow down your website speed. This is why, it is a good idea to make it as short as possible without reducing its functionality and sacrificing website features. Check whether you can remove unnecessary spaces and symbols, unused snippets, and comments. This will help the web server work with a smaller amount of information and therefore process it faster.

Reduce and Optimize Website Redirects

Each redirect on your website takes time to complete. This is why, it is advisable to keep them in low numbers and as short as possible. Check your internal redirects and see whether you can make them shorter, or remove them completely without sacrificing website functionality.

Cache Your Pages

Regardless of how you build your website, it is always a good idea to use a cache, as it allows faster server response and therefore fast website loading speeds. There are many ways to cache your website pages – for example, you can do this directly on the server, or use a plugin if your website is based on a CMS such as WordPress. In short, caching is a great way to speed up your website, so you should consider using it.

Use Browser Caching

Browser caching can greatly reduce website speeds. This technique allows the browser to store numerous types of data such as stylesheets, media files, and JavaScript files, and use them, instead of reloading the entire web page each time a user visits it.

Remove Unused Plugins

If you use WordPress or other CMS for your website, likely, you are likely also using various plugins.

Should this be the case, then keep in mind that too many plugins can slow down your website.

So, check your plugins library and remove the ones that you don’t need. By doing so, you allow your website to function with fewer components, making it process a smaller amount of information and making it faster. When it comes to the plugins you need and use, make sure they are updated to the latest version, to avoid any performance flaws and slow speeds.

Use a Content Delivery Network (CDN)

Content delivery networks are very useful, as they help distribute your website’s static content such as images, CSS, and JavaScript snippets on multiple servers across the globe and therefore reduce latency and loading times for your site visitors greatly.

Reduce the Number of HTTP Requests

In most cases, webpages require web browsers to make numerous HTTP requests for the different types of content on the given page such as media files, scripts, CSS files, and others. There are cases in which dozens of such requests are being made for a single web page. Each of these requests results in an additional exchange of data between the web browser and the server, which adds up to the overall load time of the page.

This is why, it is important to reduce the number of such HTTP requests to the minimum, In most cases, speed tests can give you an insight of which HTTP requests are taking up the most time.

To read more about speed tests, read our article regarding why website speed is important. Within it we also explain how can speed test tools help you improve your website.

Remove the Unnecessary Render-Blocking JavaScript

Sometimes, your web pages can contain unnecessary code snippets. Something more, such unnecessary code can load before other more important page resources, and therefore slow down the overall loading time.

Check your website for such unnecessary snippets and remove them, as they are only slowing down your website without adding any useful features. You can use a web performance tool to search for such code.

How to Improve Website Speed – Conclusion

By implementing the strategies we shared in this article, you can significantly improve your website’s speed, and provide your visitors smooth and rewarding browsing experience.

The post How to Improve Website Speed: 10 Pro Tips appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

When a request to the CDN is made, the system fetches a cached copy to the end user, instead of forcing them to connect with the server that contains the original content, known as an origin server.

By using this approach, the end user benefits from faster loading speeds and an overall enhanced web browsing experience.

In short, the content delivery system allows anyone to watch a movie, download any web application, post on social media, and make online purchases as fast and as securely as possible.

The content delivery network grows constantly, and in today’s world of the Internet, the majority of web traffic is generated via CDN.

In this article, you will read about:

• How Does a Content Delivery Network Work
• What are the Benefits of Using Content Delivery Network
• History of Content Delivery Network

Read also:

• Why Your Site Speed Matters and How to Measure It
• How to Improve Website Speed
• What Is Website Malware and How to Protect Your Site from It?
• How to Optimize Images for Web (7 Key Tips)
• What is ICANN
• How Does DNS Work

How Does a Content Delivery Network Work

The content delivery network works by connecting three types of servers: origin servers, edge servers, and DNS servers.

Origin servers. This type of server contains the original version of the web resource that a client requests. Such servers can be owned by a content provider or a cloud provider such as Google. Clients need to connect to an origin server if they wish to access an online resource.

Sometimes this can be time-consuming, especially in the case in which a client and an origin server are physically far from each other.

For example, the client is located in Germany and tries to reach an origin server, located in the USA. This is completely possible, however, the process can take up tons of resources and time.

Edge servers. These servers are placed in various geographical locations across the globe, known as “points of presence”, or simply “PoPs”. Technically, edge servers are establishing a connection both with the origin servers and the client. The idea is to place edge servers physically closer to as many clients as possible, to provide requested online data faster.

An edge server caches content from the origin servers and stores it on their hard disc. Then, once a client requests the origin server, they are redirected to an edge server that is physically closest to the client. Once the edge server is reached, it fetches the cached files back to the client much faster.

DNS servers. Domain Name System servers are responsible for connecting each unique IP address to the content in both origin and edge servers. When a client sends a request to an origin server, the DNS servers respond with information about the closest edge server from which the requested information can be gathered much faster and easier.

What Are the Benefits of Using Content Delivery Network

CDN contributes to numerous advantages and benefits for Internet users. In greater detail, the content delivery network contributes to:

Fast website loading speeds. CDN manages to reduce latency and distributes content faster to end users via a nearby CDN server. Latency refers to the delay you experience when waiting for a certain web page to load fully. Reduced latency directly contributes to lower page loading times and enhanced user experience.

To ensure fast speeds, CDNs provide users with pre-saved web content (the cached files) and therefore eliminate the need for a connection between a client and an origin server that can be hundreds of miles apart.

The content delivery network helps with reducing bandwidth costs. Since CDN uses caching to fetch the requested web resource to the end user, the system reduces the amount of data exchange, which results in less bandwidth consumption.

Load Balancing. A CDN balances the exchange of traffic data between servers and devices. This allows content providers to deal easily with increased demand in web traffic, as well as traffic spikes without sacrificing speed.

Imagine that millions of users aim to open a website, hosted on a single server. This would result in server performance flaws, very slow speeds, and an overall dissatisfactory user experience.

This is where CDNs shine.

By using a content delivery system, the data load is distributed among several servers that can easily handle all user requests. This provides fast loading speeds and overall flawless performance.

Improved Internet functionality. Via CDN, data transfers and hardware functionality are improved, as the system relies on cached files that are way lighter than the original web resources. This allows servers to function with less amount of load, ensuring fast speeds and overall flawless performance.

Improved web content availability. Via content delivery network, web resources remain available to end users even during traffic spikes when numerous people are accessing content at the same time.

Without a CDN, all traffic processing must be handled solely by the infrastructure of each content provider. This can become an issue even for the provider with the most powerful servers. A content delivery system with edge servers fixes this issue and grants content providers with a robust infrastructure and end-users with a satisfactory performance.

History of Content Delivery Network

The concept of CDN was conceived in the 1990s, not long after the invention of the World Wide Web. Three main phases mark the evolution of the content delivery network:

Phase 1: The first CDNs were focused on delivering intelligent traffic management and providing data centers for replication and access to web resources.

Phase 2: The second generation of CDNs was created in response to the emerging audio and video streaming services. The system gradually evolved to process data from mobile internet devices. During this phase, cloud computer technologies and peer-to-peer networks accelerated the further development of CDN.

Phase 3: This is the current state of CDN technology.  The focus is to manage bandwidth consumption with smart devices that can communicate intelligently with each other.

Conclusion

Content delivery networks are helping more Internet users benefit from super-fast loading speeds and flawless web browsing experience.

This is possible, thanks to the so-called edge servers that establish the connection between a client and an origin server. Edge servers cache web content located in origin servers and store it in their disc. This allows Internet users to connect directly to an edge server and access Internet content without the need to reach the origin servers, which would take too much time and resources.

Built to optimize data exchange and make the Internet faster, CDNs are the backbone of the contemporary accessible and easy-to-use Internet.

The post What is Content Delivery Network appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

Including images on your website, however, should be done cautiously, as instead of asset your website images can become an issue.

This is why, you should know how to optimize images for the web before using them on your website.

In this article, you will read about:

• What is Image Optimization in SEO
• Why is Image Optimization Important
• How to Optimize Images for the Web

Read also:

• What Are Web Analytics and Why Do They Matter?
• What is SEO and How Does it Work
• What is Content Delivery Network
• What Is Website Malware and How to Protect Your Site from It?
• How to Sell Ads on Your WordPress Website

What is Image Optimization in SEO

Image optimization, SEO image optimization, or image optimization in SEO, is the process in which you reduce the image file size without diminishing the same image’s quality.

The idea is to use only optimized images on your website, so to ensure fast website speeds at all times and also to improve SEO.

Read also how to optimize your website speed.

Why is Image Optimization Important

The main reason why image optimization is important for your website is because it helps your pages load faster. This is because images take up space and time to load. The larger an image is, the more time it needs to load. The more time your website needs to load, the slower it is.

In short, bulky images in great numbers make your website slow – a thing that both site visitors and search engines don’t appreciate:

1. Site loading speed is a ranking factor – the faster your website loads, the higher in search result pages it can get ranked. The opposite is also true – if your website is slow, search engines such as Google and Bing would place it in lower SERP positions.
2. Visitors are used to fast loading speeds and would leave a website that takes longer than a few seconds to last.

This is why, when working on your website, you should always optimize images for the web before using them on your website. This would ensure fast loading speeds and a rewarding user experience.

Also, you will save disc space on your hosting plan, unless you use an unlimited plan for your website.

How to Optimize Images for Web

In most cases, lowering an image’s size leads to lowering its quality and sharpness. The final goal of image optimization is to decrease the size of a given image as much as possible, but without a noticeable diminish in the quality.

Here are some tips on how to optimize your images without sacrificing quality:

Always Use Quality Images

When working on your website, focus on using sharp images with rich color palettes.

Avoid using images with way too small resolution and always inspect the original image for flaws before optimizing and using it on your website.

Also, keep in mind that a contemporary website should be both informative and aesthetically pleasing. This means that along with choosing the right color palette, the images you use should be of the highest quality possible, to add a kick to the positive user experience.

Choose the Right Image Format

Images come in various file types. The most common across the Web are JPEGs, PNGs, and GIFs. Each of the three comes with advantages and disadvantages.

JPEGs are the ideal choice for images that should display a rich color palette and small details. JPEG images are widely used across various types of websites, because of their high quality and flexibility. However, these types of images are not the best choice, should you wish to use them as a transparent background.

PNGs are images with simple color palettes. This format is perfect for icons, flat illustrations, and logos. Also, PNGs are very flexible, as they come with transparent backgrounds and can be used in numerous creative ways.

GIFs support only 256 colors and basic animation. They are widely used across social media and can work well on your website, should you wish to showcase an idea with animation. When working with these, you should consider how long they last, would the animation loops, and how many there would be on a given web page.

Resize Images Before Upload

Some images can come in way too large resolution than what you need. For example, imagine using a 4000×4000 pixels image in a 300×300 frame. Using an image with such large dimensions for this frame is completely unnecessary.

In similar cases, it is best to resize large images to the proper size. This would result in a greater size reduction without any sacrifices in terms of quality.

Use an Image Optimizer Tool

Numerous image optimizer tools allow you to compress your images. Some popular choices include:

• Adobe Photoshop
• GIMP
• Optimizilla

If you are not sure which image optimization tools are suitable for your needs, then try out various platforms and go for the one that best fits your working preferences and comes with the features you would use the most.

Learn the Difference Between Lossy and Lossless Image Optimization

There are two main types of image compression – lossy and lossless.

Lossy compression can significantly reduce the size of a given image but at the risk of great quality reduction. With lossy compression, the algorithm detects components in the image file that are considered less important than others and removes them. This type of compression is oftentimes used in small-dimension images, as the quality drop remains mainly unnoticeable.

The greatest advantage of using lossy compression is that this method can drastically reduce the size of a given image. However, keep in mind that if you overcompress an image with this method, its quality can diminish significantly and you can’t restore the original file to its original state.

Lossless compression, on the other hand, reduces the size of the file but retains the quality of the original image. With this method, the non-essential elements of the image are compressed, instead of removed, in a way that doesn’t affect the quality of the image directly. The compression is lighter, compared to the lossy method, but the quality of the image is retained. Something more, should you wish to restore the compressed image to its original size, you can do so without any data loss and drop in quality.

Don’t Over-Optimize Images

Take a look at these two images:

Image compression was applied to both images. However, the difference in quality is noticeable. Although the second image is almost 40 times smaller than the first one, it is not as merely sharp as the first one.

This is where the balance between size and quality comes into play – when optimizing, always pay attention to the quality of the image – the more it decreases, the more unaesthetic it would make your website.

For best results optimize images to the point in which a decrease in quality is unnoticeable. Any more decrease in size than this point is risky, as diminished quality may become apparent.

Optimize Images with WordPress Plugin

If you use WordPress for your website, you can look for an image optimization plugin. Although there is no single best image optimization plugin WordPress can offer you, there a plenty of options that can do the job just fine.

Some image optimization plugins include:

• TinyPNG
• Smush
• EWWW Image Optimizer
• Imagify
• WP Compress

Conclusion

Image optimization is of great importance for the success of your website project. They contribute to better user experience on your pages and also can add a kick to SEO.

In short, here’s how to go with the image optimization process:

Always use high-quality images

• Choose the right image format
• Resize images before uploading them to your website
• Use an image optimizer tool
• Differentiate lossy and lossless compression
• Don’t overoptimize your images
• Use WordPress image optimization plugins

The post How to Optimize Images for Web (7 Key Tips) appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

This makes malware protection paramount for your website. Something more, it is highly advisable that you use all means of security measures for your web pages, to deflect any negative impact on your visitors’ data, personal information, funds, and everything else that is worth protecting on your web pages.

In the following paragraphs, you will read about:

• What is Website Malware
• How Website Malware Can Access Your Pages
• Types of Website Malware
• Common Signs of Website Malware Infection
• How to Protect From Website Malware

Read also:

• What is Content Delivery Network
• How to Optimize Images for Web (7 Key Tips)
• Why Your Site Speed Matters and How to Measure It
• How to Optimize Website Speed

What is Website Malware

Malware is short for malicious software.

Malware refers to a type of software that exists only to affect negatively other software. Malware is used to extort online funds, steal identities, hijack websites, and other similar malicious intent.

Malware can infect your website by accessing it via the Internet, and various computer devices, including laptops, smartphones, and web servers. Once it does, all your website data is endangered of being stolen, damaged, destroyed or simply being hijacked until you pay a hefty ransom.

How Website Malware Can Infect Your Pages

There are many ways through which malware can access your website.

By far, the most common ways of malware distribution are:

Using Infected CMS Plugins

A devious way of distributing malware on the Web is by using infected plugins.

Plugins are handy add-ons that grant more functionality to a given CMS and are widely used among the WordPress community.

Although useful and very helpful in many situations, some plugins can be created to bear malware and be used as a vessel for further distribution, or a harmless plugin can be out of date or with weak security measures and therefore malicious software access it easily and from there infect your website.

This is why, when creating a site with WordPress, it is important to install plugins from reliable developers and always update your plugin library to the latest possible version.

Downloading Software Via Suspicious Websites

Pirate websites and other such places that offer paid content for free usually contain numerous malware threads. The way such websites function is simple – the content you wish to download resembles very closely the original software platform you wish to use and is oftentimes infected with a type of malicious software.

If you download such content, the software can quickly infect your operational system and eventually head to the server that hosts your website and to your web pages.

As a rule of thumb, avoid visiting pirate websites and don’t download anything from such places.

If you stumble upon a website that looks suspicious, simply leave it right away.

Uploading Malware-Infected Files to Your Website

There are cases in which you upload a file you want to use on your website and turns out this file contains malware once it gets uploaded to the server, immediately attacks your website.

To prevent such events, it is important to use various types of website protection, so the thread is detected and taken care of before it can infect your pages.

Phishing Emails

The sole purpose of phishing emails is to make you open an attached file or visit a website that contains malware.

The idea behind this approach is simple – the email contains false alarm information that tries to make you feel anxious and take action under the feeling of urgency.

Usually, you are prompted to download an attached email file or visit a malicious website. Once you do so, the malware has been unleashed and can infect your site.

In most cases, via phishing emails, an institution claims you have a problem – a bank, state authority, and in some cases police and even layers.

The catch is that oftentimes such phishing emails strongly resemble the layout of an official institution, but they lead to a malicious website that can affect you negatively in 2 ways:

1. Once you land on the website such emails lead to, malware, and your website gets infected.
2. The website you land on prompts you to download a file that is infected with malware and once downloaded, the malicious software gets to your website.

How to spot phishing emails?

If you remain calm and pay attention, you will immediately notice the malicious intent behind such emails. Usually, phishing emails are characterized by:

• Very generic greeting.
• Poorly written text.
• A strange claim.
• Inconsistencies in email addresses, links, and domain names.
• In the majority of situations, phishing emails imply urgency – act now or suffer negative consequences.

Once you notice a phishing email in your mailbox, simply delete it.

Types of Website Malware

Malware is a pretty broad term and encompasses various types of malicious software that work and damage your website in different ways.

There are numerous types of website malware, and the most widely known ones are:

Ransomware

Ransomware is a type of malware that disables your website data access until a ransom is paid. In most cases, victims of ransomware can’t access their personal information, transaction data, and site visitors’ data.

In short, ransomware isolates you from your website and won’t give you any access back until you pay a hefty price.

Spyware

Such malware collects various types of your website data without your knowledge and consent. In most cases, the data being collected is passwords, pin codes, payment details, and other useful information.

A Trojan

Trojans, or trojan horses, are types of malicious software that disguise in the form of other useful software or code. Once this seemingly harmless code or software is uploaded to your site, the trojan takes control of the website information and/or damages its functionality.

Trojan malware can hide itself in various apps, patches, and even email attachments.

Worms

This type of malware can access your website via vulnerabilities in the operating system of either the web server or any of your computer devices.

Once on the operational system, worms can steal personal and sensitive website data, launch DDoS attacks, and even ransom attacks.

Viruses

Viruses manage to insert themselves in various software apps and once such apps are being launched, the virus activates itself and can gain access to your website.

Once it accesses your website, the virus can steal sensitive data, launch DDoS attacks, and conduct various types of ransom attacks.

Common Signs of Website Malware Infection

Sometimes, it is quite apparent when a website is being infected with malware, however, this is not always the case. There are times when the negative results of such infection are not immediately obvious.

The good news is that there are some common signs of malware infection you can look for, should you suspect such activity on your website:

• Your website login credentials have been changed without your knowledge or consent.
• Website files are moved, corrupted, or modified, without your knowledge or consent.
• The website layout has been changed without your knowledge or consent.
• Alert notifications in search consoles.
• Unexplained slow website speed.

More severe signs of malware infection:

• Your domain name leads to a different website than your own.
• Spam, ads, and popups appear on your website.
• A new website admin account has been created.
• Your website doesn’t appear anymore in search results, although recently has been ranking well.

How to Protect From Website Malware

Although dealing with website malware may sound menacing, there’s a lot you can do to protect your site from such malicious attacks.

The most important thing you can do is to start implementing advanced website security and safety measures immediately when you start working on it.

The second important thing is to conduct periodical maintenance scans, so you can act quickly and on time, should a threat be noticed.

Here’s what you can do to protect your website from malware:

Use Reliable and Proven Web Hosting Service

A reliable hosting service from an established web hosting provider is of great importance for the safety of your website.

Reliable providers take care of all security measures regarding the hosting servers and stored websites.

Such is the case with AwardSpace – our web hosting plans are not only versatile and ensure great performance, but also come with a multi-layered system of website security measures such as virus protection, firewall protection, SSL Certificates, and periodic website backups.

Periodically Update and Patch Your Website

Updating your website helps you benefit from the latest security measures right away.

This is why, if there is some system patch available on any of your website components, install it without hesitation, to prevent malicious software from infecting your website.

Scan Website for Malware

You should scan your website for malware oftentimes, as this can show you whether there is some infection on your pages also many malware scanners reveal weak spots on your websites, which can help you strengthen them and make your site even more reliable.

As a rule of thumb, make scans once per week to ensure everything on your website performs well and is well-protected.

Make Periodic Website Backups

Sometimes, malware can reach your website and infect it. In such cases, one of the easiest and fastest ways to deal with the infection is by reverting to an old and healthy copy of your website.

This is why, a common practice is to make periodic backups of all your website data and be consistent.

As a good rule of thumb, just like the website scan, you should make a safe copy of your website once a week. This period ensures that you won’t get back to too old version of your pages and will need to apply all the missing changes.

Also, make sure to make a backup just before some major website maintenance and change, as a means of protection, should an unexpected event occur and your pages get infected.

To benefit optimally from website backups, find a hosting provider that also makes periodic website backups as a means of protection. By using the services of such a hosting provider, you make sure that at least two versions of a website backup are always available.

Because of how important backups are, at AwardSpace, all our hosting plans come with an automatic website backup feature – periodically, the latest version of your website is stored on a separate isolated server, so you can quickly get back to it in the event of a malicious attack.

Use SSL Certificates

SSL Certificates are a fundamental part of each modern website. Because of how effectively they protect your website from malicious software, search engines also consider having one (or not having one) as a ranking factor.

This is why, getting an SSL certificate is of paramount importance for the well-being of your website, site data, transactions and sensitive data protection, and overall website security.

If you are interested in the topic of SSL certificates, then check out our articles talking more about the SSL certificates:

• What Is SSL and How Does It Protect My Website?
• Do I Need an SSL Certificate? 5 Advantages of Having One
• Do I Need a Separate SSL Certificate for the “www” and “non-www” Versions of My Website?
• What Is the Difference Between WHOIS Privacy Protection and SSL Certificate Encryption?
• What Is the Difference Between SSL Certificate Encryption and Website Password Protection?

Use HTTPS Connection

HTTPS is the secure version of HTTP. Such connection encrypts any transmitted data sent via your website, and makes it impossbile to decypher from unauthorized parties. Read more here: how does HTTPS work

Use Strong Passwords

As a rule of thumb, don’t underestimate the reliability of passwords. Use strong passwords at all times for all your accounts and systems on your website. Here are some tips on how to make a strong password:

• Avoid using telephone numbers, special dates, and names.
• Make your password long.
• Include various types of symbols.
• Change passwords periodically for extra security.

Conclusion

Malware can be very harmful to your website, visitors, and personal information. This is why you should use various security measures at all times, so you deter any type of malicious software on your website pages.

The post What Is Website Malware and How to Protect Your Site from It? appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

This is why, when working on your website, it is important to make it as fast as possible, so you ensure a satisfactory user experience and prominent ranking in search results.

Keep reading, so you understand better what is site speed, why it matters, and what you can do to make your website faster and more useful.

What is Site Speed

Simply put, site speed, is the average time it takes for your web pages to load. The lower the time, the better.

Page speed, on the other hand, describes the loading time of an individual website page.

In more technicality, website speed is the time between a web browser request and the server response that results in the display of certain web content that you (the client) requested via your web browser.

If there are no technical issues on your website and the communication between a web browser and a server, such a process takes less than 3 seconds. If it takes more than 5 seconds, then you should try to optimize your website, so it performs better.

Why Site Speed Matters

In today’s world of the Internet, fast speed is paramount and people are used to acquiring information on the Web quickly and easily.

This is why, when working on your website, making it as fast as possible is very important. There are three main reasons for this:

Reason 1: People are very likely to abandon your website if it takes too long to load. Each additional second site visitor must wait for a page to load makes them irritated. If page loading time takes more than 4 seconds, site visitors are likely to leave the site and avoid it in the future. In short, slow loading speeds contribute to a bad user experience and you don’t want that.

Reason 2: Site and page speed are ranking factors. Search engines take page and site speed under consideration. Google, Bing, and others would rank your fast website on a higher position in result pages, which would enhance the chances that more people visit it.

However, the opposite is also true – if your site’s loading speed is slow, Google and Bing will rank it in lower positions, which can harm your website’s popularity and traffic.

If you are interested in the topic of SEO, then check out our article, explaining everything about search engine optimization: What is SEO and How Does It Work?

In short, both people and search engines don’t like slow websites. This means that even though your web content may be beneficial, relevant, and up-to-date, people would still avoid your website and search engines would still rank it low if it takes too much time to load.

Reason 3: Slow site and page speed lowers your chances for monetization Should you wish to monetize your website and add more streams of funds, you should know that site speed is essential when it comes to monetization, especially if you want to sell ad space on your site, conduct affiliate marketing strategies, or use it as a platform for guest posts. If you are interested in the topic of monetization, here are some great ways to do so: 9 Ways to Start Monetizing Your Website

How to Measure Site Speed

In most cases, measuring website speed is done by using various tools and techniques.

Online Website Speed Testing Tools. There are various tools you can use to measure your website speed and provide you with various details of what works for your website and what needs further improvement:

• • Google’s PageSpeed Insights
  • GTmetrix
  • Pingdom Website Speed Test
  • Dareboost

Web Browser Developer Tools. Most contemporary web browsers come with a built-in developer set of tools that allow you to measure your website speed and the performance of different site components with great precision.

Server-Side Site Speed Monitoring. If you have access to your server’s root folder and hosted data, you can monitor server response times and other server-related metrics that can grant you insight into your website’s performance rates.

Content Delivery Network (CDN) Analysis. If you are using a content delivery network, then check for any analytics tools, as such are oftentimes provided for free. Use such tools to monitor exactly how quickly web content is being delivered from a server to a user in different geographical regions.

Regardless of which method you choose, it is very important to monitor as many factors as possible when delving into optimizing your website’s speed. Some of the many factors that can impact website speed are server performance, network latency, size of media files such as images, video, and audio files, bulky code scripts, and more.

Find out more about how to optimize your website speed.

Conclusion

Having a fast site speed is essential. Whether you work on your personal website project or manage a company website, it is very important to ensure fast loading speeds at all times, so your site visitors benefit from a rewarding browsing experience and search engines rank your site in higher positions in search results.

Read also:

• How to Optimize Images for Web
• What Are Web Analytics and Why Do They Matter?
• What is Content Delivery Network

The post Why Your Site Speed Matters and How to Measure It appeared first on AwardSpace.com.