I’ll admit it: I’m addicted to speed.

No, not the psychostimulant; I’m talking about website speed.

I’m not alone, either. Google recently announced that they consider website speed when determining search engine rankings.

Oh, did I mention that a slow website can literally kill your revenue stream? Check out what the experts at websiteoptimization.com have to say about the topic:

Google found that moving from a 10-result page loading in 0.4 seconds to a 30-result page loading in 0.9 seconds decreased traffic and ad revenues by 20% (Linden 2006). When the home page of Google Maps was reduced from 100KB to 70-80KB, traffic went up 10% in the first week, and an additional 25% in the following three weeks (Farber 2006).

Tests at Amazon revealed similar results: every 100 ms increase in load time of Amazon.com decreased sales by 1%. (Kohavi and Longbotham 2007).

(source)

It’s quite clear. Everyone hates slow websites. The question is, how can you make your WordPress website faster? Keep reading and I’ll show you how you can take proactive steps towards speeding up your site.

[click to continue…]

Have You Bought Thesis 1.8 Yet?

by Derek Halpern

If not, check out these five awesome reviews of Thesis 1.8: 1. Somone Bull, of Thesis Theme HQ, prepared an awesome review of Thesis 1.8. In addition to a video demo of the brand-new header and favicon uploader, she walks you through all of the new updates. Check it out here. 2. Have you heard [...]

Read the full article →

The Complete Guide to Including Ads in Your Thesis WordPress Theme

by Phil Barron 34 comments

If you run a website, you likely want to include ads of some kind in your template. The problem is, where do you place your ads and how do you get them there? In this article, I’ll show you the most popular places to include ads… …and then give you the code to include those [...]

Read the full article →

What’s New and Awesome in Thesis 1.8?

by Chris Pearson

You’re absolutely going to love the new features in Thesis 1.8. It’s just plain easier, smarter, more powerful, and accessible! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the new security enhancements? Thesis 1.8 not only incorporates WordPress nonce field protection, but it also boasts a refined data-handling system that will help keep your sites [...]

Read the full article →

Interview: How Bill Erickson Built His WordPress Consulting Company

by Derek Halpern

If you’re thinking about becoming a WordPress consultant, designer, or developer, focusing on the Thesis Theme can help you get more business. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a WordPress consultant, designer, or developer, chances are, you’ll want to know who you’re hiring, right? Well, I’ve got you covered! In this interview, I’ll [...]

Read the full article →