What is File compression?

We’ve all heard about the file compression. File compression is essential to optimize any website as same as image optimization. Anyone who downloads files from a regular web is familiar with formats like zipping and RAR files. Anyone who edits the media files knows that there is a need to shrink from sharing images, music, and videos on the web without using bandwidth. Now the point is how file compression works on the website? File compression allows us to share files that otherwise may take more time for the transfer. However, how does it work?

File Compression to Optimize Webpages:

When you search on the browser (Chrome, Firefox, Cyberfox and internet explorer), then more web pages appear, and you like to click a link to check out your desired information. File compression is essential to responsive your website for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). This process is depending on a few steps.

At the starting point, browser mails a request to the webserver. Both the browser and the webserver makes a sound like this: “Hello web page for ‘webtech.com.bd’ for an example. It is Lincoln’s web page requesting to visit ‘www.webtech.com.bd,’ so the response to provide the page to Lincoln.

After that, the web server starts searching for the file. For example, ‘https: //www.webtech.com.bd‘ to the response by transferring that webpage to the browser of Lincoln. When Lincoln’s browser gets the page, then Lincoln is capable of viewing the webpage on his computer screen.

How File Compression Helps to Webpages:

The faster these processes happen, the quicker the particular webpage loads. Lincoln would stay fewer times on that webpage to check out. So, time taken to load of any webpage is getting increasingly significant to the search engines as it moves toward to decide regarding the quality of optimization of a particular website. If a webpage takes more time to load, then the browser gets more time to load. On the other hand, if the webpage allows quick load, then the browser gets less time to load.

The web browsers are fond of finding what they desire on the search engine. If your website containing more pages, then more time needs by the webserver to understand the information on the page. It is the reason for taking more time to drive in view by the particular browser.

It means that you have to optimize every single page of your website so that pages take less time to view. The browser does not like to wait (this is the same for all browsers). It is the same as any specific browser and follows the method to show any result.

On the other hand, by making the page compressed like GZip, you need to reduce the size of your web page up to 70%. As a result, you will get 70% quicker loading time, and your browsers become pleased. So your page receives improved rank with any search engines.

You can make your page faster to view by connecting a “zipped” or compressed version of the web page on your server. Its file size will be smaller; as a result, it will take less time to drive your browser. The particular page gets decompressed or get unpacked rapidly on the user’s side, by applying a quicker file transport process.

Two Options for File Compression:

1. Deflate – Deflate is an option that appears automatically and taking the Apache server to arrange files. If your webpage gets more than over 1,000 unique browsers a day then deflate is an improved choice. As it needs less force to compress web pages and helps in optimize your Website. It means your high dimensions of browsers will not make slow your page to load due to having bigger file size in GZIP compression.
2. GZIP- GZIP requires installation and needs quite extra work to set up. GZIP offers advanced compression rate to give you an improved option to optimize your website if your pages have many images or substantial file sizes.

Enable Deflate on Apache:

 It’s easy to improve the loading speed of your website by enabling compression support in your Apache webserver. It works without the need to make any changes to your database code. There is no matter what platform you are using to develop your website. To set compression on a page for your webpage is depending on what kind of server you are using. When you use Apache, it refers that you can make compression by taking a small number of deflating codes. However, it is better to hire a web development company to work on your web page.

Enable a mod_deflate module in Apache by default. Check the following line in Apache configuration file.

Load Module deflate_module /mod_deflate.so

Now edit your apache configuration and add the extensions you want to compress.

nano /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Add More On The Following Lines At The End Of The File:-

• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/plain
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/html
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/xml
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/css
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE application/xml
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE application/xhtml+xml
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE application/rss+xml
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE application/javascript
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE application/x-javascript

And, restart Apache service

Enable GZIP on Apache:

The second way of enabling Gzip compression is to edit your .htaccess file. Most shared hosts use Apache so that you can add the code to your .htaccess file. You can find your .htaccess file on your WordPress site via FTP.

But, remember that you will not be able to see .htaccess file directly by typing this URL into your browser. You need to access the file location through your CNC panel. Then, add the code to your .htaccess file, which will compress your site’s files by type. For example, if you want to summarize all .txt and HTML files on your site:

• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/plain
• Add output filter by type DEFLATE text/html

For any query regarding the use of “File Compression, please contact us. Affordable SEO Services