There is nothing wrong with our hosting services, it's one of the best for our purposes.
If we are talking pageload speed here, a flat HTML page load time is the best guide to the network speed. Otherwise, the speed is dragged down by:-
(a) the efficiency of the host's systems
(b) the efficiency of the dynamic site - how fast the server apps work together to interrogate the database and build the pages
(c) the number of plugins - more plugins = a slower site
(d) the number of plugins that depend on external services - like social media ones
(e) how good things are at your end
To test the basic network & site speed, go to the Contacts page - the button is on the top and bottom navbar on every forum page. It's not quite a straight HTML page as it's within the forum but it should load in under 2 seconds (if it was in the webroot and with a direct path it should load in under half a second). Another useful test is Clone Tab, a right-click command in Opera: it asks the server for the same page without needing much in the way of DB queries, and is a good test of basic dynamic page serving speed - an ECF page will load in about 4 seconds.
The site is slow because it's a heavily extended forum with millions of pages and dozens of heavyweight plugins. On top of that, the social media plugins depend on external services and probably double or treble the page loading time. We can't speed the site up by using cloud servers or content delivery networks because every page is different according to who you are and what you have just done - each page is built specially for you, on demand. A large, extended forum is the slowest site on the web.
To improve site speed for your location, these are the steps I'd look at:
1. Replace your ISP's DNS servers in your router
This is a bit tricky the first time you do it but easy thereafter (you'll need to know your router's network address and its login). It is done because you may be using an internet route that is suboptimal due to ISP issues. You have to get into your router's management with your browser and change some of the set-up. If you want to know how to do this, please open a new
thread such as, "How can I change my DNS server IPs ?".
Use OpenDNS IPS or any other you prefer, here are some example IPS:
Computer Security Guide
- right down at the bottom of the page.
Or google for 'free dns servers'.
2. Don't use Internet Explorer
It's just nasty, nasty, nasty. Use Firefox, Opera, Chrome (or one of the Chrome versions without Google's spyware), Safari, etc.
3. Update your browser
Go to the Help (or Tools) menu at top right of your browser's main menu, and find Update.
4. Update your PC's java install
I advise using the JavaRa process instead of directly via Sun Java because the JavaRa method is more secure: it removes old Java versions and the installer. Go here:
JavaRa
5. Use Firefox plus script blocker plugins
If after all this you still have a pageload time of over 8 seconds, use Firefox with script blockers: plugins like Noscript and AdBlock that stop page elements loading that are not part of the core content.
However there is a point of diminishing returns with Firefox because like any other PC or server webapp, loading it up with plugins slows it to a crawl. This is so noticeable that Firefox users, tempted by the huge variety of plugins, can bring it to its knees. Firefox loaded with tools can be very useful though, so if you have two PCs it may help to have a skinny one loaded on one computer and a workhorse on the other.
No page should take longer than about 8 or 9 seconds to load the core content. If it does then the problem is at your end, not here. Fix the issues above and with a standard home internet connection, you'll get down to 8 seconds or faster. If despite the above fixes you can't get this sort of result, your internet connection is the issue. People on the other side of the world can load ECF pages in 8 seconds. As a basic check, time the Contacts page - anything over about 1.5 to 2 seconds indicates a problem at your end, maybe network or PC related. If the Contacts page loads in under 2 seconds but other ECF pages take over 10 seconds to load the central content of the page (other stuff may take longer), then you have a browser or PC issue - your browser can't handle scripts properly. Update it or get another browser.
Note: the above timings may not apply at peak times since the site will be heavily loaded (lunchtime and mid-evenings East Coast).
