Code Bloat

The Problem

HTML is a fairly clumsy language; like the camel, it was designed by a committee.

Then the software companies got their two cents worth; editing programs, online editors, 'off the shelf' code ... all made extra complicated by the need to match browser requirements.

Plus there is pressure to move to XML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which although designed to simplify, can also complicate.

So a simple web page may carry twice the instructions it needs, slowing download time for visitors and for Search Engines; classic Sick Site Syndrome.

Cascading Style Sheets

For example, This Green Phrase requires a fair bit of on the page HTML code:

<FONT FACE="Courier New, Courier, mono" SIZE="3"><B><FONT COLOR="#008800">This Green Phrase </FONT></B></FONT>

But with CSS, that code can be reduced to:

<SPAN CLASS="style1">This Green Phrase</SPAN>

CSS allows you to set up chosen styles and place them in an separate file, so the browser can show content as you require, on every CSS page.

this has many advantages, including the ability to adjust that file for instant site-wide changes, but for our purposes, we're looking at the sheer volume of 'code' that even a simple page design may need.

Font tags do add up over the length of a page - if you use css, you should be able to do without them. As you learn, CSS can be used to reduce numbers of bold / italic / strong / emphasis and other tags, and reduce the complexity of others; you can control the size of H tags, and their color and style, with just the H tag on the page.

Templates and Databases

Templates and content management systems using databases can make a webmasters job much easier, but can bring problems of their own.

For example, a template may have common titles, headers, footers, navigation and much else besides. Look at the page source, and there may be two of three feet of code, that is common to every page.

And in amongst it, on some sites, some 50-100 words of copy, described by the webmaster as 'unique content' - and the page as a 'unique page'. Leaving identical titles and meta tags aside for the moment, it is not unreasonale of Google to see such a page as little different to its 5000 siblings.

Because you no longer see each page as it is created, it is easy to lose touch with the size of the page. Plus to make the template work site-wide, there is always tempataion to include more and more navigation and information, as the site develops.

Code bloat is a major cause of 'duplicate content issues', because it makes differences (relatively) smaller.

Tragically, I know of no way to quantify the ratio or absolute amount of genuine unique copy needed, but common sense can see Google's POV!

If you suspect the problem - or supplementary listing suggest it is a factor, then it can easily be dealt with, depending on the site:

1. Add more copy to each page.

2. Merge two small pages (eg red widgets + green widgets = Widgets)

3. Reduce code bloat
(i) Take out css and javascript to separate files
(ii) Reduce navigation from whole site to 'local' and section indexes
(iii) Cut out sloganeering and repetitive promos
(iv) Use more css, and fewer HTML markups
(v) Simplify the site layout to reduce code-heavy table formations
(vi) Look long and hard at whatever is left!

This doesn't just help SEs, it helps visitors too; it makes for a cleaner, more elegant, less crowded, more reader-friendly site!

And for those on dialup - they see the page before Christmas!

Images

Some sites place large pictures in small spaces - so the visitor gets the worst of both worlds ... they must wait while the large picture downloads ... then they get to see the small one!

Pictures should be resized to fit the space they are to fill, and the file size can be optimized too; often ending up with 20% of their original download times.

The picture size should also be included in the code, or loading may be uneven and unreadable until the last image has arrived.

Conclusion

Learning about HTML enables you to identify a common cause of Sick Site Syndrome, and make a start on fixing it. With just a little reading, every webmaster can take the first steps of css, and turn a Jumbo Jet with Sick Site Syndrome into a Harrier Jump-Jet with the agility of a gazelle!