Website Optimization Measures, Part XI
Published on DecĀ 14, 2020 (updated JulĀ 14, 2023), filed under design, development (feed). (Share this on Mastodon orĀ Bluesky?)
Welcome to another round-up of the last improvements I implemented on my websites. Is this useful for your own work? Let me know, please!
Updating http to https links. Not every site has HSTS set up (not every site even is on https), and even if a redirect mechanism is available, any redirection is a performance hit. To keep users on secure connections and to contribute to a good user experience even if they leave a site, itās useful to point to resources on secure protocols (thereās a brief chapter on this in Upgrade Your HTML II). Long story short: I regularly look for http links, check whether thereās a secure equivalent, and then update the respective linksāand thatās what I did again over the last few weeks.
Taking the time to replace rotten links with their archive.org counterparts. I used to respond to link rot with looking for alternative posts or removing such linksānowadays I look for a copy in the Internet Archive. This is fast and safe, and again allowed me to save a number of links.
Collapsing tables of contents (through CSS). Tables of contents are useful, as long as they donāt get in the way. For some of my longer articles I flagged them as doing just thatādistracting from rather than aiding the content. A CSS developer and long-time
:target
fan, I employed a no-JavaScript technique to hide the TOC list unless interacted with. Iāll leave it to you to decipher the (simple) method; one example would be⦠my tips for becoming a better driver (I almost forgot about that oneĀ š ).Adjusting iconography. On meiert.com I donāt use many iconsāone that carried some load was a white right pointing index [finger], or this friend: ā. I switched to other symbols with āāā for certain navigation, āā³ā for meta information, and āā©ā for tables of contents. (The last one needs a usability test.)
Reviewing all posts for up-to-dateness (and checking comment links). I regularly patrol all my articles (and also books)āitās an ongoing process. Why Iām calling the last review out is because it specifically involved checking whether the posts still give reasonable advice, and otherwise to add a note at the top that the respective post may be outdated. That I did, including taking samples of links in comments to fix or remove them if needed. This is all work, yes, but itās mechanic and therefore somewhat grateful, and I like the idea that the writings and your and othersā experience benefits from it.
Checking on popular 404 errors and setting up redirects for them. I barely look at my websitesā statsāthey are mere anonymous server logs anywayā, but if I do, then I do like looking at those URLs where there have been errors. For those URLs that get a bit of trafficāa few dozen hits per monthāI set up redirects to whatever seems to be a suitable target (often just the homepage). Itās a light attempt to contribute to a more useful experience.
Ensuring CDN use. In the last episode I talked about how I re-implemented a CDN for several of my websites (by the way, I switched from BunnyCDN to CloudFrontābetter global availability). In the weeks after I tested and also implemented more, meaning I made sure CDN integration was broad and consistent. Not the biggest news item here, but I did like this revision of my CDN setup.
Reviewing privacy policies. To confirm I hadnāt missed anything over the past months, I took my privacy policy template to see whether it was still in good shape and accurate. It was; and Iām keeping an eye on it, including working with a paralegal. Which is strange to think of when you (in this case I) donāt collect any personal information, and donāt even use any analytics suite.
This was some of the latest Iāve been focusing on; how is it for you? What have you been up to lately?
This is a part of an open article series. Check out some of the other posts!
About Me
Iām Jens (long: Jens Oliver Meiert), and Iām a web developer, manager, and author. Iāve worked as a technical lead and engineering manager for small and large enterprises, Iām an occasional contributor to web standards (like HTML, CSS, WCAG), and I write and review books for OāReilly and Frontend Dogma.
I love trying things, not only in web development and engineering management, but also in other areas like philosophy. Here on meiert.com I share some of my experiences and views. (I value you being critical, interpreting charitably, and giving feedback.)