I have a website that is hosted on a VPS located in Germany running Windows Server 2012 R2 and IIS 8.5, while I’m located in New Zealand.
When I attempt to download a 5MB image from my website, it takes roughly 35 seconds. Although I recognize that Germany is far from New Zealand, I don’t believe it should take this long to download a file of that size.
I don’t believe the issue is related to my IIS configuration because copying the same file from my PC in New Zealand to my VPS in Germany using Remote Desktop also takes around 35 seconds.
Is there any way to increase the speed, or am I stuck with this delay due to the geographical distance?
Thank you in advance!
3 Answers
Introduction
Website loading speed is a crucial aspect of website performance. A website that takes too long to load can lead to a poor user experience, high bounce rates, and lower search engine rankings. In this blog post, we will discuss the issue of slow image loading on a website hosted on a VPS located in Germany, while the user is located in New Zealand. We will explore the possible causes of this issue and suggest solutions to increase the image loading speed.
Geographical Distance and Network Latency
One of the most significant factors that affect website loading speed is the geographical distance between the server and the user. The farther the user is from the server, the longer it takes for data to travel between them. This delay is known as network latency, and it is measured in milliseconds. Network latency can be affected by several factors, including the physical distance between the server and the user, the quality of the network infrastructure, and the number of hops that data has to travel.
In the case of the website hosted on a VPS located in Germany, the user located in New Zealand is far away, which means that network latency is likely to be high. This high latency can cause slow image loading, as the browser has to wait for data to travel from the server to the user.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
One solution to improve image loading speed is to use a Content Delivery Network (CDN). A CDN is a network of servers located in different parts of the world that store website content, such as images, videos, and static files. When a user requests a file from a website, the CDN serves the file from the server closest to the user, reducing the distance data has to travel and improving website loading speed.
Using a CDN can significantly reduce network latency and improve image loading speed. However, CDN services come at a cost, and it may not be feasible for all website owners.
Image Optimization
Another solution to improve image loading speed is to optimize images. Images that are too large or not optimized for the web can take a long time to load, leading to a poor user experience. Image optimization involves reducing the size of the image without compromising its quality. This can be achieved by compressing the image, reducing its resolution, or using a different file format.
There are several tools available that can help optimize images, including Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, and online tools such as TinyPNG and Kraken.io. By optimizing images, website owners can significantly reduce image loading time, leading to a better user experience.
Caching
Caching is another solution that can improve website loading speed. Caching involves storing website content, including images, on the user’s device or browser. When a user revisits a website, the cached content is served from the user’s device or browser, reducing the need to download the content from the server.
Browser caching can be enabled by adding cache-control headers to the website’s HTTP response. This tells the user’s browser how long to store website content in the cache. By enabling caching, website owners can significantly reduce website loading time, as the browser does not have to download the same content repeatedly.
Conclusion
In conclusion, slow image loading on a website hosted on a VPS located in Germany, while the user is located in New Zealand, is likely due to high network latency caused by the physical distance between the server and the user. However, there are several solutions available that can improve image loading speed, including using a CDN, optimizing images, and enabling caching. By implementing these solutions, website owners can significantly improve website loading speed, leading to a better user experience and higher search engine rankings.
There are a few potential causes for the slow image loading on your site. Here are some things you can try to improve the performance:
- Check your network connection: Make sure that your internet connection is stable and fast enough to handle the file transfer.
- Check your server hardware: Make sure that your VPS has enough resources (e.g., CPU, memory, and storage) to handle the file transfer.
- Optimize your images: Make sure that your images are optimized for the web. This can involve compressing the images, resizing them to the appropriate dimensions, and using the appropriate image file format (e.g., JPEG, PNG).
- Use a content delivery network (CDN): A CDN is a network of servers that are distributed around the world, and it can help to improve the performance of your site by serving content from a server that is closer to the user.
- Consider using a server in a location closer to your users: If possible, you may want to consider hosting your site on a server that is closer to your users, as this can reduce the amount of time it takes for the images to be transferred.
Overall, there are several factors that can affect the performance of image loading on your site, and it may take some trial and error to identify the specific issue and find a solution.
I tested the link from Germany and it took 230ms to download, as measured by the network tab in Chrome developer tools. It seems that the 20,000 km distance to New Zealand does have an impact on internet speed, even in the modern age. I also pinged www.govt.nz and it took 250ms, which is much slower than a local site like google.de, which pings at 9ms.
Your download speed may fluctuate depending on the time of day and the extent to which the deep-sea cables between New Zealand and Germany are being used. To determine which cables your connection is using, I recommend using a traceroute tool.
To improve the speed, you could try using Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool, which is helpful for optimizing your site for both mobile and desktop users. Another option is to use a content delivery network (CDN) to store large files, which will mirror the files to servers closer to you and your site visitors worldwide.
However, this will not eliminate the initial delay caused by the long ping times – it takes at least a quarter of a second for your device to receive a response from the server, and a website typically requires multiple such connections to initiate the download of individual files.
Since your domain is .co.nz, I assume that most of your users are located in New Zealand. Therefore, it may be better to switch to a local provider for improved performance.