Rebuild Part 2: Goals + Agenda
Hey! Just so you know, this article is over 2 years old. Some of the information in it might be outdated, so take it with a grain of salt. I'm not saying it's not worth a read, but don't take everything in it as gospel. If you're curious about something, it never hurts to double-check with a more up-to-date source!
I thought that before beginning the rebuild of my website, it'd be best to outline some of the key goals that I want to achieve as part of the process. Not only did I want to improve the network speed performance of the website, but I also wanted to learn from the experience and grow my front end development skills as a website developer.
SMART Goals
#Network Performance Goal
#I will achieve a 3-seconds load speed on a 3G network for the front page of my website. I will measure the performance of the site using network analysing tools that are part of the Developer Tools in Google Chrome. After achieving an emulated result of 3-seconds load speed, I will then explore avenues available to me in recording load times for physical devices that I have available. Meeting a 3-seconds loading time is shown to improve user emotions towards a website, and ensure that visitors have a better experience. This goal will be complete between the 4th of May and the 15th of June.
Skill Development Goal
#I will create a ten post series documenting the progression and development rebuild of my personal website. I will measure the network speed performance by comparing the initial tests carried out before development and tests carried out at the end of the process. I will use my existing knowledge of network performance and build upon it to explore techniques that can be carried through to projects I work on in the future. Having an understanding of network performance has been known to improve SEO ranking and will be vital to both personal and professional website developments. This goal will be complete between the 4th of May and the 15th of June.
Project Scope and Agenda
#The main agenda, as you may be able to tell is network performance and improving the SEO, user experience and inclusivity of my personal website. I want anyone to experience my site, no matter where in the world they may be, how slow their internet connection is or how they may be viewing the site. As well as this, I see it as a process which I can learn a tonne from. Being able to provide faster loading websites isn't a premium service, it is expected. If your site doesn't load quickly, then your users will find a site which provides them with a quicker experience. Now that I have listed the criteria that I expect to meet, I can now begin by setting up my development environment in part 3.