Perplexing and Bursting Guide to Incorporating Preloaders in WordPress

If you have a WordPress website, chances are you’ve endured prolonged page loading times. This slow pace can cause your visitors to leave your website, leading to uninviting engagement rates, high bounce rates, and poor search engine ranking. To prevent this, one can incorporate pre-loaders to keep the visitors engaged while the website loads. But what is a preloader anyway?

What is a Preloader?

A preloader is a small visual animation that indicates to users that your website is in the process of loading. It acts as a loading status bar and appears on the screen until the website loads completely. Now, let’s delve into the steps one needs to take to incorporate pre-loaders in WordPress.

Step 1: Choose a Preloader Design

The first step towards incorporating pre-loaders in WordPress is to select a design that complements the website’s layout and color scheme. There are plenty of pre-loader designs, such as custom images, spinner, progress bar, among many others. One can either create a design from scratch or use customizable templates from websites like AJAXLOAD or loading.io. Download the design’s file in .svg or .gif format and ensure it is small enough to avoid affecting the overall page loading speed.

Step 2: Install and Activate a Preloader Plugin

To install and activate the pre-loader plugin, go to the WordPress dashboard and click on the “Plugins” option on the left side. Add a new plugin and search for the WP Smart Preloader plugin. Install and then activate the plugin.

Step 3: Configure Your Preloader Settings

The next step is to configure the pre-loader settings to ensure it works efficiently with your website. The WP Smart Preloader plugin offers customizations options, including uploading design. One can adjust the size, color, and speed of the pre-loader to match the website’s layout.

Step 4: Preview and Save Changes

After configuring the pre-loader settings, preview the pre-loader by using the “Preview” button on the WP Smart Preloader menu. Once everything is confirmed, click on the “Save Changes” button to apply the pre-loader’s settings.

Step 5: Test Your Website’s Loading Time

Before publishing the website, test the website’s loading time to ensure it’s fast and reliable. Consider optimizing images, reducing plugin numbers or upgrading the website’s plan if the website still loads sluggishly.

Conclusion

Adding pre-loaders to WordPress improves user experience by making the website appear more responsive and reliable. Follow the straightforward steps mentioned above to add a pre-loader without writing any code. Remember to choose a pre-loader design that matches the website’s layout and color scheme and test the website’s loading time regularly.