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CaptiveReefs.com Optimization

jimsflies

New member
[MENTION=3]Max Taxable[/MENTION] got on me a couple months ago about my bloated vb4 upgrade and I have been obsessed with getting it trimmed down ever since.

Here is where I started:
WebPagetest Test Result - Dulles : captivereefs.com - 02/05/14 21:36:48

Here it is today:
WebPagetest Test Details - Dulles : captivereefs.com - 04/13/14 17:56:59

I'm open to any other ideas to further optimize. Initially I implemented sprites for site icons but recently I have been working on replacing all the icons with icon fonts instead. The advantage being a smaller size file <20kb compared to the sprite ~150kb. I also like how easy it is to accomplish hover effects with the font icons without needing a separate image.

I'm also on the look out for a host. Trying to keep the monthly hosting fee under $50 if possible.
 
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Did you implement the .htaccess rules I posted, for getting rid of the F grade for leverage browser cache of static assets?

Ironically if you did, Cloudflare is blocking it from working for you. I stopped using CF after a two year stint... Then found out it really doesn't do much for you at all. I never got better first byte time and never got the caching right, until I dumped it. Now every site I have gets straight A grades, and every one myself and Ozzy have optimized for others, do so as well.

No CDN can really do anything more than your host itself can, since it's still dependent on the host as well. It's overrated, to the point where people think it is a magic bullet - and in fact that's also how they are marketed. It's a falsehood.

If you look at your two examples you will see you traded the A grade for caching, for the checkbox on "effective use of CDN."

Love your site by the way - it's one of the best ones I see out there.
 
I'm not using CF anymore...stopped a few weeks ago.

I did just implement your htaccess changes. I actually edited the first post and put the test in that has the htaccess edits.

I agree on the cdn. I signed up for maxcdn and am using it for now, but may end up dropping it after my year is up. I think I will turn it off for a second and re-run the test for comparison purposes.

Thanks for the compliment. :)
 
I'm not using CF anymore...stopped a few weeks ago.
That was a older test then. Okay, cool. Good decision.

Very nice results now on today's test. Looking good - you're a "poster boy" for vB4 optimization. In fact I think you're learned enough now to help others here and probably do alot better job for people with v4 than I can.

You are to be congratulated, you really took this to heart and did the work and made the tough decisions to get svelte on the web!
 
That was a older test then. Okay, cool. Good decision.

Very nice results now on today's test. Looking good - you're a "poster boy" for vB4 optimization. In fact I think you're learned enough now to help others here and probably do alot better job for people with v4 than I can.

You are to be congratulated, you really took this to heart and did the work and made the tough decisions to get svelte on the web!

There is one script that shows up as hosted on CF still. Its part of BOP's Really Fast Registration. The domain reef.captivereefs.com is a CNAME to my maxcdn pull zone.

Yeah, I rolled up the sleeves and dug into it. But my credit goes to you for the nudge to get it done. :)

I had an issue with my site the past few days...every page was serving up stale content...when you replied to posts, would get an expired token error. It was as if the site was in super cache mode. I finally tracked it back to what I think is a bug or at least a bug on my site. I rebuilt the attachment thumbnails earlier in the week and for some reason doing that caused the site to serve stale pages. It took forever to track down and solve. I rebuilt post cache, thread and forum info and it seemed to start working properly again. On a hunch, I rebuilt thumbnails and it started serving stale pages once again. VB says that rebuilding thumbnails won't effect anything else, but it seems to for my site.
 
FYI, your site loads really fast for me using latest version of FF. Nice site too. Love the footer.
 
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