8MB to 56kb in 2.3 seconds

No, I don’t have some new prototype internet vehicle – I’ve recently moved and lost my 8MB internet connection to an unbelievably slow 56kb dialup connection. Only 3 weeks ago I was able to download a linux DVD ISO (A 4 GB file) in about an hour and a half – now I have a hard time getting the Google home page to load.

I wanted to take this opportunity to share the importance of optimizing your website so that it is as ‘dialup friendly’ as possible. With the explosive growth of broadband internet – some webmasters seem to take this as a sign that it’s ok to have a 150kb home page, or a fancy 3mb flash intro – and hey, it really is ok. If you are intentionally overlooking the huge market of users that have a slow dialup internet connection – then that is your choice. I’m speaking more to the webmasters who are ignorant of the fact that that their website cannot be viewed with a 56kb internet connection. If you don’t know how ‘dialup friendly’ your website is, you can check with this free website speed test.

The websites I design are simple in nature. I use small images and css to keep the interface clean and easy to load for practically any internet connection speed. Please don’t get me wrong – I do not think it’s wrong to leave out the dialup market intentionally if that’s what you’re after. This post was solely geared towards webmasters who are unintentionally excluding the entire dialup market from visiting their website because they simply didn’t know.

But now you know, and according to GI Joe: Knowing is half the battle.