Slow (or no) Page loading

[Vinyl Signs]

Hi - I am hoping someone can help with this...
I have been building the cart for a while now - and getting the hang of it - but...
I now have a serious problem - I have a Page loading delay - and sometimes even a failure to load at all.
I haven't a clue where I am going wrong - I have tried several things to try to effect a cure.
I have one category where this behaviour seems to show up every time - I have only 3 products in there at the moment - I really don't want to fill the store with product until I have solved this problem - so am unable to progress...

The category is here...
http://vinylsigns.co.uk/zencart/inde...=index&cPath=4

The following link is one of those that is slow - or hangs completely - it has attributes - and only the thumbnail picture in the product description- I have some popup links in the product description too...
http://vinylsigns.co.uk/zencart/inde...products_id=55

This page has most of the attributes removed - and also the popup links removed from the product description - it is however - not much use without those attributes being available...
http://vinylsigns.co.uk/zencart/inde...products_id=57

Has anyone any suggestions ? - I am really stuck with this - It is no use me moving forward with the store - and adding products - if I have products that will not load - or take excessive time to load ?
Many Thanks in advance...

[Kim]

Who is your host?

[Vinyl Signs]

Who is your host?

My host is Nethosted - I have no problems with the host at all - everything I have hosted with them performs very satisfactorily - they are very exceptional and I have tried a few others...
I have not ruled out the hosting completely - and have discussed it with them - the thing that steers me away from blaming the hosting - is that everything else is performing without problems...
What I cannot understand is why I have some pages with similar attributes - and reasonable load times - but I cannot work out what in particular is causing the hang on some pages...
Here's a link to the Hosts site - have a look - the testimonials I would agree 100% with..
http://community.nethosted.co.uk/for...timonials.html

[Ajeh]

Note the 3 products that you have ...

1 has 18 attributes - this is moving fine

2 have 100-120+ attributes - this is a dog

These are slowing you down considerably on the site ...

Try your Shipping Info page ... see? Nice and fast ...

You need to either customize how the attributes are managed to tweak them to being faster ...

Utilize a faster scheme on the Attributes such as checkboxes and say Pick 1 or Pick 2 or Pick 3 ...

Try your database on other servers to see if there is one out there that can handle the load ...

Wait until v1.4 where the speed and performance will be much greater ...

[Vinyl Signs]

Thank you so much for taking a look at the site - you have now also confirmed for me - that it is not my own connection to the internet that is a problem !

Note the 3 products that you have ...
1 has 18 attributes - this is moving fine

Yes - no problem there..

2 have 100-120+ attributes - this is a dog

Indeed it is - very often will hang completely...

These are slowing you down considerably on the site ...
Try your Shipping Info page ... see? Nice and fast ...

I loaded a completely fresh test install on the server - and that pretty much confirmed that the Attributes were causing the problem.

You need to either customize how the attributes are managed to tweak them to being faster ...

I would appreciate a little more information in that area
I'm no programmer - but I am quite prepared to do some reading...
It took me quite some time to understand how the "Attributes" system works - and I was quite excited at the "apparent" possibilities once I had - but if I cannot use them...

Utilize a faster scheme on the Attributes such as checkboxes and say Pick 1 or Pick 2 or Pick 3 ...

I have a bit of a problem there - in that I cannot fathom how to have all the (necessary) options available - with less attributes ? - my aim is (was) to have all the possible options available - so that the order can be fully specified on the page...not knowing which of the attributes is causing the slowdown makes it difficult to know where I need to make any compromise on my aims.
However - compromise is not my strong point - it sort of defeats the whole aim of the store - if a customer cannot specify the whole product on the order page ?

Try your database on other servers to see if there is one out there that can handle the load ...

As I mentioned earlier - I am very reluctant to change host - I have been lucky enough to find a "truly exceptional" one - and have no problems in any other way - or with any other applications.

Wait until v1.4 where the speed and performance will be much greater ...

Yes - I had read about the improvements on the horizon - but where is that "horizon" located ?
Are we talking weeks ? months ? - or - please don't say "years"
I have now spent a massive amount of time on the "store" - after trying OSC and Cubecart - and looking at and testing many, many, others....I probably spent a couple of years off & on looking at different packages (OS - and commercial)
Zen - I decided - appears to suit my needs very well - (due to the use of CSS - which is an absolute must have - and the number of customisation options) - even though it does take quite a bit of learning (and that is ongoing - and expected)
I had hoped it was coming together reasonably well ? - until I hit this problem...
I also wondered whether my "Popup script" effort had caused a problem - but that would (should) only happen after the containing page has loaded ?
I really do want to stick with Zen - if I "move along" - it would mean throwing away months of work - and I would still maybe not find the features I want in another package ?
Thank you again for your input - it is appreciated...

[Ajeh]

To really work out what would speed up your site and attributes I would need to take the time with a copy of your database and fool with it on another server and see if code tweaks are needed or your current server is not up to snuff when really put to the test ...

You may PM me if you would like to send me a copy of your database to mess with when I have nothing better to do to see if there is anything simple here ...

[CJPinder]

Hi,

my aim is (was) to have all the possible options available - so that the order can be fully specified on the page...

Although it seems like a good idea putting all the possible options on one page, it will actually hurt your sales. Ideally you want people to make a few simple choices before they get to the product. For example, before you talk about price you ask them if they want the item in small, medium or large. You then have them engaged in the sale. Giving them too many options in one go requires too much thought and you'll lose them. Also, asking them to buy the product too quickly requires too much comitment from them and you'll lose them. Get them engaged by making them do a few easy decisions first.

In your case, just create three sub-categories under Magnetic Signs for 12" wide, 18" wide and 24" wide. That gives you a win/win situation, people get to make a simple choice about what size they want first and you will cut down on the number of attributes per-product. You can also put a bit of sales blurb as the category description, talk about the different sizes and what they are useful for, what kind of vehicles they fit etc.

I'd also cut down on the number of typefaces offered. Stick to the most obvious popular ones that people will know. They always have the option to upload their own if they don't want a standard one.

I hope that helps.

Regards,
Christian.

[yellow1912]

CJPinder, that is brilliant. Let the customers make easier and fewer choices, I'll keep that in mind.

[CJPinder]

Let the customers make easier and fewer choices, I'll keep that in mind.

Not necessarily fewer choices, just a few at each stage. You just have to lead the customers down a conversion path. Each selection and each click makes them more invested in the sale.

Regards,
Christian.

[Vinyl Signs]

Hi,
Although it seems like a good idea putting all the possible options on one page, it will actually hurt your sales. Ideally you want people to make a few simple choices before they get to the product.

You have obviously taken the time to have a look at the site ! - for that - Thank you...
I follow your thinking - I had not thought of it in that way - so thanks for that too...

For example, before you talk about price you ask them if they want the item in small, medium or large. You then have them engaged in the sale. Giving them too many options in one go requires too much thought and you'll lose them. Also, asking them to buy the product too quickly requires too much comitment from them and you'll lose them. Get them engaged by making them do a few easy decisions first.

If it was possible to split the buying process down a little more - then I guess that could be the way to go - the only way I can think of being able to do that - is to create more sub-categories - and in some cases - more sub/sub etc...then by the time "customer" is where they want to be - there are less choices necessary / and / or available - which I guess would help some....
I did think that doing it that way would simplify things - less products - more options - but maybe it needs to be more products - less options ?

I'd also cut down on the number of typefaces offered. Stick to the most obvious popular ones that people will know. They always have the option to upload their own if they don't want a standard one.

It sometimes takes a fresh pair of eyes to "see" things better - sometimes difficult - when you have been toiling away at the same pages for a long time
My thinking there was that it might be necessary to show that there are "many" typeface choices - and if the competition are showing hundreds - I need to show that we have "lots" too...
Mabe I can rely on the "Typeface Popup" to demonstrate that fact...? - at least that seems to work reasonably fast...
What is your opinion on how that works ? - it may need some refining - but is in there to prove that I was able to get the script working....
Or maybe rely on the linked "Gallery script" instead.

I hope that helps.

Indeed it does...
Any other tips welcome....