File size & slow display times

forestlitter

I'm new and want to be sure I understand how the different image sizes are created & displayed. And to ask if SmugMug response times are relatively consistent, or if maybe they have been slower in the last couple days. Viewing my galleries, the photos seem to load slower than I expected and be slower than when I first joined. This has been true on different machines with different connections.

I am uploading large files, as big as 5-6 MB. My assumption is that SM then makes the display sizes as described here http://www.smugmug.com/help/display-quality . Correct? As long as my uploaded file size exceeds these sizes, all sizes will be created and be consistent? The only size that should vary is my original?

If these assumptions are correct, then all the display copies should load at similar speeds when comparing the same display size of different images. And that's not what I have been seeing recently. I know there are a kajillion things that affect my load time and very few of them are within your control. I am planning on doing regular connection speed tests to see what variation I might be experiencing and how that relates to the load times from SM.

Thanks for confirming my assumptions and any info you have on your recent response times.

Barb

forestlitter wrote:

I'm new and want to be sure I understand how the different image sizes are created & displayed. And to ask if SmugMug response times are relatively consistent, or if maybe they have been slower in the last couple days. Viewing my galleries, the photos seem to load slower than I expected and be slower than when I first joined. This has been true on different machines with different connections.

I am uploading large files, as big as 5-6 MB. My assumption is that SM then makes the display sizes as described here http://www.smugmug.com/help/display-quality . Correct? As long as my uploaded file size exceeds these sizes, all sizes will be created and be consistent? The only size that should vary is my original?

If these assumptions are correct, then all the display copies should load at similar speeds when comparing the same display size of different images. And that's not what I have been seeing recently. I know there are a kajillion things that affect my load time and very few of them are within your control. I am planning on doing regular connection speed tests to see what variation I might be experiencing and how that relates to the load times from SM.

Thanks for confirming my assumptions and any info you have on your recent response times.

Hi

You are correct. We make each of those display sizes. Your original will remain the size you upload.

If you are having problems, i.e., slowness, etc., can you shoot us at email at the help desk? http://www.smugmug.com/help/emailreal

We have a few tests we can have you run to see if there are any connection issues between you and us.

The site has been speedy for me consistently. However, there are times when my own cable connection has issues, which transfer to my browsing on SmugMug. Those are usually temporary and short-lived, but can be a drag, for sure!

forestlitter

Barb wrote:

Hi


If you are having problems, i.e., slowness, etc., can you shoot us at email at the help desk? http://www.smugmug.com/help/emailreal

We have a few tests we can have you run to see if there are any connection issues between you and us.

The site has been speedy for me consistently. However, there are times when my own cable connection has issues, which transfer to my browsing on SmugMug. Those are usually temporary and short-lived, but can be a drag, for sure!

Like I said, I am already monitoring my connection speed and how it relates to the SmugMug slowness. As I also stated, this is occurring for me and my visitors on different machines with different connections.

Thanks for your anecdotal information on your experience with the site's speed. Does SmugMug keep any statistical data on their server's response times? Can that data be shared with your customers?

Looking at some recent posts here, I'm not the only one raising this issue. All I think any of us are asking for is confirmation.

Thank you.

Andy

forestlitter wrote:

Does SmugMug keep any statistical data on their server's response times? Can that data be shared with your customers?

http://blogs.smugmug.com/don/2007/05/15/speed-matters/
http://www.alexa.com/data/details/main/smugmug.com

Where are you located? What ISP? We'd love to explore more as we've recently invested a fortune to make SmugMug even faster

forestlitter

Andy wrote:

Where are you located? What ISP? We'd love to explore more as we've recently invested a fortune to make SmugMug even faster

Thank you for the information and link to Alexa. I see they update their ratings monthly, I'll check back to get current info.

I do use a custom domain, and if I read the post about your recent efforts correctly, the full effects of those efforts are not yet extended to custom domains. I'll have to compare how my site performs using the custom domain vs smugmug domain.

I am located in Minneapolis, MN. My ISP is Earthlink which is delivered locally by Comcast.

Andy

forestlitter wrote:

I am located in Minneapolis, MN. My ISP is Earthlink which is delivered locally by Comcast.

Comcast is univerally loved or hated
Well - write us at the help desk, we have some diagnostics we'd like you to do, thanks!

forestlitter

Andy wrote:

write us at the help desk, we have some diagnostics we'd like you to do, thanks!

I'll run those tests a few times & provide results. I'm guessing doing it just once doesn't give a very meaningful picture.

What can you share about the progress of making all your performance improvements available to customers with custom domains?

Thanks.

Andy

forestlitter wrote:

What can you share about the progress of making all your performance improvements available to customers with custom domains?

That it's in the plans and when we have some news on it we'll surely announce it in our release notes

Thanks!