"When I recognize that a website's performance is beginning to degrade, I take some steps in a specific order to diagnose the problem. The first thing I look for is the load and whether the number of hits is within scope. If this is not the issue, I look at the hardware to make sure the network connections are optimized for this type of website. Once I confirm this, I begin to look at the components of the website. Steps I may take to resolve these issues include enabling compression, reducing redirects, enabling browser caching, optimizing the JavaScript, and ensuring that the images on the site are not causing the problem. Fixing these issues normally speeds up the website and brings it back to its performance window."
