Reducing Bounce Rate on a joomla site

[pokergooddeal]

Hi guys,

I have site on Joomla 1.6.4 (waiting for 1.7.1 to upgrade...) and my bounce rate is sky high!
I have ~65% bounce rate...

I think most is due to the slow page load (between 1 and 6 seconds...).
I am godaddy deluxe but it is shared server.
I am thinking of getting dedicated server, but wanted to ask you guys before. Anyone running joomla sites on a dedicated server and how is the page load?

Also, any tips to reduce page load with a Deluxe godaddy package?
I have gzipped everything possible, unless the framework files (Gantry) because it mess up the design.

Any input is welcome.

Cheers

[redvel]

As soon as I saw a word Gantry, I knew the problem It is not hosting problem - Gantry framework is exceptionally convenient, versatile and optimized as much as possible, but it is still slow as hell. If the site is a bit bigger, slow loading is the price you have to pay for the convenience of this framework.

I have also tried Gantry for WP, and surprisingly, it makes such fast and simple system as WP run slow too.

[pokergooddeal]

Ah I see!

So I need to change the whole site, you are saying!
I will wait for 1.7.1 and see if anything changes... It should run faster on a dedicated server though?

[TheTattooedGuy]

Are you using any third party plugins/modules?

[redvel]

So I need to change the whole site, you are saying!

Either that or you will be slow.

I will wait for 1.7.1 and see if anything changes... It should run faster on a dedicated server though?

1.7 and dedicated will add you only few percents better speed applied together, not much really...

[pokergooddeal]

I am using a bunch of joomla extensions.
This might add to the slowness but they are vital for the site....

For some reason, the page load has decreased by a ton and my bounce rate as well .

[TheTattooedGuy]

You could try
extensions.joomla.org/extensions/site-management/site-performance/12088
I have had some success on another site with this, need to play around with the settings though as some of the settings will screw up Gantry-based stuff