Help > Trawling for slow images

What does this trawl type find?

DeepTrawl allows you to find images which take a long time to download. The image tags might take the form of IMG or OBJECT.

This trawl type will also inform you if an image download times out.

This feature allows you to avoid the impact of long image download times on your users and makes sure that the servers / bandwidth of the site hosting the images you link to are up to scratch.

This allows you to rest easy, knowing your users are not suffering with a slow web experience. Quick loading images help make sure your users stay focused on what you want them to see: your information.

How to use this trawl type

You should make sure this trawl type is switched on. There should be a green tick next to this trawl type in the Trawl for... tab. If there is a red cross instead, click the cross to toggle the trawl type on.

This trawl type also has a search option contained in it's settings dialog. This can be accessed by pressing the Settings link to the right of the trawl type in the Trawl for... tab. The dialog is shown below...

Above: The slow image settings dialog

As shown in the dialog, it is possible to set the maximum download time you find acceptable. Any image which takes longer than this to download will be flagged as a problem.

How to solve the problems found

If you find images which you host yourself, are taking too long to download, you might consider either:

• Making the images smaller.
• Increasing the compression used (available for jpg/png image types).

If the slow images are hosted on a web site you do not control, you might consider:

• Asking the owner of the content if they would mind allowing you to host the images yourself (always remember to get written copyright permission to do this).
• Linking to another image with similar content.