Requirements Htaccess files are plain-text configuration files used by the Apache HTTP web server. They allow users to set directory level options without requiring access to the httpd.conf file. As such it is required that your server uses Apache, and a web host that allows htaccess files (the most popular hosts do). I assume a basic working knowledge of htaccess, but if you need to freshen up check out this article by Joseph Pecoraro 1. [...]

Compression is a simple, effective way to save bandwidth and speed up your site. I hesitated when recommending gzip compression when speeding up your javascript because of problems in older browsers. But it’s 2007. Most of my traffic comes from modern browsers, and quite frankly, most of my users are fairly tech-savvy. I don’t want to slow everyone else down because somebody is chugging along on IE 4.0 on Windows 95. Google and Yahoo use [...]