Whether it is for work or entertainment, nowadays, we spend more time online than ever before. However, nobody enjoys a slow web browsing experience. There are a few things as annoying as undergoing long loading times or dealing with laggy websites. But before you blame it all on connectivity issues and angrily call your internet provider to give them a piece of your mind, you need to rule out every other possibility.
Have you ever thought the problem might be your browser? That’s right. Believe it or not, sometimes the real culprit behind all of your internet speed drama is the navigator itself. If you’re a die-hard Mac user and your go-to browser is Safari, worry no more. We have some solutions to your dilemma so that you don’t have to go off-brand.
My Safari Browser Is Slow. Now What?
Apple sells Safari as the fastest browser out there. However, the reality is that, after using it for a while, these claims get far from being true. You realize that some sites just won’t load or that it will take them ages to. You stop being able to scroll without lagging. Your internet experience becomes a hot mess.
Lucky for you, there are some ways to fix those issues to make web browsing fun again! Today, we’ll explore the most popular ones:
1. Make Sure Your Mac Is up to Date
If you’re still running on Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, or even Snow Leopard, you can’t expect your user experience to be ideal. Updating your Mac OS X to the latest version will save you lots of headaches and frustration.
By upgrading to El Capitan, or whatever comes next, you’ll be able to keep your apps, including Safari, up to date. This way, you will benefit from the latest improvements and optimizations that come with every update.
2. Clear Your History, Cache, and Cookies
In theory, keeping your history, cache, and cookies untouched should save you time. This data is there to help load some sites faster, autofill forms, and, in general, make your internet experience a smoother ride.
On the downside, hoarding all this information clutters up your RAM and storage after a while. Before you know it, your browser will become extremely slow for no apparent reason.
To prevent this issue, you should make it a habit to clear this information regularly. This measure will keep Safari running at light-speed.
3. Remove Old Extensions
Browser extensions are third-party add-ons, which have been known for causing incompatibility issues in the past. This problem might affect Safari in many ways, turning it into a laggy mess, both immediately after installing them and over time.
You must check out your extensions settings often. If you find one or two that you can’t recognize or that you don’t remember having used in a while, chances are you won’t be needing them anytime soon. What should you do? Delete them! Simple as that.
Once you’ve done all the extensions clean-up, it’s time to examine the remaining ones. This quick and easy inspection will help you figure out if any of them is causing the problem. Uncheck them one by one and see if this makes your browser speed up.
Improve Your Browsing Experience
As you already know, it’s never fun to use a slow internet browser. If Safari is causing you trouble, these are the main actions you can take to keep it running fast. However, if you want to enhance your web browsing experience, consider installing and enabling some plugins like JavaScript.
Nowadays, more and more websites incorporate this programing language in their scripts to correctly function and give their users some extra features that will make their lives easier.
JavaScript is vital to bring your favorite social media sites, email providers, and video streaming platforms to life. It’s the main component behind your ability to refresh your feed, fill out surveys, watch animated graphics, and more.
Lucky for all of the internet lovers out there, it’s extremely simple to learn how to enable JavaScript in Safari. Give it a try today!