Google steps up Google+ speeds

INTERNET SEARCHZILLA Google has upped the pace of its Google+ social networking web site.

The firm announced two updates to its Google+ service last night, one that makes it faster to load and one that makes it easier for users to express their satisfaction with something.

"One of the 10 things we hold to be true here at Google is that fast is better than slow. We keep speed in mind in all things that we do, and the +1 button is no exception. Since the button's launch, we have been hard at work improving its load time," wrote David Byttow, a software engineer at Google.

"First, we've begun to roll out out a set of changes that will make the button render up to 3x faster on your site. No action is required on your part, so just sit back, relax, and watch as the button loads more quickly than before."

Loading buttons might not be the most exciting thing we've ever seen, but the next addition, the introduction of a synchronous snippet, should be better received and easier to identify in practice.

"The async snippet allows your web page to continue loading while your browser downloads the +1 JavaScript. By loading these elements in parallel, we're ensuring the HTTP request to get the +1 button JavaScript doesn't lead to an increase in your page load time," explained Byttow.

"For those of you who have already implemented the button, you'll need to update the code to the new async snippet, and then you should see an overall improvement in your page load time." µ