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Did you know……
- Research from DoubleClick (owned by Google) revealed that sites 53% of mobile sites are abandoned if the page took more than 3 seconds to load.
- A presentation by AliExpress claimed they reduced load time for their pages by 36% and recorded a 10.5% increase in orders and a 27% increase in conversion rates for new customers.
- Ancestory.com recorded a 7% positive rise in conversions after improving the render time of web pages by 68%, reducing page bloat by 46% and reducing load time by 64%.
As consumers, we like things fast. Fast money, fast cars, fast results, and fast food are but a few examples of the value we place on fast services or results we deem important. Consequently, it no surprise that we also expect our internet to be fast and websites we visit to be loaded quickly. In fact, this need for speed on the Web has resulted in Google determining earlier this year to include Site Speed as a ranking factor in search results.
So, just how quickly should your website load? And, is it really crucial to how well your business performs? If you feel like concern about load speed is unnecessary, then consider these reasons why prompt load speed is a must.
- Your website is often the first impression for a potential customer. If they have to wait more than 3 seconds, studies have found that up to 40% of guests will leave. The only thing that might change this number is if the guest knows you have a specific product or information and they are willing to wait for the page to load.
- Faster load speed means higher ranking in search results. When Google finds a page that loads slowly, it is likely to be passed over and the pages won’t get indexed in the Google Search Engine.
- Sales are higher when people don’t have to wait on your website to load. In fact, a recent study by Forbes found the best load time is 1.8 seconds for a desktop and that a 100 millisecond delay can lower conversions by up to 7%.
- People looking for information don’t want to waste time waiting. A quick load speed means a low bounce rate.
Still think that a quick load speed is not critical? Then consider this – in studies done during 2000 and 2016, it was found that the average human attention span has dropped from 12 seconds down to 7 seconds. This means that you have got to grab your site guests’ attention quickly, then hold longer. The first step to doing that is with a site that loads quickly – regardless of the device one is viewing it on.
If your website is not loading as quickly as it should, then there are several actions you may choose to take, and as website developers Page Progressive of Raleigh is happy to help you implement them. A few steps to consider for improving your site’s load time include:
- Keep your website up to date. Be sure that you are always running the most recent version of any plugins, themes, etc.
- If you get a lot of comments on your blog posts, this is great. However, that can slow down load speed. Consider having separate pages set up just for comments.
- Don’t upload videos directly to your website – load them to YouTube first, and they can be embedded on your website.
- If using WordPress, choose a theme touted for quick load times or get a custom theme coded for best results.
There are a variety of other steps that can be taken to improve your website’s loading speed and the Page Progressive team is happy to review your website and determine what steps can be taken to make your site better than ever. So, don’t let another year begin without taking steps to improve your website. Our team is here to help and would love get your website loading faster. Give us a call today.