Website speed. I know what you’re thinking, what does website speed matter when it comes to the big picture of your business and your website?
Consider your own web surfing habits. How long do you wait for a website to load? In this day and age, technology has offered us the quick and convenient luxury of being able to access huge amounts of information in the blink of an eye. So who really has the patience when waiting for a slow website to load? Here’s a couple reasons why website speed is such a huge factor for businesses in this day and age.
The website speed is actually the first impression made on all readers and clients who stumble onto a website. A slow website could make a visitor assume the website overall is insecure and unreliable, maybe even unsafe. It was reported that 79% of online shoppers won’t go back to a website if the loading speed is slow. We consider fast loading websites to be professional and reliable, so if your own website loads quickly, then consider your visitors happy and interested in furthering exploring what your website offers!
As previously mentioned, the modern technologies of the internet have raised the bar in terms of what visitors expect when going onto a site. We, as a website’s audience, expect and demand speedy fast loading times with immediate results. It was reported that 47% of people expect your site to load in less than 2 seconds. That’s a lot of people expecting a pretty fast loading time. Slow website speed can lead to your website losing credibility and visits, with less people recommending your website to their friends and family. Think about it, who wants to recommend a business with an insanely slow website speed?
Google cares? They do. The search engine giant has established their desire to “make the whole web fast”. It has been reported that Google takes a small signal concerning website load speed when it comes to ranking websites. And though it is important to note that this is a pretty small signal that probably won’t affect your site’s ranking (unless your site is insanely slow), there is another piece of interesting information offered by Google when it comes to website speed. It has been noted by the search engine that Google will reduce the amount of crawlers sent to your site if your server is slower than two seconds. But what does this mean exactly? Well, consider any recent updates, for example a recently published blog post, pretty much hidden if your loading speed is slow.
Going back to user experience, a slow website loading speed could drive away revenue opportunities for businesses. The better the user experience on a website, the more you can expect to sell.
Website speed is not something you may initially take into consideration when you think of jumpstarting a website. However, super fast tech has made us used to accessing information and getting answers extremely quick. So much so, that consumers will leave a website if it’s loading speed is more than 2 seconds.
So take a look at your own site’s logistics. And if your website speed is pretty slow, what are you supposed to do?
When it comes to website speed, one of the most common factors that goes into play is the decision to choose a template website or custom designed website. Template websites can come with features that may take longer to load, which then makes your overall website speed slow. Creating a custom website allows you to pick features that are absolutely essential and won’t bring your website speed down. A few other factors to consider include carousels (sliders), image sizing (reducing might be best), and hosting and content delivery networks.
Also, there are plenty of websites that check your page for more specific insights, one being loading speed, such as Google’s PageSpeed Insights.
Who would’ve thought website speed would be the thing that could make or break your page’s success? It’s crucial to understand that today’s audience is used to fast and immediate results. Think about your own internet consumption habits. Yes, slow website speed could be damaging, not just in terms of reputation for other users, but also for search engine rankings. However, there are handy websites and tools to check your own website with, as well as other factors that can be changed to speed up your website a little more. Faster website speed is very much a must in this time, but not at all out of reach!
