Is your website’s speed costing you money?

You just discovered a new business online that sells a product you want. You are excited about it and are ready to buy, so you Google the company’s name to see if they sell it on their site. Your Google Results return, and it turns out they do sell the product you want! You click on the link…but something seems off. The page isn’t loading. “Is there something wrong?” you wonder.

After several seconds the page loads, and you see the product you’ve been searching for. You get your wallet out, click on the item and…wait again. The page is loading slowly. After five or six seconds pass, it finally loads again. But you’re beginning to become frustrated. Regardless, you click on the “add to shopping cart” button and hope for the best.

To your disappointment, you are counting the seconds again, waiting for the page to load. But this time it is too late. You don’t have the time to waste dealing with this slow website. It’s time to see if another vendor sells the product you’re after.

Has this ever happened to you? Then you can imagine the frustration your potential customers may feel if you have a slow website. In the story above, it’s worth noting that the imaginary customer has a high degree of patience. Considering how slow the site loads, many prospects would likely bounce before every getting to the shopping cart. So is site speed costing you money? The easy answer is yes. But let’s take a closer look at a study by Akamai and Gomez.com that explores the details.

The cost of a slow website

Akamai and Gomez.com conducted a survey that revealed just how impatient web users are, and the results of the survey may be surprising for business owners. Below are some of the facts it reported. 

On a desktop, 25% of internet users surveyed said they would abandon a page that didn’t load within 4 seconds. While browsing the web on mobile phones, internet users have slightly more patience. 30% will wait 6-10 seconds for a page to load, and an astounding 20% will wait more than 20 seconds. While this may seem favourable if you have a slow mobile site, consider the customers you are missing out on. 16% of internet users will abandon a mobile page if it doesn’t load within 5 to 10 seconds, and 3% will wait less than a second. Over the span of five years, that 19% of potential customers could potentially cost you thousands of pounds. Is that something worth risking?

Some other compelling stats revealed by the survey are equally startling. 40% of Internet users completely abandon a website that takes longer than 3 seconds to load, and a 1 second delay in page response time can result in a dramatic 7% decrease in conversions. What’s more, while 25% of consumers will abandon a page that doesn’t load in 4 seconds (as noted above), 47% of internet users still have higher expectations. They actually expect a page to load in just 2 seconds, even though they may stick around for 4. So does that mean it’s okay to have a 4 second load time? Well, consider how load time affects brand image.

Slow websites have a direct result on the credibility of your brand. Think about it, when was the last time you visited a slow loading website you thought was credible? Unless you are incredibly familiar with the brand, you likely may doubt the legitimacy of a business that has a slow website. And the costs of gaining a bad reputation among website visitors could potentially have even more dramatic effects on your bottom line.

So, is it worth ensuring you website has a speedy load time? The survey results above speak for themselves. A speedy website ensures a user friendly experience for all website visitors. Not only does it reflect your professionalism and encourage visitors to stick around on your site, it also can help lead to a countless number of sales. We believe that’s reason enough to invest in a speedy website.

If you are looking for a fast, friendly and professional website that attracts potential customers, contact us today. Our team of experienced SEO experts and web designers have managed and created hundreds of websites for our clients, helping them get found online while growing their business. We are sure we can do the same for you.

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