Why a fast website is so important
Do you realise that you have less than 15 seconds to grab the attention of your website visitors? Not long is it?
This is just one of the reasons why a fast website is so important and commercially vital.
Other compelling factors in the “need for speed” include your Search Engine optimisation and a little thing called reputation!
So where does the 15-second limit come from? Studies have shown that most internet users usually click away from websites before the 15-second mark.
Getting users deeper into your pages involves giving them instant and compelling reasons to find more information.
Website traffic rates can be a disingenuous measurement of website performance. If your “bounce rates” are high, your customers are coming, but then going away again far too quickly because they can’t get to the information they want quick enough.
This can be a disaster if you have a heavy investment in site promotion, killer content and a strong sales offering, only to lose visitor interest because you haven’t got a fast website!
Yes, it’s those Millennials again!
You’ve probably heard a great deal about Generation Y – Millennials. It’s worth reiterating that anyone born since the 1980s uses technology with ease.
They have fingertip control, 24 hours a day, anywhere, to make quick purchasing decisions. These are tech-savvy shoppers and a slow to load, cumbersome to navigate websites will turn them away.
Millennials have fingertip control, 24 hours a day, anywhere, to make quick purchasing decisions
Be warned, Generation Z looks set to be even more demanding and sophisticated in their online habits and buying patterns.
They don’t remember a time before technology, and they want personalised promotions and a high degree of trust in their retail arrangements. This generation is even less likely to hang around if your website is slow, confusing or “woolly”.
If your selling proposition is aimed at older internet users, there’s still no room for complacency.
All age groups are beginning to be beguiled by researching and buying products online. They are also all more aware of how quick it is to click through to an alternative supplier.
Making a fast website crucial for “silver surfers” too!
Avoid too many bells & whistles
The things that can create a poor functioning website are sometimes the “extras” and slow servers.
Consider the following:
- Content
Every large images, embedded videos, ads, widgets and complex promotions will combine to slow your site down. So consider every element you include on your site, they can all mount up and bloat your site. - Hosting
Though of course, your hosting is also an important factor when ensuring you have a fast website. It’s no good creating a beautiful site and launching it to find that are over 100 websites on the same server. Believe me, this happens.
Speed, clarity, high impact
When designing a website, the watchwords should be speed, clarity and high impact. Site visitors won’t be impressed with how wildly creative your site is – or your infinite layers of security – if they can’t get to your selling proposition immediately.
Creative, fast websites come from meeting user experience and sales conversion aims, within great design.
How fast websites boost your SEO
A fast website is a pivotal part of your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). If you hadn’t made that connection fear not, you are far from alone.
Google announced right back in 2010 that page speed would be factored into page ranking. In fact, it clearly stated:
search results for websites having longer load times can be demoted.
On average, an ecommerce website page takes 7 seconds to load. To give your SEO a firm boost, you should be aiming for a page load time of 3 seconds or less!
Being your “best self” as a company
A fast website gets bonus points from Google, but also from site visitors, which is great for your reputation too.
A fast website quite simply makes you look good!
You presumably want your customers and potential customers to think of your company in terms of being reliable, relevant and responsive? If you have a clunky, underperforming website it implies the opposite of those attributes.
A fast loading website with nimble navigation is reassuringly effective, and quite simply makes you look good!
To explore your need for speed, contact the team at Factory Pattern. You can be sure of a quick response!