Why Website Speed Matters

Consider a potential client visiting your website for the first time. The instant they click on your link or menu item, the webpage goes blank and stays that way while it loads the page of your graphics, promotional video and fancy text.  Website Speed can be a real issue for users and if your site is slow, clients don’t always stick around to wait.

Your site may be absolutely gorgeous with a user-friendly design but poor website speed is what will cause a potential client to leave your website and search elsewhere.

Website speed is a vital part of how customers will view your business upon visiting your website. If it doesn’t meet the instant gratification that has become the norm when searching for a product or service (or just browsing the Internet in general), your website and, in turn, your business will flounder with its best potential marketing asset. 

So to keep customers hooked on the products and services you offer, your website server needs to be up to speed and optimised for performance. When it comes to optimising your website speed so that something like a simple click or download doesn’t get lost in loading, there are several important factors to consider.

Today, we will take a look at the top four reasons why website speed matters for you and your business.

First Impressions Count

Imagine the judgment that the aforementioned potential client made about your business when the website page loading speed is taking twice as long as it should. They likely weren’t impressed with the slow website and chose another business within your industry. When your website speed isn’t up to par, how will customers trust that your business structure, products, and services won’t be the same way? 

First impressions are everything for a business, especially when checking out your website. People make their first impression of your business within 50 milliseconds.

If your website loads quickly, you’re in good shape to impress the potential or existing clients with your offerings and wow them with their experience. If they see that your website runs well, they will assume your business is professional, reliable, and efficient as well. If not, you need to take a look at the root of the website speed problem or risk losing out on more business. 

People are Impatient

This is the age of instant gratification. Customers want and expect everything as quickly as they can get their hands on it and want a resolution as quickly as possible. The same goes for a web search. If a potential customer searches for products or services in your niche and clicks on your website, they want to know that you can solve their problem as quickly as possible. 

Not only should your site load quickly, but it should convey your value proposition within 10 seconds if you want your visitors to stay.

If you’re online looking for something and not going out looking in person to businesses for products, you’re generally looking for something immediate in nature. Whether on a mobile device or desktop, your website speed should reflect the immediate nature that customers will be looking for. Fast loading times equals satisfied customers. 

UX Design is a Priority

When you’re building your website, put yourself in the customer’s shoes. What makes the website easy to navigate? Are the design and speed up to par? Could the design be simplified for a better experience? Will your visitors leave feeling like it was a good experience?

User-experience design (or UX design) also operates on the immediate nature of people looking to solve a problem or purchase a product/service. The faster your visitors can find what they’re looking for, the happier they will be with their experience. Your website needs to reflect that. 

For a positive user experience, you need to keep in mind what a customer may be looking for and how fast you can get it to them. If your website is slow, it won’t matter if all of the information they need is front and centre because they’ll already be looking elsewhere. 

Website Speed Affects SEO Rankings

Regardless of how SEO savvy you are, website speed problems will negatively affect how you appear in search engines. When potential or existing customers are looking for something on Google, the results that show up are affected by speed rankings. If your website speed is slow, your bounce rate will likely also be high, and your rankings will suffer doubly as a result.

If it takes more than a few seconds to load a page, a customer will look elsewhere. Similarly, if it takes more than a few clicks or a scroll to find what they need, a customer won’t continue to browse your site just to reach your business. Optimising your pages and ensuring that your server speed is up to standard is important not just when it comes to the function of your website, but also in how your business appears in a general niche search as well. 

We can fix your website speed

Sarah loves Speed Optimisation, it’s one of her favourite jobs.

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