We all are familiar with the tale of the rabbit and the tortoise. Slow and steady wins the race, that’s what we have been taught but does it apply in the current times? In this internet era, where everyone is in a rush and nobody has time to waste, the saying has no meaning anymore. People don’t think about marathons anymore, the modern era is more about 100-meter race. Do everything as fast as you can before anybody else can even think about doing it.
The same thing could be said about your website’s load speed, if it is slow you are already losing the race. So, today we will be discussing website load speed and how it impacts your business.
Website load speed refers to the speed at which your website page loads. The time was noted at the time link was clicked to the time when the page completely loads, displaying every information available on it.
The importance of a website’s high load speed can be determined from the fact that Google concluded that any person on the internet only waits 5 seconds for a website to load and then moves on to the next result available.
Every company wants to deliver the best experience to its customers and the website plays a vital role in that process. More than 90% of potential customers of any business are online. So, their website becomes the introduction card for any business, if customers like the performance of the website then they are more likely to return. However, if the customers are not happy with the speed of website functioning then they will never return.
Here are some other things to consider before assessing the importance of high load speed.
● It affects your SEO
Various search engines started using site speed algorithms way back and it still plays a major role in determining where your site shows up in the search results. Search engines know that sending users to slow loading sites will affect the user experience and hence they try to ignore such slow loading websites in the search results.
If your rank last in the search that means very few people will reach your website and when they find the slow functionality of the website, they also will not look back and move on.
● Customers hate waiting
Customers hated waiting in lines so they turned to online shopping which is hassle-free and time-saving. However, if they still have to wait for the website to load then it serves them no good. So, customers hate waiting, they want the fastest and the best experience when they are online.
Just think how it makes you feel when you go to a site that takes forever to load. Frustrating, isn’t it? And a frustrated person will not stay there long. Your customers are no different than you, they will also turn away if they feel the slightest of frustration. The longer it takes for a website, the more interest they lose. Nobody has the patience to wait all day for your website to load. So, fast speed websites are always attracting more customers.
● Affects a business’s reputation
In today’s world, your business reputation depends on its online presence. If your website is loading slowly then your business is also not good in the eyes of your potential customers. Reputation is not something any business wants to lose because it is the key for customers. It serves the purpose of marketing itself. So, a fast loading speed website has a better reputation even if its products are not as good as the slow loading website’s products.
The customer’s behaviour is changing over time, so one cannot afford to be slow and overlook the importance of high loading speed as it plays the most important role in attracting customers and bringing them back again.
There are thousands of factors that govern the speed of your website. Each and everyone out of those is capable of bringing down your load speed to some extent. However, some out of those are unavoidable and you have no control over it but there are these few that are easily avoidable and these slow down major sites to a great extent. So, never ignore these factors because these will not ignore your website. Here are the most common types of mistakes that slow your website.
∎ Website design
One of the most important factors that affect and govern the speed of any website is its design. Many websites are designed on already available templates online, people find it quite easy and cheap as compared to a fully customized website. However, in a fully customized website, one gets to choose what they want to include and what they want to remove. The same thing is not true with these online themes, these come with many hidden plug-ins that are of no use to you. This additional weight is enough to slow down your website. So, always choose to go for a fully customized website and only if that’s not an option then chose a light and simple design for your website.
We at BUZZandBiz provide the best in class website designing. If you still find yourself in confusion, contact us. We will take away any burden from your shoulders.
∎ Bulky images
One of the biggest factors that people easily ignore but which affects the speed of your website is images. People usually try to add a lot of images, GIFs and other art to create a user-friendly experience but it leads to slow loading speed as more images mean more data to load. One may try to create a user-friendly experience but it might turn into something exactly the opposite.
So, add images but always keep in mind that you don’t need to turn the website into an art gallery.
∎ Dead mass
Dead mass means the data which is not used by the customers for a long time. People always try to get the newest stuff to their customers but forget to remove the old ones. These old ones are ignored by both the customers and the owner, they become dead mass which only slows the speed of the website and serves no purpose.
So, try to constantly update your website and removing any unwanted mass present on it.
If one can ignore all these factors then it will be a big victory in itself and a noticeable change in speed can be noted but most people don’t even know if their site is up to the standards of customers or not. So, here is a trick you can use.
How to test your website’s loading speed?
There are many websites on the internet that provides free or cheap world-class speed tests for your website. One of the most trusted ones belongs to Google. It works perfectly and shows you the exact loading speed of your website. You can check your website’s speed for free with the help of Google’s PageSpeed Insights tool.
Conclusion:
Your customers might not give you any credit for your website’s loading speed but they will definitely punish you for slow speed. Although, the rewards of good speed will be seen in the money you make by providing the best and hassle-free experience to your customers. So, never ignore the importance of a website’s load speed and try to evolve with the evolving world around you. Never give your competitors an edge by your slow speed.
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