- I was trying to read an article on a news site, but the page wouldn't load, so I closed it.
- I was looking for a product on an online shop, but the page loaded too slowly, so I bought it from another store.
"Site speed" is an important factor for all websites, including corporate sites, e-commerce sites, owned media (blogs), and landing pages .
Site speed refers to the time it takes for a web page to be fully displayed when a user accesses it, including the loading and execution of all elements that make up the page, such as text, images, style sheets, and scripts.
Website speed has a huge impact on user experience.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at the importance of speed, how to improve it, and tools to measure it .
table of contents
Why speed is important
Reason 1: It affects your conversion rate
Reason 2: It impacts bounce rate
Reason 3: It affects the user experience
Reason 4: It impacts SEO
How to improve page speed
Method 1: Reduce the size of your images
Method 2: Streamline your videos
Method 3: Lazy Load Content
Method 4: Compress and organize your source code
Tool to measure page speed
Tool 1: PageSpeed Insights
Tool 2: Chrome Developer Tools
summary
Why speed is important
The speed of your website determines the first impression your visitors have of your site and can have a major impact on their subsequent actions.
Here are four main reasons why speed is so important:
Reason 1: It affects your conversion rate
Improving your website's speed has a direct italy b2b leads impact on your conversion rate (CVR), which in turn leads to increased sales for your site .
Conversely, a slow website can lead to a poor user experience, reduced visitor interest, lower conversion rates, and a loss of purchase intent, which ultimately translates directly into lost sales opportunities.
For example, a survey (PDF) published in 2017 by Akamai, a major American CDN company , reported the following results:
・A 100 millisecond decrease in page speed reduces conversion rates by up to 7.1%.
・A 1-second decrease in page speed reduces conversion rates by up to 21.8%.
・A 2-second decrease in page speed reduces conversion rates by up to 36.5%.
The impact of slow page speed on conversion rates by device type
Source: Akamai, State of Online Retail - Performance | Spring 2017
Thus, website speed is a key factor that impacts conversion rates and sales.
Reason 2: It impacts bounce rate
Fast web pages keep visitors on your site and can significantly reduce bounce and abandonment rates - a key factor in encouraging users to stay on your site and continue exploring your content.
On the other hand, no matter how attractive and valuable the content you provide, if a site takes several seconds to load, users will abandon it. Even a small delay can have a negative impact on the user's experience on your site, causing them to lose interest in accessing your content.