When a website visitor tries to access your web pages, slow loading times hinder user experience. It also deters revenue and growth. Many website owners think aesthetics are more critical than function when it comes to web content thinking that is vital to attracting traffic. In truth, users want accessibility and fast load times instead of flashy visuals. According to research, nearly half of internet users think web pages should load within two seconds. Four out of ten users abandon a page after three seconds. It is also necessary to improve page load performance to increase search engine page ranking (SERP), which is now a critical algorithm factor.

Why Does Website Loading Times Matter?

Page loading times will either help your website succeed or be a major reason why it fails since response times determine traffic accessibility, length of page views, conversion rates, revenue and branding. By improving page load performance, you not only provide the response time consumers demand, but you augment your web pages to function at an optimal level. As an organization, your bottom line determines your growth potential, so you do not want to lose 40 percent of potential customers before you have the chance to display the content that converts to sales.

Performance is all about the user experience, which is why it must be your information technology team’s highest priority if you want to elevate your industry standing from your competitors. By speeding up page loading times, you will see an uptick in traffic and conversions. Most critically, you will deliver fast content, which will satisfy your visitors with the type of user experience they expect. It also is a critical component in building your customer base and brand recognition since your website will give them a reason to want to stay and see what your business has to offer visitors.

Website speed is also an important factor to search engine optimization since it is now a part of SERP algorithms. While keywords used to determine a page’s ranking, today, it has just as much to do with a page’s performance. The algorithm now includes website loading time as it infers the site’s owner is providing the best user experience possible. By boosting website speed and optimizing user experience, you will also increase your SERP standing. In fact, if your page is in the top three SERP rankings, you have a 50 percent higher click-through rate.

Functional web pages must now include the right balance of content delivery, inbound and outbound links, various keyword types and a balance of imagery and video, which do not deter loading speed. Eight seconds is the load time performance poverty time that determines a website’s business metrics, but it increases by 75 percent when it is at two seconds. Developing the right formula will ensure you increase your traffic and attract the type of sales leads that convert consumers into loyal customers. You will also generate the kind of revenue that is expandable.

Statistics to Know

If you think page loading times do not matter, here are a few statistics a business must know:

• 80 percent of traffic will not return to underachieving websites because of user experience
• 50 percent of online consumers site slow loading time as the reason for abandoning carts
• Slow loading pages cost retailers $20 billion annually in lost shopping cart revenue
• 45 percent of shoppers say slow transaction processing is troublesome and a security risk
• 45 percent of unhappy shoppers use the first impression of a website to share experiences

Testing Your Page Loading Speed

Whether you are launching a website or want to monitor its performance, testing your page loading speed allows you to optimize user experience when deploying a page without errors. Here are three prominent testing sites that will give you more insight into page performance.

• Pingdom is one of the most recognized names in the industry as being a reliable source for page speed performance measurement; Pingdom not only tests your website for free, but it provides critical analysis of performance and bottlenecks
• Page Speed Insights is a Google tool that tests loading speed and analysis; it also tracks performance so that you know the changes you need to make
• GTMetrix also tests page speed and offers advice on how to optimize your website

Once your testing is complete and you have a better understanding of your page load speed, you will have an analysis of problems that are deterring a faster response time. By utilizing the test analysis advice, you will shave off seconds from your website page load response time.