Why a slow website load time can hurt your business

April 08, 2016

Site speed is an important part of the overall technical components of your website.

By Maureen McCabe

In the new digital age, instantaneous responses are expected for everything digital, and this includes your website. Whether you’re a business-to-consumer (B2C), business-to-business (B2B) or an e-commerce site, viewers expect your website to flawlessly switch between pages without delay. If you have a slow website load time, it’s not only hurting your digital viewership, but likely your entire business.

Desktop / laptop versus mobile viewership

The effects of a slow website partially come down to the device on which people access your site. On a desktop or laptop, customers are likely to give a few more seconds of leeway for responsiveness, as they have the ability to easily switch between browser tabs.

On a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet however, this is simply not the case. However, viewers on the go are far more likely to need information immediately, whether they are on the way to your office location or learning about your company during their commute. Should your website be slow, viewers will quickly leave your site and make their way to a competitor’s site instead.

Your profitability relies on website speed

Unfortunately, the slower your website is, the less likely customers are to invest in your company. Slow load times are directly correlated to high bounce rates, as customers will quickly leave your website when they can’t access the pages they want in a “reasonable” amount of time. This can be especially harmful for e-commerce websites, where customers demand quick speeds for adding items to shopping carts, glancing over multiple product pages and checking out.

Google demands fast page load speed

Moving away from user friendliness, site speed is also an important part of the overall technical components of your website.

When Google ranks and indexes your website, the site speed ultimately becomes part of your ranking abilities. Why? Because it’s a key element in their 200 point algorithm.

If they see that your website is slow, and viewers are constantly bouncing away from it, your rankings will quickly begin to sink. This will bring down your viewership, and hinder your ability to gain organic web traffic.

Interesting Facts

Given that website load time has become more and more important in the recent years, many surprising facts have come out about customers’ feelings on slow websites. According to a study by Kissmetrics:

• 47% of consumers expect a page to load in less than two seconds
• 30% of consumers will leave a website that takes longer than six to ten seconds to load
• 79% of consumers who are unhappy with a website’s performance are unlikely to return
• 52% of consumers equate quick site speeds to brand loyalty

If you’re unsure about your site speed in relation to your competitors, it’s important that you seek professional help to improve your web presence. Contact us today and we’ll give you a thorough marketing assessment, and help you build a better, faster website!

Learn how to improve your website’s ranking, check out these posts.

How to Get Your Website on Google
Identifying Duplicate Content & How to Fix It. Part 1
Why It Is Important to Update Your Website’s Content

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