According to dotcom-tools.com, the ideal website load time is 2 to 5 seconds. Based on the same source, it states “However, each second beyond 2 seconds results in greater bounce rates. 40% of polled internet users report abandoning a site if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. Moreover, 47% of users expect desktop sites to load in 2 seconds or less.” Eight (8) seconds is the average person’s attention span, and only 28 % of words are read on an average web page (https://smallbusiness.chron.com/long-website-viewers-attention-72249.html). Subtract that 8-second attention span to your website loading speed, and you will get the idea of how soon your prospective customer will jump to another web page.
Whether you’re selling or marketing a product or service, website speed should be on your top list.
Website performance has a significant, measurable effect on conversion rates. Studies have consistently shown that fast page speed will result in a better conversion rate. In other words, the quicker a webpage loads, the more likely a user is to perform the targeted action on that webpage (https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/performance/more/website-performance-conversion-rates/).
Unlike design and content, web speed is something that is not a DIY process. Looking for someone who might also help you with your website performance seems as daunting as understanding what to do to increase your website speed. The easiest way is to check the agent or agency’s website if they meet the excellent web performance themselves.
At Terramedia, we live by example – proud to showcase that our website has an A+ rating, boasting a 2-3 ms server response and typically getting loading times between 1 and 2 seconds on Pingdom Tools and GTMetrix. Achieving this speed gives us more focus on our strategy for conversion optimisation than getting stuck on fixing how customers will not leave us on first sight.
As stated in our previous article, we use specific tools to test website speed. For immediate feedback on server response times, you can use https://www.bitcatcha.com, but for full speed tests, I highly recommend that you use below platforms for professional work.
- Google PageSpeed Insights – this provides feedback directly from Google on how it sees your website performance.
- Pingdom Tools – use the Sydney test location to ensure you see results reflective of the Australian experience.
- GTMetrix – also set to the Sydney test location.
Above is the speed performance of two of our growing client list. One of the best assurance we can give is that they will meet the benchmark for website performance. Getting a 2 ms loading speed provides us with an opportunity to focus on other conversion strategies such as design and product presentation. If you need help on your website performance don’t hesitate to contact us.
