A Speedy Website Shows Professionalism

“73% of mobile internet users say that they’ve encountered a website that was too slow to load” (link). A speedy website shows professionalism and trustworthiness. In contrast, a slow website shows that you don’t care about your customers’ time. Visitors will get frustrated with your site’s slowness and they will be more likely to leave your site and visit one of your competitors. When a visitor is looking for information, they are more likely to trust a website that loads quickly than one that takes a while to display content.

When potential customers come to your site, they don’t spend much time at all on it before making an instant judgement about you, your business, and your products or services. Almost 50% of consumers expect a page to load in 2 seconds or less (link). You only have one chance to make this first impression, so it had better be a good one.  This is a critical time for your website, it’s your chance to make an impression and leave your potential customers with a good and trustworthy feeling about your business.

The Speed of Your Website Affects Your Search Engine Rankings

The speed of your website and how fast it loads will affect your search engine rankings, because Google wants to reward sites that improve the user experience. Google has confirmed that page speed now impacts search rankings. This means that if your website takes too long to load, you may be missing out on a lot of potential visitors. If you are a local business, people are probably looking for you by name, rather than by a generic search query. If your website loads slower than the big guys, your business could be seen as one that provides lesser quality work or products.

Fast Loading Websites Are Expected by Customers

It’s no secret that consumers expect the websites they visit to load quickly. In fact, according to a survey conducted by Akamai Technologies, 30% of online consumers expect a page to load in one second or less. Fast loading websites are no longer a luxury, but a necessity. The way in which we use the internet is constantly changing, and as these changes take place, consumers demand more speed. Poor load times are a primary reason that people abandon websites. Don’t let your website be a statistic when it comes to poor website performance optimization. Work with a website designer that understands web performance and isn’t afraid to talk about it.

Slow Websites Hurt Your Conversion Rate

This is a pretty bold claim that some of you may have even heard before, but have you ever really thought about the implications of this statement? You are losing money by not keeping your website running at the top of its game. A slow website can drastically hurt your conversion rate and even scare away potential customers. Your website may have a great design, but if people can’t see it then you’re losing out on a lot of potential customers. In the 21st century, there are a lot of people who don’t have the patience to wait for a slow-loading website. They’d rather move on to one of your competitors.

In Conclusion

Slow websites hurt the professional image of your business by showing your customers that you don’t care enough to optimize your website or have it optimized by a professional. A slow-loading website leads to lower SEO ranking (in other words, it’ll rank lower in Google’s search results), which in turn leads to a reduced amount of potential customers. Customers expect your website to load fast. If it’s very slow, there’s a good chance that they’ll move on to one of your competitiors.

If your business has a slow website, contact us today for a free estimate on optimizing it.