A fast, resilient website is no longer a luxury; it’s a necessity.
On the modern web, every second counts
Attention spans are shorter than ever, and users expect web pages to load quickly and seamlessly.
Key website load time statistics:
- Publishers whose mobile sites load in 5 seconds earn up to 2x more mobile ad revenue than sites loading in 19 seconds.
- 53% of visits to mobile sites are abandoned after 3 seconds.
- BBC has seen that they lose an additional 10% of users for every additional second it takes for their site to load.
Companies must continually improve website performance. Slow-loading websites not only frustrate users but also negatively impact your search engine rankings, as speed is one of the factors considered by search algorithms. In essence, by enhancing your web page’s loading speed, you can anticipate improvements in user experience (UX), conversion rates, and ultimately, your sales revenue.
Resilience is essential
With tolerance for Internet disruptions at an all-time low, downtime or poor performance can damage your company’s reputation, result in lost revenue, and potentially lose you customers.
A 2023 commissioned study on the cost of Internet disruptions on eCommerce companies conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Catchpoint found:
- Internet disruptions cost eCommerce companies millions: In the month before the study, 37% of respondents estimated their companies lost $100,000-$499,000, and 39% lost $500,000-$999,999 due to disruptions.
- Sixty-six percent of respondents said Internet disruptions led to increased customer churn, with 64% reporting a loss of consumer confidence in their brand
- 65% of respondents stated that even small disruptions in the flow of commerce can cause customers to halt their purchase cycle.
By making your website more resilient (more on this later), you’ll protect your bottom line, ensuring that it remains available, and performant even during times of peak demand or unexpected challenges.
Now that we’ve established the significance of speed and resilience, let’s move on to Step 2, where we'll discuss how to analyze website performance and the right tools to use. By pinpointing problem areas, you can take targeted action to optimize your site for speed and resilience.