Imagine you’re a customer who is obsessed with hats. Hats for cats. You’ve got a pile of money ready to spend on getting a few fancy new ones for your furry pals. There are plenty of feline headwear sites to choose from, so you pick one from the search results that looks pretty promising and click on the link.
And… 3… 2…
That’s it. Two seconds. 47% of people expect to wait just two seconds for a site to load. 40% will leave if it takes over three seconds. Your site didn’t load in time, so it’s likely your customer is gone, and so is the sale. As customers, we all know how frustrating it is to land on a clunky, slow-loading website.
But if it’s your business with the clunky, slow-loading website, the effect goes far beyond frustrating. It can be downright dream-crushing, not to mention devastating for your bottom line.
You can check how quickly your website loads with tools like Pingdom and Google Page Speed Insights, amongst others!
How important can a fast-loading website really be?
Today, a glitch-free, fast-loading site is literally make-or-break. First impressions mean everything. Research shows that customers take less than a second (two-tenths of a second, to be precise) to form a first impression of your site. And thanks to the plethora of search results available these days, consumers have the luxury of zero tolerance for time-wasting when they’re on the hunt for Tiddles’ next bonnet. If your site lets them down, it’s on to the next.
Now, if you’re thinking, “Hey, it’s just one customer. It’s not the end of the world”, unfortunately, you’re wrong. Studies have shown that the majority of internet users simply won’t recommend a website with a poor user interface or lagging load times. Oh, and you can expect to increase those figures if your customer is browsing your site from their mobile phone.
But slow-loading, clunky websites don’t only indicate red flags for consumers, they’re also indicators of more serious problems. Glitchy programming, large amounts of unoptimised images and videos, outdated caching techniques, and incorrect image formats can not only harm the user experience, but also the planet. This bulky, unoptimised content taxes servers to the max, creating a huge (if hidden) carbon footprint. The fact is, the faster your site loads, the fewer resources it uses, and the more eco-friendly it is.
So, if you’re a graphic designer, marketing manager, or small business, can you really afford to keep limping along with that clunky old website? Of course not.
How Soto can get you where you need to be
You need the fastest WordPress hosting, and a passionate web development partner you can rely on; a team your business can grow with. As Bristol’s premiere web development and hosting service, we’re experts at not only upgrading but evolving websites.
We specialise in front and back-end WordPress development – optimised images, customised WordPress themes and plug-ins, next-gen coding and program languages – WordPress optimised hosting at its best. A smooth, sleek, fast-loading website that can maximise conversion rates, improve UX, and boost sales. Plus, you’ll be doing your part for the environment, which is no small thing these days. Truly, an upgraded website can only ever be a win-win, for both the planet and your profit margin!
Get in touch with us to find out how we can get your website where it needs to be.
