Customers’ demands and expectations can be a long list. Website performance comes as one of the first things to pay attention to.
Why? It is crucial to retain users, as well as to achieve higher rankings in search engines. A website that loads slowly, or is not optimized for a good user experience can push visitors away.
In fact, almost 50 percent of visitors do not wait for more than two seconds for a website to load. There is so much competition that it takes seconds for a potential customer to go away.
Why Does Website Performance Matter
How fast your site loads is just one of the many metrics that shape the overall user experience. The page has to have smooth navigation and should load in an instant. It should have quick access to information that customers seek, and even a one-second delay can impact user behavior and conversion rates. Studies show that when load times increase, it has a direct negative effect on conversions.
Bounce rate is another important metric for any online business. It’s how quickly a person goes away from the website after landing on it. Web Pages that load in two seconds have an average bounce rate of 9 percent.
Basically, the quicker a website loads, the more likely it is that potential customers will stay. Eventually, a percentage of that turns into paying customers.
Google Rankings Matter
For search engines, especially Google from where 80 percent of website traffic comes from, website performance is a big ranking factor. The company has made it clear that website performance is a critical factor in its ranking algorithm.
It uses Core Web Vitals, a collection of metrics that measure all the aspects of web usability, using them as ranking signals. This includes interactivity, load times, and layout stability.
A fast-loading site provides a better user experience. Google likes to give its users a good experience, and ranks such sites higher, directly impacting SEO.
How To Enhance Page Speed
To enhance page speed, make use of vector graphics, and formats like JPG and WebP for pictures. Reducing the image file sizes, without having any effect on quality is a good way to reduce loading times.
Enable browser caching and ensure the website code is optimized. AI website builders like Hocoos automate many of the optimization steps using customized templates. These AI-powered services help you do more as they are ready to deploy.
Mobile Optimization: Top Metric
Mobile devices account for over 50 percent of the web traffic, as per a study in 2023. Having a mobile-optimized site is a necessity for businesses, as it affects SEO rankings and also retains users. In fact, Google recently started using mobile-first indexing, prioritizing the mobile version of the website.
A website that works great on mobile devices will be ranked higher in the search engine results.
To optimize for mobile, use an easy-to-understand, responsive design that adapts to all screen sizes, including tablets. Make menus and important links accessible, and ensure the buttons are easy to click by touch.
Tracking Performance
Tracking all the metrics is essential. Google has two services, Analytics and the Search Console, that provide in-depth monitoring. It provides insights that help identify the areas of improvement.
User behavior is also measured, making the correlation between website performance and user retention.
Performance audits also need to be done on a regular basis, evaluating your website’s speed. Even small optimizations matter. A large media file, or an image that is slow-loading, can make all the difference.
The Checkout Process
Once a customer is convinced and has clicked on the buy button, the checkout process is extremely crucial. This is the last mile, and the website cannot afford to be slow, buggy, or unintuitive at this stage.
Abandoned carts are a huge problem online. If the customer is frustrated or loses interest while at the Checkout page, it is a significant loss.
To ensure customers do not exit without completing the purchase, ensure the following:
- Do not ask for any information that has been provided before by the customer.
- If there is any form that is to be filled, it should not have too many fields.
- The customer should not see too many steps and pages. Each page can lead to less likelihood of the customer completing the purchase.
- Payment gateways should be quick to load. If the loading screen during the transition is slow, customers can go away.
Businesses have no choice but to attract search engines and customers, and this is how it’s done.