Loading speed is important for many things: for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), for ROI (Return On Investment) and even for the purchase of products and/or services. Online shops must take into account a series of elements that did not even exist a few years ago, and loading speed may be one of them.
The loading speed may be one of them, and digitalisation has long since arrived in this type of business to stay. It is no wonder, as many professionals have seen numerous advantages, such as 24-hour operation, the possibility of selling non-physical things, the registration of purchase and sale actions, the reduction of logistics costs, etc. It may seem like a simple element, but its importance in the purchasing process is crucial. Remember that the website is the main showcase for online shops.
what would happen if it didn't work properly? Do you know what your users' expectations are regarding loading speed? We want to share with you its role in the functioning of your business.
The role of loading speed
Loading speed or WPO (Web Performance Optimisation) plays a decisive role in the ranking of the website in search engines, and its influence on indexability is major. There is something you should know, and that is that the lower the page loading speed, the lower the bounce or abandonment rate.
Put yourself for a moment in the shoes of those users who visit your website via mobile phone. Do you think they will wait minutes for it to open? Certainly not. They will leave and look for another website that does suit their needs. In general, visitors who access websites from their mobile phone only wait between 6 and 10 seconds for the web page to load.
What we can be sure of is that some companies have noticed its influence on conversion, as shown by studies conducted by Akami or Amazon. Here are some points for online shops to take into account:
- Around 50% of online shoppers expect the website to load in 2 seconds or less.
- 40% of visitors will abandon the online shop if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
- 79% of users who were unhappy with the performance of the website are very unlikely to buy from it.
How long would you be willing to wait?
How loading speed affects websites
Sometimes, 20 seconds can be too long. Waiting, sometimes, can be quite boring, especially if we are in a hurry to read what a certain site is hiding. A slow loading speed affects the conversion rate, the return on investment, SEO... Users expect faster and faster speed, which is multiplied with the use of mobile phones. The goal of online businesses is to convert visitors into customers, but what do they need to achieve it? In one word: trust. It is not only important the aesthetics of the website, but it is necessary to go beyond that. We talk about offering a fast and easy service, so the loading speed is much more important than we could have imagined.
Sometimes, we tend to neglect the more technical aspects when, in many occasions, they are one of the most important elements. If we don't take them into account, it is very likely that we will not get the results we were expecting. Every second too much can be an opportunity too little. Don't forget it.
what could be affecting the loading speed of my website?
If you think that the loading speed of your website is not working as it should, then it is important that you analyse what factors are influencing this process. It may be the images, a problem that should be solved by optimising them. Even the template itself could be slowing down the process. It is also possible that the type of hosting the website is on could be influencing it. In fact, there can be many different factors that affect the loading speed. Therefore, we encourage you to make an analysis and put yourself in the hands of professionals who can solve this problem. Have you stopped to think about how the loading speed of the competition works?
So, if we had to find a summary answer to the question that heads this post, then we would choose to say that yes, the loading speed influences the purchasing process of your online shop.
Don't make them wait too long.
