There are different factors that contribute to a customer’s overall satisfaction with a website. Consistently updating content, eye-grabbing website design and overall functionality are great – but if your website takes too long to load, views may never get to experience all of the bells and whistles that are in store for them. That’s right; site speed plays a large role in whether viewers will come back or not.
How Important is Site Speed?
Site speed is crucial, as it should be done for the user and their overall site experience, it can also improve conversion rate, a site visitor taking a desired action on your site. A high conversion rate 
shows that visitors are interested in your site and they are willing to engage with you. This will translate to an increase in future site visits, growth in sales, requests for additional company information and subscriptions. A slow loading site can hurt your conversion rate but not only that; it can cause a visitor to abandon a site all together.
Site Speed Impacts Ranking
Google factors in different elements that contribute to site rankings. In 2010, Google announced that site speed would also impact how well a site ranks on their search engine. Not only is site speed important for visitor retention, it also impacts whether or not your site is found on their search engine at all.
How to Improve Page Load Time
1. Reducing and optimizing images on your site with Photoshop can improve site speed.
2. Limit the use of tracking codes, video embeds and share buttons. The more that are used, the slower the site becomes.
3. Use cache. When you first visit a website, the browser requests all of the images, text etc. from a sites server. Those are then stored in your browser’s cache, where they will be able to load faster when visiting a site.
Keeping your sites loading time in mind can help maintain a consistent flow of site visitors and contribute to its success. Are you interested in capitalizing on site visits through a faster loading website? Contact Starkmedia today for more information.
