Website page load speed is one of the elements that make up a successful website. Thus, making sure that you have one is essential.

The loading speed aspect is often overlooked and focuses only on the design, navigation and content. Although these three are crucial in setting up a successful website, the website page load speed shouldn’t be left behind.

According to a Google statistic, if the website page load time starts from one second to 10 seconds, the site visitor bounce rates can increase to 123%. This clearly shows that no matter how well-designed your website is, this won’t matter if your site takes a long time to load. 

In this article, we’ll cover:

  • What is Website Page Load Speed
  • How Website Page Load Speed Affects Conversion Rates
  • Why Website Page Load Speed Matter
  • Ways to Increase Website Page Load Speed

 

What is Website Page Load Speed?

The website page load speed is the measurement of how quickly your content page loads. Page speed is often called page load time—which is about how fast the content of a page gets displayed on your site when an audience clicks on it.

You can evaluate your website page load time using Google’s PageSpeed Insights. It incorporates data from CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) and the reports of two speed metrics—the DOMContent Loaded (DCL) and First Contentful Paint (FCP).   

What is Website Page Load Speed?

The website page load speed is the measurement of how quickly your content page loads. Page speed is often called page load time—which is about how fast the content of a page gets displayed on your site when an audience clicks on it.

You can evaluate your website page load time using Google’s PageSpeed Insights. It incorporates data from CrUX (Chrome User Experience Report) and the reports of two speed metrics—the DOMContent Loaded (DCL) and First Contentful Paint (FCP).   

 

How Website Page Load Speed Affects Conversion Rates?

A study shows that fast website page load speed results in a much better conversion rate. To put this simply, the quicker your webpage loads, the higher the chances a user would perform the targeted action on your webpage.

For example, at 5.7 seconds of a website load speed, the conversion rate would drop down to 0.6%, whereas if your site page loads at 4.2 seconds, it will have a conversion rate of less than 1%. 

Furthermore, if your website page load speed is 2.4 seconds, you’ll likely enjoy the 1.9% conversion rate. Thus, it’s clear that the website page load speed has a significant impact on conversion rates.

 

Why Does Website Page Load Speed Matter?

The website page load speed matters a lot at present because people of today are always on the go. Most don’t have the time to wait for even five to ten seconds for a page to load unless it’s Google. 

This is understandable because time is valuable. So, instead of waiting for a website that isn’t loading fast to get what they (users) want, they’ll go to a site where they can see the things they want to see in one to two seconds. 

That’s the very reason why website page load speed is vital. To add to that, here are the other few reasons why website speed matters:

 

1.) The First Impression Lasts

If your website page load speed sucks the first time, it’ll bring a lasting negative impression to the users. This will taint the reputation of your brand and judge the quality of your business.

Thus, it’s critical to have the best possible first impression by having a fast fast loading page. If your current site loads too slow, it’s best to work on it to avoid having a bad business reputation just due to the sluggish load time of your site’s page.

People who have a negative experience on your site will likely tell it about others, and it’ll affect your business. So, early as possible, make sure your site’s pages load quickly to have a good first impression from the internet users.

 

2.) Users Expect Speed

People at present are always on the go, busy and impatient. Thus, it’s not surprising that they’ll abandon your site if it takes some time to load.

Moreover, when it comes to the internet and websites, people expect speed. So, as a website owner, you need to meet this expectation to have a great relationship with the web users.

If you don’t give the speed users want, they won’t likely bother to be at your site again and may even tell others about it.

 

3.) Website Page Load Speed is Essential for Good User Experience

Providing a good user experience is undoubtedly the key to website success. However, this wouldn’t be possible if your website page load speed is slow.

These two go hand in hand together, along with other elements such as responsive web design, SEO and more.

 

4.) Website Page Load Speed Affects the Conversion Rates

In this day and age, no one is willing to wait for slow-loading sites. Based on research, the higher the seconds your page takes to load, the lower its conversion rate gets.

For example, if your website page loads at 5.7 seconds, you’ll only get a 0.6% conversion rate. On the other hand, if your website page loads at 2.4 seconds, you’ll get a 1.9% conversion rate.

 

Ways to Increase Website Page Load Speed

Since having a fast loading website page is crucial, it’s your job as a website owner to ensure that your site is fast loading. To do that, you can do:

 

File Compression

You can reduce the size of your Javascript, CSS AND HTML files that are bigger than 150 bytes by using file compression software applications.

 

Reducing the Redirects

Reducing the redirects help your page ton load faster. Each time your page redirects to another page, it’ll take additional time of waiting for the HTTP request and response process to complete.

 

Optimising Code or Minifying HTML, CSS and Javascript

Optimising code like removing commas, unnecessary characters and spaces can increase website page load speed. In addition, you can also remove unused codes, code comments and formats to further enhance the load speed of your website.

To do that, Google recommends using the following to minify JavaScript, CSS and HTML:

 

Optimise Your Images to Increase Your Website Page Load Speed

To enhance the speed of your site load page, you need to optimise your images. This will mean that you have to ensure that your photos aren’t bigger than they should be.

Thus, make sure that your images are in the appropriate format and compressed for the web. This way, you can assure that your page wouldn’t load slow.

You can use CSS image sprites to produce templates for images that you can often use on your websites, such as icons and buttons. The CSS sprites link your photos into a large image that loads at once.

 

That means there are only lesser HTTP requests—equating to a much better page load speed time and displaying only the things you want to let other people see. With this, you can save load time by not making users wait. 

That would mean you’re saving load time by not making users wait for multiple images to load. If you want to work on your page load speed, you may consider the written tips of this article.