We may think of eCommerce trends as applications or features to websites that make them stand out. Sometimes, the biggest trends don’t have anything to do with a special feature, but a routine function to a website.
Website performance has been a popular trend over the years, mainly because people are impatient. If you want to make a connection with your customers, you need to have a website that loads quickly and makes function easy.
Most people are willing to wait about three seconds for a page to load before they abandon it and try to find something else. Most mobile devices average around 22 seconds for a website to load. Therefore, page speed and website performance hold a lot of importance to your website. You could have the nicest design but if your website doesn’t load quickly, people will never get to see it if they keep abandoning it.
More than just trying to catch the attention of your visitors and keep them engaged, but it also has benefits for SEO. Google views page speed as a ranking factor because user experience is so important, so how quickly your page loads and reacts to action holds greater importance.
How do you improve page speed? Optimizing images is a great place to start. You can cut down on load time by making sure all images on your pages are optimized.
Having a faster website increases conversions. If you reduce the page speed by three seconds, revenue increases by up to 12 percent. Pages that take three seconds or more to load produce 22 percent fewer conversions. Slow loading speeds and web performance would even affect a search engine powerhouse like Google. If Google had its search results slowed by just four-tenths of a second, they may lose 8 million searches each day.
That goes a long way with customers. Visitors to your website don’t want to wait. They want to gain access to the website, see products, get more information on products and complete purchases quickly. That kind of efficiency can lead to more traffic, better word of mouth marketing, better online reviews and eventually more customers.
A faster website performance also increases the SEO rankings. In eCommerce, your search rankings are critical to success and depend on it heavily. User experience and performance are now a part of the equation when considering website results, included in Google’s algorithm for ranking. The bottom line is that when a website performs poorly or loads slowly, a visitor spends less time on the website. A faster website improves operating costs as well, so there are many factors that go into improving page speed and website performance beyond the ranking system.
Now that you know about the importance of website performance and loading speed, you should consider your own website and if improvement is needed, especially as this trend continues to grow and affect the industry.
At Genius eCommerce, that is who we are and what we do, keeping up with the trends and tips within the eCommerce industry so you stay in the know and are prepared as changes and trends happen.
Be sure to continue reading the Genius eCommerce blog for more information and updates on other trends in the eCommerce world.
