An often overlooked area of websites after they have been launched is their speed. It’s awesome to have a great-looking website, with excellent content and easy to find contact information. But did you know that poor speed could be losing you customers?
Your customers are searching for products or services like yours to help them with problems that they’re suffering from. This could range from tax consultation right up to purchasing a sport shoes or booking a photoshoot.
One of the first things that a potential customer will see is your website. They’ll click through from the search results or receive a recommendation from a trusted friend, then visit your website eager to learn more.
If your website takes a long time to load, you run the risk of that person being impatient and looking elsewhere for the help that they need.
In today’s modern world, more people than ever have access to high speed Internet. This could be in their home, in their office or even on the move through high-speed 4G / 5G connections.
While these technological advances have been great in terms of faster access to data, they’ve also changed the online landscape and user expectations.
Modern internet users expect to find information quickly. If they’re met with a slow website, it can be a very frustrating experience. That’s not to mention that it can give an unprofessional appearance for your business too.
In addition to this, having a slow website can cause a search engine to show you lower down in their search results. This means that you may struggle to compete with other businesses in your local area and lose out to your competitors.
So what makes websites slow?
The most common causes of a slow website are typically one of three things:
- Poor quality web host - This is one of the areas where the cheaper options do not tend to offer performance benefits. It’s also why we recommend to all of our clients that they host their website on our optimised servers.
- Coding / Design issue - Sometimes there will be a code or design problem with a website. This isn’t always the fault of your web designer. Software updates could introduce an issue that needs ironing out down the line. This is the type of thing we help our clients manage through our Care Plans.
- Content issue - You may have added some content to your website that has unintentionally caused it to slow down. Examples of this include videos that are set to auto-play or uncompressed images. It’s an easy mistake to make, but it can have a significant impact on your website.
The good news is that all three of the above elements can be resolved. Assuming your website isn’t outdated and in need of a bit of TLC, then you should find that resolving any issues will be cost-effective.
The first step that you can take is to run a speed test on your site. This is free, and it’s something that you can do yourself.
Head over to GTMetrix and enter your website’s URL, then click on the button labelled “Test Your Site”. After a few moments, you’ll be presented with a report that shows your website speed.
If your website is loading well, then you should see a lot of data with green backgrounds and a website that loads in under 2 seconds.
If you’re not sure what you’re looking at or you’re seeing poor results, please do feel free to click reply and send me over a message. I’d be more than happy to take a quick look at the GTMetrix results for your website and advise you on the possible issues that your website is suffering from.
A faster website gives your customers a better experience. They can find the information they need quicker and then take the appropriate next step. So you’ll be able to get more calls, more emails and even more product sales if you have an E-Commerce store.
And don’t forget the SEO benefits with the search engines too. Search engines love fast websites and it is a ranking factor that can help your website to be more visible to your potential customers.
P.S. If you speed up your website and learn on how digital marketing can help your business, I’d be happy to discuss this with you. Please book a meeting with me using my calendar here.
