As eCommerce continues to get more advanced, with customer demands and expectations dictating online experience, retailers are realising that site speed isn’t just a technical detail anymore, it’s fundamental to business success.
In fact, did you know:
- A 1-second delay in page response can lead to a 7% decrease in conversions.
- 47% of users won’t wait longer than 2 seconds for a website to load.
- Websites that load slowly cost retailers around $2.6 billion in sales each year.
A great customer experience extends far beyond how a website looks - it encompasses the overall experience and site speed is a critical factor within this.
The importance of site speed in eCommerce:
Enhancing user experience: Fast-loading sites are essential for a seamless shopping journey. Over half of mobile site visits (53%) are abandoned if pages take longer than 3 seconds to load, underscoring the importance of speed for user retention.
Reducing bounce rates: A site that takes 5 seconds to load sees a 90% increase in bounce rates, indicating that faster sites are more effective in retaining visitors and encouraging engagement.
Boosting conversion rates: Website speed is a key driver of conversion rates. A delay of just one second in page load time can result in a 7% drop in conversions, emphasising the significant revenue impact of site speed.
Effective strategies to improve site speed:
Choose UK hosting for a UK-based business: Local hosting reduces latency for your primary audience in the UK, further enhancing site speed and user experience.
Optimise images: Enhance speed by resizing and compressing images. Large, full-screen images should not exceed 1 MB; smaller web graphics should be around 300 KB or less for optimal performance.
Minimise HTTP Requests: Simplify your website by combining elements like images and style files. Fewer components mean fewer requests for the browser to make, speeding up your site’s loading time.
Make JavaScript load faster: Make sure the JavaScript on your website, which helps make it interactive, loads quickly. This means making the JavaScript files smaller and setting them up to load without slowing down the rest of your site. This helps your website work faster and better for everyone.
Enable browser caching: By storing parts of your site locally in visitors' browsers, caching allows repeat visitors to load your site faster. This is enabled through specific settings in your website’s code, improving the overall user experience. It means when visitors come back, their browser doesn't have to reload the entire page from scratch.
Want to know how your site performs against other sites in your industry?
Leverage Visualsoft's eCommerce performance index:
According to Google Lighthouse scoring, sites built on the Visualsoft platform are the fastest in the UK with an average desktop performance score of 92, giving our clients an advantage over their competitors using other eCommerce platforms and solutions.
We’re so obsessed with site speed, we’ve even produced our eCommerce performance index - which allows anyone to understand their site speed and how that and other metrics stack up against other sites in their industry.
By completing the site speed index form, in just a few seconds you’ll get:
Detailed performance insights: Get a quick overview of your site's performance in critical areas like speed, accessibility, and SEO.
In-depth analysis: We can even follow up with a more comprehensive evaluation of your site’s functionality - including its content, checkout process, product detail page health, payment stack, organic visibility, and overall user experience.
Performance score benchmarked against industry standards: Compare your site's performance with competitors to find improvement areas.
Customised recommendations: Obtain specific, actionable advice for optimising your site.
Optimise your site's speed to boost customer satisfaction and drive sales growth. Fast, responsive websites are key to online success.
Our SEO team can also help with your site speed, regardless of eCommerce platform, get in touch with them today to learn how they can optimise your store.
