{"id":12280,"date":"2017-05-16T23:45:26","date_gmt":"2017-05-16T23:45:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/?p=12280"},"modified":"2024-05-23T07:42:37","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T11:42:37","slug":"grading-computer-hardware-site-speed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/directiveconsulting.com\/uk\/blog\/grading-computer-hardware-site-speed\/","title":{"rendered":"Grading the Site Speed of 100+ Computer Hardware Sites"},"content":{"rendered":"

Search engine users are not generally known for the lengthy attention spans. The truth is that you only have a matter of seconds to grab your user’s attention and hold onto it. And, even when everything goes well<\/em>, you only have a brief moment to convert your user into a lead. Timing is everything.<\/p>\n

Speaking of timing, make sure you download your copy of the\u00a0<\/a>Directive Site Speed Spreadsheet<\/a><\/u>\u00a0before reading the rest of this post.<\/p>\n

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In a world of fast-paced streaming and instant downloads, making your user\u00a0wait for your page to load can be fatal<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

How fatal? Well you can look at the numbers to see.<\/p>\n

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That’s right. A single second lag in your page’s load time can cost you serious conversions. More than that, it can shoot your\u00a0Bounce Rate<\/a><\/u>\u00a0through the roof.<\/p>\n

A slow load speed can be especially troubling if you’re trying to lower your bounce rate. The laggy load time can deter users from seeing any of the new changes to your site. If you are still working with a load time in the 4-5 second range, your conversion-rate optimization (CRO) efforts don\u2019t get the time to shine…literally.<\/p>\n

Optimizing your user’s on-page experience only works if you can get them to your page without bouncing off. For example, you can’t tell if your new header is working if your users get so frustrated with waiting that they bounce off before they see it.<\/p>\n

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Why Does Site Speed Matter?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I’ve already mentioned how a second’s lag in load-time can cost you conversions. But there are two primary reasons behind this problem. The first is obvious: the high Bounce Rate.<\/p>\n

Generating the conversions you are looking for with a laggy home page is going to be difficult. Simple as that. A Crazy Egg stat from 2014 states that\u00a057% of users will bounce off<\/a><\/u>\u00a0a page if it takes longer than three seconds to load. And that was three years ago – nearly\u00a0an eon when it comes to internet speeds.<\/p>\n

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But beyond a daunting bounce rate, a slow load speed can even cost you with the users who stick around to see your home page. Regardless of whether or not they make it through the initial load time – a slow load speed sets a bad precedent for your user’s on-site experience. Why is this?<\/p>\n

Because first impressions matter.<\/p>\n

Especially in the B2B space, presenting a clean, efficient, and enterprise-level brand throughout the buyer’s journey is a must. And yes – the little things do matter. As my CEO once told me when editing a piece of client-facing content:<\/p>\n

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It doesn’t matter how hard you work on it. If there is even one piece of crap in an ice cream cake, your customer ain’t eating it.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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If your home page is frustrating users by making them wait. Just\u00a0imagine the psychological state you’ve created for the rest of your site. You may have created loads of amazing and insightful content. But if they are starting each page with a five second load time, your user is beginning each new on-page experience with a sigh. That\u2019s not the mood you want them in while they read your content or consider converting.<\/p>\n

Your home page is supposedly\u00a0the easiest and simplest page to navigate. If a user has to wait 5 seconds to see your hero shot, they probably\u00a0won’t bother clicking a download link or trying to watch any videos on your resource page. Your slow load time has put the user on edge for the rest of their on-site experience.<\/p>\n

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Now your load time is costing you initial traffic and compounding\u00a0to cost you conversions as well. It’s about time you start optimizing your page speed for a swift and smooth on-page experience. Let’s take a look at how to test, grade, and optimize your site speed.<\/p>\n

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How to Test Site Speed (Industry Tools)<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You can login to Google Analytics to get a baseline of how fast your site is loading. Just\u00a0open up your GA account for the specific site you are testing and open the Behavior tab on the left. Then click through to Site Speed, and check out the Overview report.<\/p>\n

It should look something like the screenshot below:<\/p>\n

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You can also check out the Page Timing sections to compare individual page’s load speeds to your overall\u00a0speed. This will tell you if you have any features on certain pages that are specifically\u00a0hampering your load speed.<\/p>\n

On top of GA, there are plenty of industry trusted tools that can help you test and optimize your site speed. The results usually aren’t as granular or accurate, and you can’t compare your specific pages to your overall\u00a0load time. But these sites still give you plenty of useful data to work with.<\/p>\n

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