How fast is your website? Did you know that according to Google, 50% of website users will leave a site if your load time is greater than a mere 3 seconds. That may look like not a lot of time, but by today's standards, it seems like forever when you're waiting for a web page to load and most people simply don't have the patience for it. If you're losing 50% of your site users to a 4 second load time or greater, that's half of your potential business out the window!
The good news is, there are a few things you can do to improve your load time. The first step is to find out exactly how your page ranks in terms of load time. Google has an excellent tool called their Page Speed Insights Tool. Once you've entered in your site address and run the test, you will receive a rating out of 100 for both desktop and mobile sites. The goal is to get as close to 100 as possible. Have a look at the "opportunities" section of your report for an analysis of the items slowing your page down the most.
You can also use GTMetrix to analyze the speed of each page. Obviously, your home page is your biggest concern, but that doesn't mean you should neglect your other site pages, particularly the busiest ones.
Once you've done all you can do to improve the load time of each page, re-run the tests and see how your rankings have improved. If not much, or at all, turn to your host. Look at the top-ranking hosts and go from there. Try to balance the cost of hosting with how improved site traffic will convert to sales.
Need some help? We can do that!
To speak to us about all your web design and maintenance needs, come see us in-store at 1257 Marine Drive in North Vancouver or give us a call at 604-986-7680.
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