Do you have the need for speed? Site speed that is? Here at Twin Oaks we are all speeders, but we always obey the laws…
Statistics prove according to Websitebuilderexpert.com, “If a site takes up to 10 seconds to load, then the chance of a bounce increases to 123%. Users spend more time on a website when its pages load faster. In fact, users visit 8.9 pages when load time is two seconds, versus just 3.3 pages when load time is 8 seconds.”
The longer your site takes to load the faster you are losing viewers and losing sales! Slow loading websites contribute to bounce rates, user drop offs, poor conversions, decrease sales and detours back to Google. Read below for three laws of site speed to keep your website cruising right along.
Law #1 Buckle up media files
Large media files or a surplus of images not formatted correctly are the #1 culprit of tanking site speeds. If your images aren’t formatted in the right size, saved as the right file type, or set up on lazy load they are hurting your page load time. While your website works hard to load these images your viewers loose interest and click that back button to choose another site from the Google listings.
Optimized images are essential for ecommerce sites that depend on their photos to display the products they are trying to sale and engage shopper’s interest. Slow loading images will frustrate and deter buyers from shopping.
If you see your site is loading your images with a delay, reach out to us! We can show you how to properly save and format your files or help you choose a plugin for your WordPress site or Shopify app that will aid in your effort to reduce image file size, clear out space, and lazy load images not in the viewers eye.
Law #2 Yield to your host provider
Did you know site speed starts all the way back at the beginning with your host provider? If you are experiencing slow site speeds and media files aren’t the issue, you may need to check with your host provider.
Their use of CDN’s and caching can greatly improve your site speed but left unchecked your hosting service provider may not be giving your site the space and tools it needs to operate. Having a reliable hosting provider is the first building block to having a successful website and ultimately affects how fast your website loads and operates.
Law #3 Code with Caution
If your site was built code heavy or has a lot of unused java script hanging around the backend, this can greatly reduce you load time. Your site may look fabulous to the viewer’s eye but what is slowing your site speed down is behind your website on the backend jumbled up within the code.
A quick backend edit, by a experienced developer, can clean up the code and do away with the unused java. This will get your website back on track with faster loading times. We recommend cleaning out the backend of your site on a quarterly basis!
If you have the need for additional site speed reach out to us today! We can run a free site speed test and let you know the weak areas of your website. Our developers can tackle your site speed issues with a variety of tools and give you the resources to keep your site on track going forward.
There are numerous plugins that can be installed to help with your image file sizes, lazy loading, and that automatically work on your caching. By making these task automated it ensures that your website will stay fast running on into the future without a developer having to adjust each time you want to add a media item.
Improving your site speed is a value added service you can add to the investment you’ve made into your site to help keep your views or shoppers happy.
Added bonus- boosting your site speed improves your SEO! Don’t let a slow loading website be the thing that causes a loss of business!
Let us help you speed things up today!
Kristian Harris
Digital Project Manager
Contact the Marketing Team at Twin Oaks
