Back in the early days of dial-up it was pretty unlikely that many were worried about the website page speed. But as technology evolves, so does the expectations of our website viewers, and in today’s fast-paced technological world, viewers expect to see a website appear before them within mere seconds.
Many website owners and businesses direct their focus into ensuring that their website loading time is fully optimised for search engines, and quite rightly so. But focusing too much on one aspect of your website can mean other important factors fall by the wayside. One such factor is the website page speed, but why is speed so important?
Understanding the Importance of a Website’s Page Speed
Think of it this way, how many websites have you visited only to abandon the site because the wait was just too long? Well, there are millions of people just like yourself, and if your website loading time is slow, they will simply visit a website where the website page speed is more to their expectations.
Website owners should also take note of how many people are accessing websites nowadays. People have moved on from their simple desktop PCs and use a variety of mobile devices to find the information they want. People also tend to access the Internet during breaks or during a bus ride home, so it’s important that the website they are visiting is able to deliver its content in a prompt manner.
The website page speed also influences how a site ranks within certain search engines, especially Google. In fact the website page speed is part of Google’s ranking algorithm, meaning that websites with slow loading pages are also likely to fall down the results page when people carry out a search that relates to your business or website.
The website page speed is especially important for sites that have been created to make money. These are normally sites that deliver content to readers, in which applicable ads will be displayed alongside content. Evidently, if the website page speed is slow, then it is unlikely to see the website visitor stay on the page for very long. This means that any revenue is minimised greatly, as people who tend to leave the page quickly, are unlikely to visit any affiliates advertised on your website. Ensuring that your website page speed is optimised correctly can only lead to a greater financial future moving forward.
Why Is My Website Loading Time Slow?
There are a number of reasons as to how a website page speed can be affected. Many who construct their websites using WordPress may find that a defective plugin can hinder a user’s experience when visiting a website. Others may find that their images are oversized, which again will influence how quickly a webpage loads. Those who are looking to improve the speed of their website pages can visit a number of resources online to rectify any issues, one popular resource is Google Developers. Alternatively, if you’re not too confident with the tinkering of your website, why not outsource the operation. Sure, it may be a cost initially, but the cost of not having the website page speed optimised is much more detrimental.