It may seem like a question with an obvious answer, but website loading time is more complex than it may seem. The faster a site loads, the quicker visitors can find what they want. Even if it’s just a matter of one or two seconds, that’s all it takes for someone to decide to look elsewhere.
Luckily, website loading times aren’t set in stone and can be improved. Here at Pure Digital Marketing, our web design experts in Tampa, FL, know all about average page load times and how to increase page speed to keep visitors coming back to your website. With these tips, you’ll be able to see more traffic and faster loading speeds!
Load Time and How to Measure It
It’s a bit tricky to quantify the exact loading time for a webpage. Webpages don’t load everything at once; they load piece by piece. Also, while a webpage might load exceptionally quickly on one user’s browser or browser device, it might load slower on another’s, leading to each having a different user experience and perception of the business behind the page.
Webpage loading speed comes in two categories: First Contentful Paint (FCP) and DOMContentLoaded (DCL).
FCP measures how long it takes for visitors to see the first glimpse of content on a page. So, the very first line of text or image that loads on a page is the FCP.
Meanwhile, DCL measures how long it takes for every aspect of a page to load. DCL can’t be measured until a page is finished fully loading.
This distinction matters because it shows why coming up with a straightforward answer for website loading time is difficult. It’s also essential to consider that different visitors will have different experiences, even if their load times are identical. One visitor might see the various parts of a page pop into place in real time while another might see a blank screen until everything appears at once.
Speed Is Key
At the core of the issue is downloading. The less a webpage needs to download to a user’s browser, the better. For example, simple text loads faster than images, so focusing on text over images can help speed a site’s loading time. Finding a balance between speed, readability, and helpfulness is the best way to craft a successful webpage.
It’s clear that when it comes to website loading, speed is crucial. The question then becomes: How can a webpage’s loading speed be improved? The answer comes down to one thing: optimization.
Optimizing a Webpage for Faster Speed
Increasing the speed at which your site loads is critical for a few reasons, including:
- Keeping bounce rates low—that is, the number of users who visit a site’s homepage and “bounce” off to look elsewhere
- Keeping up sales
- Staying up to date with SEO and seeing high site traffic
That last point is incredibly vital. Take a look at any list of SEO trends, and you’ll see how important a speedy site is to maintaining visitor engagement. Keywords may be the cornerstone of great SEO work, but busy potential customers will go elsewhere if they take minutes rather than seconds to show up.
There are many options for those looking to speed up their website’s loading time. Some areas on which to focus are:
- Anything unresponsive, such as broken links
- An excess of plugins slowing the page down
- Overly crowded pages loading too many unnecessary elements
- Slow response times from the server
This is just a small sample of ways to simplify and speed up a website, and every change makes a huge difference. There are countless tools you can use to help optimize your site, and if doing it yourself seems too complicated or too time-consuming, you can always leverage the expertise of a professional service like Professional Digital Marketing to optimize your site for you. Web design experts know all the most efficient ways to make a webpage load more quickly without compromising the site’s design.
Balancing Speed and Usability
Studies show that users want everything delivered as fast as possible and have no qualms about looking elsewhere if a page moves too slowly for their liking. Ideally, your site should load as quickly as possible. Impatient users avoid a slow site in favor of a faster one, resulting in less traffic for the slower site and a lower ranking on search engines.
The key is to strike a balance between fast loading and a great user experience. The perfect webpage loads rapidly and provides everything a visitor might be looking for. The marriage of speed and helpful, direct content is where a site will succeed.
One area that deserves special attention is the mobile page. These days, mobile pages are more popular than ever, and a site that isn’t optimized for mobile devices will get left behind. No matter how speedily your page loads on a computer browser, if it doesn’t load as quickly for users on the go, its traffic will suffer as users move to sites that perform better on their mobile devices.
Keep Your Site Up to Speed
Optimizing your website loading time is multifaceted, but it doesn’t have to be done alone. Pure Digital Marketing’s experts are happy to help you get the most out of your site and see traffic increase. Their team will work with you to produce real, measurable results and help you grow your brand and reach your desired audience.
To talk about what Pure Digital Marketing can do for you and to learn about important web design tips, call them today at 813-536-3878 and schedule an appointment.
