Consumers Will Quickly Abandon Slow Websites - New Survey from Compuware Gomez

You've got between 1 and 5 seconds to deliver your site and your message to consumers. 
An independent survey, “When Seconds Count,” was conducted for Gomez, the web performance division of Compuware Corporation, by Equation Research and queried 1,004 web and mobile users. What they learned from the study isn't all that surprising: Technical bells and whistles that slow down page load may be doing you more harm than good.

Speed makes a difference on websites:

• Nearly one-third (32 percent) of consumers will start abandoning slow sites between one and five seconds.
• 84 percent are only willing to try a slow performing website a few times before giving up.
• 39 percent say speed is more important than functionality for most websites, while only one in five rank greater site functionality as more important.

That means only 16% may keep trying, but for how long? And, do more than a third of those surveyed really think speed is more important than functionality? Yes.

A third of all Web users are also using mobile devices and more than half expect sites to load as fast or faster than on their computers. “When web users encounter web or mobile site performance problems, their patience and loyalty run thin,” said Matt Poepsel, vice president of performance strategies at Gomez.

• More than a third (37 percent) said they would not return to a slow site, and 27 percent would likely jump to a competitor’s site.

Don't bury the lead either.
Certainly, a lot of the burden falls on the website developer to find ways to incorporate useful information and features such as interactivity, photos, video and more without slowing down load times. But content creators also need to be wary of filling pages with unnecessary elements that don't help get the message delivered quickly.

A few things you can look for:

• Large photos that do not enhance your message. A great photo can make a huge difference. Images communicate ideas quickly and make an impression. But the wrong photo has the opposite effect. And the wrong photo poorly optimized for Web performance can drive people away.
• Unnecessary Flash elements that take time to load and don't directly enhance the user's experience. These elements need to help the user get what they are looking for faster and more simply. If they do not, then they are just in the way.
• Clarity trumps persuasion on a website. Long, persuasive sales copy, too many choices, vague or conflicting messages, unrelated or irrelevant photos and pointless Flash animations all add to page load and consumer confusion. With 1 to 5 seconds, your message needs to be clear and easy to see.
• Video is another tool that can be a real asset or a real nightmare. Be sure the video you add is worth the extra load time.
• Evaluate carefully what belongs on landing pages and what can be moved to linked pages. Perhaps a video or slide show doesn't need to be on the landing page but can be linked to for those visitors interested.

We live in a microwave world. Twenty seconds is now a long time to wait for a hot dog. And 6 seconds is now more time than the average website visitor is going to give you to present your page and deliver your message. Everything on your pages should have a reason for being there and nothing on your page should unnecessarily slow page load.