What is the Importance of Site Speed for E-commerce?

Although loading speed wasn't an issue in the past, just two decades ago, the internet speed was significantly slower, leading to all websites taking much longer to load. Patience was a must, as users would often go and make a cup of tea while they waited for their favourite websites to finish loading. Even when the page was only partially loaded, it still had a certain charm.

The times are shifting: Internet speeds have skyrocketed to tens of megabits per second, and websites have adapted to a faster loading rate, even as they become more voluminous and users become increasingly demanding. Search engines such as Google or Bing have made strides in quality, refined their algorithms, and have grown intolerant of slow-loading sites. So, to ensure that your e-commerce site is quick and efficient, and delivers the best possible customer experience, you may use free ecommerce SEO tools. By optimizing your site using these tools, you can ensure your site will be successful in the online marketplace.

The Advantages of a Fast Website for Ecommerce

Decreased Bounce Rate

A high bounce rate can lead to a loss of potential conversions. Slow page loading times can cause users to abandon your website, driving up the bounce rate and decreasing the potential for conversions. Research from Akamai indicates that a 0.1-second delay in loading time can reduce conversions by up to 7%. Additionally, Google research suggests that if a website takes more than three seconds to load, 53% of visitors will leave. An increase in load time from 1 to 10 seconds has even been shown to raise the probability of bounce to 123%.

Positive Ranking Factor

Google has made it clear that an inadequate mobile version of a website can be a detriment to its position on desktop search results. This is due to the introduction of the Mobile-First Index, which stipulates that if a website's mobile download speed is slow, its ranking can be affected. A few years ago, the fear of Mobilegeddon circulated, with the fear that a lack of mobile optimization would cause a drop in the search results. Thankfully, this was not the case. However, the introduction of the Mobile-First Index has put the emphasis back on the importance of mobile optimization. To conclude, slow website download speeds have been identified by Google as a negative ranking factor, something that mobile optimization can help to avoid.

Short Session Length or Time

The number of visits and unique visitors to an e-Commerce store can differ. This is because each visitor can have multiple sessions. When fewer visitors come back, it leads to fewer sessions. A main factor for this is the page loading speed of the website, with seasonal trends sometimes having an influence. Akamai's research found a 2-second delay in page loading caused a decrease of 51% in session duration. This affects opportunities to introduce customers to products or brands, leading to fewer conversions. Ancestry, for example, saw a 7% rise in conversions by decreasing their load time by 64%. AliExpress saw a 27% increase in conversion rates for new customers after a 36% reduction in page load time. Amazon estimated that a 100ms delay cost them 1% in sales, which would equate to almost $4 billion in 2020.

A Few Important Speed Indicators

Let's delve deeper into speed, which so far has been restricted to the terms "fast" and "slow." Speed is composed of three main components:

Page Rendering Speed

Your website is composed of content, images, scripts, and other components, all of which are combined to create a single page. When someone visits a page, it is rendered in a certain way, and its speed of loading is determined by a variety of factors such as the amount of content, layout, complexity, engine, hosting, and more.

Content Load Time

The speed of the image being delivered from your server to the user's device is determined by the user's Internet connection and the hosting environment your server is running on, such as its capabilities, tariffs, and other factors.

Response Rate of the Site

The time taken for a server to respond to a browser's request, known as TTFB, should ideally be no more than 200 milliseconds. However, this can be impacted by a range of factors, such as design complexity, the number of static data and styles that need to be loaded, and browser caching capabilities.

Some Reasons For Slow Page Load Time

It appears that the slow loading times which were experienced with analog modems in the past should have been a thing of the past. Nonetheless, the underlying cause of the issue is not related to modems but something else, so, what is the source of the problem? There are multiple possible explanations.

Visual Effects

Designers have a deep passion for visual effects, such as animation and video, which aim to make dynamic and engaging for the user. However, users may find the loading speed of these elements slows down the site, making them less valuable. To ensure users are able to quickly access the required information, they may be willing to forego the use of such visuals.

Images

It is possible to maintain a high-quality image while keeping its weight minimal - a desirable outcome. Beautiful visuals are undoubtedly essential. However, it is beneficial to reduce the loading time of images where possible.

Embedded Videos

Posting videos directly on your website's platform can significantly slow down loading time, especially if the hosting is poor quality. It can also cause lags and freezes when playing. The best solution is to first upload videos to specialized video hosting sites like YouTube and then embed them on your webpage.

Unlimited Plugins, Add-ons, Scripts

Having too many plugins, add-ons, and scripts can negatively impact your website's performance and conversion rate. While these extra capabilities can be beneficial to both site visitors and owners, too many of them can slow down page loading speeds. This is something that is best avoided as it is not likely to be part of your long-term plans.

Excessive HTTP Requests

The high number of HTTP requests can often lead to slow website loading speeds. Simplifying the design, reducing complex elements, and avoiding unnecessary redirects can help minimize HTTP requests and improve download speeds. This can be achieved by minimizing the number of stylesheets, images, and scripts used on the site. Doing this will help ensure the site loads instantly.

The remoteness of the Server from the User's Device

The proximity of the server to the user's computer can have an impact on the speed of the content loading for them. The further away the user is geographically from the server, the longer the loading time. To ensure the best possible experience for remote users, the use of distributed content delivery networks (CDNs) is recommended.

Best Ways to Enhance Your Site Speed

Website speed is one of the most important aspects of a successful online presence. A slow-loading website can hurt user experience, lead to customer churn, and damage your brand reputation. This is why website speed is crucial and should not be overlooked.

Today, more and more website owners are turning to website speed optimization tools like Website Speedy to improve site speed and increase user satisfaction. Speedy is a powerful tool for optimizing website speed and improving website performance. It's easy to use, offers comprehensive features, and can even help with core web vitals to improve site speed.

Website Speedy is a site performance optimization platform that helps website owners improve website speed, reduce the page load time, and optimize the user experience. It uses advanced technology to scan your website, identify page speed issues, and recommend optimization techniques to improve website performance.

For improving core web vitals to improve site speed, this tool offers many features that can help. It offers features such as code and image optimization, caching, and minification. It can also help you identify and fix JavaScript and CSS issues that are slowing down your website.

Speedy also offers insights on user experience and can help you identify areas of your website that need improvement. It will track user behavior and performance metrics to give you an understanding of how users interact with your website. Speedy also offers recommendations on how to improve website performance and user experience.

Overall, Website Speedy is a great tool for improving website speed and improving core web vitals to improve site speed. With its powerful features and insights, it can help you optimize your website and deliver a better user experience. It can help you identify and fix page speed issues, reduce the page load time, and improve the overall user experience of your website. To make sure your ecommerce website is running as quickly as possible, also go through an ecommerce SEO checklist and ensure your website is up to snuff. Doing this can help improve page load speeds and ensure visitors have a great experience on your website.

Some Tools to Help You With Site Speed Monitoring

Google PageSpeed Insights

Google PageSpeed Insights is an official tool from Google which is widely used by web professionals worldwide. It features an easy-to-use interface and a great set of features. It was launched in 2012, and its usage is simple - just paste the website address into the search box and click Analyze. This tool checks the mobile version by default, but you can also check the desktop version. PageSpeed Insights will evaluate the loading speed of a website on a 100-point scale. From 2018, a score of 90-100 points is considered satisfactory. Furthermore, the tool will simulate page loading and show six major indicators. Lastly, diagnostics and tips on optimizing the page and its loading speed will be provided.

GTmetrix

GTmetrix is an easy-to-use, effective performance analysis tool launched in 2010. It carries out test requests from Vancouver, Canada, giving a good measure of website speed. Simply enter the URL and click the 'Test your site' button. If the site is large, loading may take a couple of minutes - if not, a detailed report on speed, page size, and the number of requests will be generated. The output also includes comparing the loading speed to the average of all tested sites - tens of thousands each day. Any areas of concern are highlighted in red, with recommendations on how to improve them, while the green zone indicates that your site is performing adequately.

Conclusion

It is clear that website speed is critical for success, from customer satisfaction to increased conversions and search rankings. Making the necessary improvements yourself can be done, but it is best to seek assistance from an experienced firm. Ecommerce SEO Tools is one of the websites that have some of the best tools that you may use to enhance your website performance but also build a new one from the ground up. So, visit and explore the website today!

Overall, having a high website speed on your e-commerce site is an essential factor for a successful website. If you’re looking for ways to improve your website speed and boost your e-commerce success, there are a variety of free ecommerce SEO tools available to help. These tools can help you identify and fix any issues that may be affecting your website’s speed, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and higher search engine rankings.