20+ Website Load Time Statistics [Infographic – How Speed Affects Your Website]
Here's a great article from our friends over at Hosting Tribunal regarding website speed.
Speed is essential. There is no denying that a quick, nimble web page trumps a slow site. Both users and search engines know that. Website load time statistics from numerous studies clearly show that if the average page load time exceeds 3 seconds, the abandonment rates soar. High bounce rates telegraph to search engines that visitors don’t find the website useful, which affects the ranking directly. And if that wasn’t enough, the numbers clearly show that shoppers avoid returning to ecommerce sites with performance issues. The marketing truism that there is no negative publicity doesn’t coincide with the digital reality of social media and interconnectivity. Nearly half of the users share negative experiences with their peers, spreading the word of heavy, unresponsive sites faster than said web pages load. As the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy points out: “ Nothing travels faster than the speed of light with the possible exception of bad news, which obeys its own special laws. ” But how precious is a single second online exactly?