Loading speed is one of the critical elements of a good website. Website design, theme, content or user navigation are crucial features, but these will mean nothing if your site speed is too slow.
In this digital era, there are too many options for people to choose from. It’s getting harder to keep people interested. So, they will probably not give you a second chance if you fail to make an excellent first impression.
Website loading speed is even more crucial for e-commerce sites. Suppose the visitors see a half-loaded picture when they browse your website. In that case, they will not feel interested in buying things from your website.
Why High Loading Speed is Important for E-Commerce Site
The loading speed of E-commerce sites must be high. Here’s why you need to consider increasing your e-commerce loading speed.
Increases Sales and Conversions
The speed of an e-commerce website is crucial to increase the conversion rate. An appealing resourceful site only works if the website can show them without any buffering.
E-commerce business loses billions of dollars worth because of shopping cart abandonment. Slow page speed is one of the major culprits of this cart abandonment.
Here are few facts that will help you understand why page loading speed is so crucial-
- According to data in an Unbounce post, ” About 70% of buyers acknowledge that page speed influences their willingness to buy from an online retailer.
- The chance of a bounce increases 32% as load time goes from 1 second to 3 seconds. (Google, 2017)
- If loading time goes from one second to 10 seconds, the bouncing rate for a mobile user increases by 123%. (Google, 2017)
Improves SEO Rankings
Page speed can impact your SEO ranking both directly and indirectly. Google takes loading speed as one of the deciding factors to rank a website. If the bounce rate is high, Google will not appreciate it. To Google, user experience is everything.
So, if your site speed is slow, you are losing visitors. The bounce rate will increase. As the bounce rate gets increased, your site will lose a spot from the Google ranking. As a result, you start to get fewer visitors.
When you have an e-commerce site, you have to do everything possible to improve your SEO ranking. Speeding up site speed is one of the first tasks you must do to improve that.
Customer Loyalty
When someone buys from your website, they will probably revisit your site often- browsing one page to another and checking for some other products. Browsing sites to see new stuff is kind of a habit too.
So, your old clients are actually your gold mine. They will make more purchases and recommend your site to their near ones. As they probably spend a lot of time browsing your website, you don’t want to disappoint them with slow page loading speed.
A study found that 79% of consumers are less likely to repurchase from an e-commerce site if they were not satisfied with the site. Losing old customers means a complete low point in your business.
Final words
A slow website means a slow business. Before adding cool features to your website, make sure it’s fast. People may not appreciate it directly, but it is one of the important things to keep them glued to your e-commerce site.
Now, understandably, an e-commerce site means to be very heavy. As time goes by, more and more product images and categories are going to add up. Unless you take proper initiatives, it can become slower over time.
Make sure your potential customers feel completely undisturbed when they browse your website. You can always consult with a web design and development company if you think your site speed is not hitting the right mark.
