The importance of web performance optimisation

Imagine a recent time perhaps on your laptop, perhaps on your mobile, where a site took forever to load. Did it make you feel frustrated?

Now imagine your customers experiencing the same thing on your website. This is where the concept of optimisation for web performance comes in. By optimising your site, you can provide a faster, more enjoyable browsing experience for your customers, improve your search engine rankings, and ultimately boost your sales.

“Two seconds is the threshold for ecommerce website acceptability. At Google, we aim for under a half-second.”
— Maile Ohye, from Google, (and that was in 2010)!

What is web performance?

Imagine you’re listening to your favourite band on crackly headphones, then imagine it on the best speakers. You can feel the bass, you can almost see the details. Web performance delivers your music to the audience. It is important to a stellar online experience.  

Web performance refers to the speed, responsiveness, and overall user experience of a website. A well-optimised site will load quickly, react to user interactions seamlessly, and maintain consistent performance across various devices and browsers. In a digital landscape where attention spans are ever-shrinking, improving web performance is essential to retaining users and ensuring they have a positive experience with your brand.

How to get started: things you can work with your digital team on

  • Compress and resize images to reduce file sizes without compromising quality. This can significantly improve loading times.

  • Clean up your HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code by removing unnecessary characters and spaces, streamlining the site's performance.

  • Utilise formats like WebP for images and videos to improve compression and reduce file sizes.

  • Merge multiple CSS and JavaScript files into single, consolidated files to reduce the number of HTTP requests.

  • Load images and videos only when they become visible on the user's screen, reducing the initial page load time.

Questions to work with your IT team on

  1. Browser caching: Talk to your IT team about configuring cache headers to enable browsers to store resources locally. This will reduce server requests and improve site speed.

  2. Content delivery networks (CDNs): Discuss the benefits of distributing your website's resources across multiple servers to reduce latency for users in different geographical locations.

  3. Monitoring services: Explore performance monitoring tools, such as Google PageSpeed Insights or Lighthouse, to regularly test and analyse your website's performance, identify bottlenecks, and make necessary adjustments.

Taking the first step towards a faster site

A good place to start improving your website's performance is by conducting an audit to identify the pain points and areas that need attention. Often, fixing these issues can be quicker and more straightforward than you might expect. Collaborate with your digital and IT teams to devise a plan that addresses the identified problems, and monitor the impact of the changes on your site's performance.

Remember, prioritising the customer experience is paramount in the digital age. By optimising your website for performance, you'll ensure a seamless and enjoyable experience for your visitors, reinforcing a positive brand image and driving engagement and conversions. Don't let a slow website be the reason your customers turn away – invest in web performance optimisation today.

References

  1. Card, L. (2019). How web performance affects conversion rates. Econsultancy. https://econsultancy.com/how-web-performance-affects-conversion-rates/

  2. Lighthouse, P. (2020). The impact of website performance on user experience and conversions. PerformanceIN. https://performancein.com/news/2020/01/27/impact-website-performance-user-experience-and-conversions/

  3. Bocquet, C. (2019). The importance of website performance monitoring. Smashing Magazine. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/10/importance-website-performance-monitoring/

  4. Raghav, K. (2020). Web performance optimization: Top 3 server and client-side performance tips. DZone. https://dzone.com/articles/web-performance-optimization-top-3-server-and-clie

  5. Waghmare, M. (2020). 7 best practices for improving website performance. Medium. https://medium.com/@_mohitwaghmare/7-best-practices-for-improving-website-performance-20e10a821cc

  6. Chatterjee, A. (2019). Impact of web performance on digital marketing. International Journal of Management, Technology, and Social Sciences (IJMTS), 4(2), 55-64. https://www.ijmts.com/documents/2019-4-2-6.pdf

  7. Souders, S. (2018). High-performance web sites: Essential knowledge for frontend engineers. ACM Queue, 16(5). https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3290409

  8. McGrane, K. (2020). The impact of slow site speed on your business growth. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/site-speed-impacts-growth/371220/

  9. Abid, M. (2019). 10 practical ways to speed up your website. Toptal. https://www.toptal.com/front-end/10-ways-to-speed-up-your-website

  10. Delaney, K. (2021). The state of web performance in 2021. Catchpoint. https://www.catchpoint.com/blog/state-web-performance-2021