We continue our series of articles about Page Load Speeds. We have already said that the speed of displaying web pages on the screen affects the overall impression of the site. Due to high competition, the requirements for sites begin to grow, and visitors stop waiting for the site to load but simply visit another one, which entails a decrease in conversion.
In addition to everything we have already discussed, we would like to pay attention to how download speed affects SEO. This is because customers and search robots behave differently regarding page load times.
A slow page is known to have a higher bounce rate than a fast one. When a user clicks on a slow page, they wait for the site to load and then leave once it displays nothing for several seconds.
This behavior indicates that the website is not worth the visitors’ time. In addition, it shows that the search engine algorithm has a negative view of low-value sites. A second delay in the page load time can reduce page views by 11%.
Google’s crawler, a software program that indexes websites, only spends a limited amount of time on each page. If a website’s entire response time is slow, it will not be able to index all its available pages, which can negatively affect its ranking.
The faster a site loads, the higher it will rank. In other words, everything important to users, such as ads and content, will be equal between the sites that load faster.
This article will analyze how you can check the page load speed and what services can help speed up the time it takes to load a page.
Page Load Speed Statistics
Now let’s look at the page load speed statistics. The Statistics immediately speak for themselves.
* A delay of 1 second reduces the number of page views by 11%. (liveseysolar.com)
* If the site load time is 1–3 seconds, the bounce rate is only 32%. (envisagedigital.co)
* 39% of people will stop interacting with a website if images don’t load or take too long to load. (hubspot.com)
* 44% of customers will share a story about long loading times with their friends and family, which can reduce direct visits to your website. (thrivemyway.com)
* Each 3rd party script added to the website slows the website’s loading time by approximately 34.1ms.
* 52 % of online shoppers said fast page loading is essential to their site (loyalty.clarity-ventures.com)
* Buyers are often distracted while waiting for a page to load. 14% will start shopping on another site, and 23% will stop shopping or move away from their computer.
* 88.5% cite slow page loading as the main reason they leave a website. (review42.com)
And now, let’s move on to services that will help determine the page load speed.
How to Check Download Speed?
We would like to consider several services to help you check the download speed.
Google PageSpeed Insights
Google PageSpeed Insights is an official tool from Google that will help determine the loading speed of the desktop and mobile versions of the site. The service will check and give recommendations. The test result will be shown as a point; 90-100 points is a good result.
The final number of pointscomprises estimates of the site’s speed for several time characteristics. In the “features” and “diagnostics” sections, you will find tips that the service offers to speed up the site.
The service can also check the site loading speed on mobile devices. We suggest you listen to the advice this service gives, since it is Google that determines the position of your site in the search results.
Of course, besides this service, alternative options for checking the site loading speed exists.
Pingdom Tools
This service will be useful for a one-time speed test and continuous monitoring. You can set the verification options so that the service checks your site every 30 minutes and sends you reports.
Pingdom analyzes web resource uptime, performance, and user interaction, and just like Google PageSpeed Insights, gives general recommendations, among which are page speeding.
You can check sites using this service only by choosing the countries where the check will be performed (the USA, Australia, Brazil, and the like). Pingdom Tools also givesesults from 0 to 100 points; 90-100 points is good.
Gtmetrix.com
Gtmetrix.com is another useful service for checking page loading speed. This service has an extensive functionality of settings you can choose to check: location, Internet connection, connection type, and so on.
A useful feature is that the service includes Google PageSpeed Insights and YSlow analysis, and Gtmetrix stores data from past checks. Service, like the previous two, offers recommendations for various indicators.
Gtmetrix offers a paid version with more features and extensions and a free version.
Uptrends.com
The service immediately offers many settings. You can directly set the verification parameters: on mobile devices or a desktop, select a city, browser, screen extensions or the gadget model.
Just like Gtmetrix,Uptrends.com also shows the score from Google PageSpeed Insights. After the analysis, you can get a full report and all the necessary recommendations. This service also has a paid and free version.
We told you only about a few services that will help you check the speed of loading a site online. There are many more services that can help in this matter. If you notice that the speed of your site is lower than it should be, you shouldn’t put it off until later and immediately deal with it.