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Slow loading pages need to
be monitored, especially shopping carts and sales
pages. A good web site monitoring service can tell
you how well your web site is responding to customer
downloads and navigation. |
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Slow Pages
In my opinion, many web site managers
worry unduly about slow loading pages. (Please bear
with me; I know this isn't a popular view!) Obviously
it would be an ideal world if all pages loaded immediately,
but as long as they don't take over 30 seconds to load
completely and if visitors find exactly what they are
searching for, they are generally happy.
It is important to note that some of the page must be
visible within the first few seconds. If none of the
page is visible for a full 30 seconds, you will lose
visitors.
Alta Vista's view on slow loading pages:
If your pages are stacked with information and of
course all your relevant keywords and phrases, then
visitors are far more likely to find the page and the
information they require. One of the major search engines,
Alta Vista, states that "long pages rich in meaningful
text (not randomly generated letters and words)"
are valued. If you have filled your page with irrelevant
keywords just to attract traffic, you will not only
annoy the visitor, but also run the risk that they will
complain to the search engine where they found you listed.
ed-u.com's experience of slow loading pages:
The heaviest pages at ed-u.com suffer no traffic penalty
as a result of slow loading, in fact some of the most
visited pages are the slowest. The extra traffic attracted
by the extra keywords outweighs the number of visitors
who press the stop or back button. Consider, for instance,
how many opportunities exist on this page for people
to find it.
To scroll or not to scroll
In an ideal world, all web-pages would have no scroll
bars, but the decision has got to be taken between cosmetics
and the traffic. There are many webmasters that equate
a longer page with a page that attracts more visitors.
More text (keyphrases) = more opportunities for people
to find you through the search engines.
Many worry though that if the page doesn't look "pretty"
then their conversions will suffer. It is a trade off,
but consider that if you attract 200 no-cost visitors
and convert 10 with an "uglier" site, that
is still better than only getting 100 and converting
9 over the same period.
Quick quick...click click slow...
Important exceptions: There are major exceptions
to the slow loading rule:
- Always make sure that pages that are reviewed by
directories (most likely your homepage and main category
pages) load fast. Busy directory editors, who have
many sites to view, will not wait for a "bells
and whistles" site to load.
- Pages that deal with the actual customer transaction
should be as fast as possible. Statistics show that
visitors will abandon a purchase if the experience
is too slow. Also, bear in mind that every extra task
you ask them to perform on your transaction page is
an opportunity for them to change their minds or more
time for their connection to fail.
Top table tip
If you split your page into two, with one HTML table
at the top and the other underneath, the top table will
load first, giving your visitor something to read while
the second table loads out of sight below.
Put your pictures on a diet
It is also important that you minimize on the use
of heavy graphics on your pages. Only use small pictures
and reduce their "weight" by visiting Netmechanic
and using their free web based reduction software.
Does your logo consist of font characters only? Consider
using HTML text instead of a heavy graphic. The less
weight you use on pictures the more you have available
for valuable text.
New technology - Not so Flash?
If you use the most up to date technology to impress
your visitors it might have the opposite effect. It
may add an unacceptable download time to the page i.e.
over 30 seconds. For instance "Macromedia Flash"
technology often creates longer loading times and provokes
complaints of unusability. Some of your visitors' browsers
may not support the new technology and they may be required
to download plug-ins, re-start their computer or even
have to upgrade their system. This is a major reason
why people press the back button on their browser.
A Flash in the Pan?
Recently, when I presented a traffic
building seminar, three attendees, who had spent
a lot of money on development, asked me to take a look
at their sites before they left. All three sites contained
Macromedia Flash and asked for software to be installed
before we could progress through them. When we said
yes, we received "do you trust this site"
messages. A large percentage of visitors would of course
say no. Most computers nowadays would have the software,
but a significant amount wouldn't - including ALL of
the computers in the e-Commerce suite that I was using
for the seminar!
News Flash!
According to Jupiter Media Metrix, consumers are more
likely to revisit web-sites that are more informative
than those that offer rich media such as "Flash
Animation".
Steve Harrison of Paypermaster.com
says "The naive days of allowing graphic artists
and "code puppies" who embody not a whit of
marketing savvy, nor incorporate any of such into a
commercial web site (cool spinning gizmos don't sell
diddly), is long past."
Corey Rudl of Marketingtips.com
adds "Words sell, not graphics. So if visitors
spend the first 10 seconds at your site trying to figure
out how to make your long Flash presentation stop, or
waiting for large graphics to load, you can be sure
that they're not going to stick around."
Focused Flash
Of course if the main premise behind your web-site
is how it looks and performs within a multimedia environment,
then a site filled with such features may indeed do
well. It is suggested, at the very least, that a standard
HTML homepage with no bells and whistles is created
and the visitor then given a link that takes them to
the Flash area of the site.
You might also consider creating two full versions of
the site; one for your offline advertising where your
visitors can be directly steered towards the Flash site,
and the other full HTML version that is far more likely
to be accepted by the major portals. The respected About.com
directory describes Macromedia Flash as "a
fancy, flashy, and noisy way to crash your computer,
and so much more".
If you do decide to go down the latest technology route,
make sure that you test your pages in all browsers.
You should also be aware that a Java only site may not
achieve a listing in some major directories, including
Yahoo. This is because many older web browsers do not
support Java and many others have this feature disabled
by the user. Directory editors understandably argue
that they need as many of their visitors as possible
to be able to see the web-sites that they send them
to.
WAP phones
If you anticipate a lot of traffic from WAP phones
or future
generation wireless devices you should reduce the
size of your pages dramatically or create a separate
dedicated site. You should also keep all the important
content to the left hand side of the page to save some
visitors (depending on the device that they are using)
having to scroll widthways. Check how your HTML web-site
will look on a wireless device at Gelon.net.
Hands free!
A word of warning about WAP phones. Many WAP sites
are experiencing very little traffic due to the difficulty
of use and slow loading times associated with these
devices. Even the Scottish education minister, who has
responsibility for getting schools online, says that
he has only ever managed to connect his WAP phone to
the internet by accident - whilst it was in his trouser
pocket. All other attempts failed!
Slowly getting faster
By default the slow loading problem will become even
less of a problem as connections speed up. Fast broadband
connections are already used by over half of the traffic
that passes through Yahoo.com, one of the busiest web-sites
in the world. You should note however that it is half
of the traffic and not half of the visitors, i.e. those
with broadband connections typically spend more time
on-line and view more pages than those without.
Fast forward
Worldwide residential high-speed connections remain
below 5%, but continue to grow steadily. It is envisaged
that "always-on" broadband, coupled with faster
computers and mobile hand-held devices, will transform
the internet into a true mass market medium similar
to the telephone and television. This, it is believed,
will stimulate explosive growth. |
