How long do you think your customers will wait for your website to load? The answer to that question is: less time than it took you to read the question in the first place. The ubiquity of Wi-Fi, smartphones and mobile devices has resulted in a population that expects instant access to website content, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Five years ago, Forrester Research was reporting that web users would wait an average of two seconds for a site to load before moving on – most often to a brand’s most prominent competitor’s site. Today, two seconds is an eternity. Knowing that your website loads instantly and reliably is not optional.

We are headed into the holiday season. For many of the people reading this, the next few weeks play a critical role in the overall financial health of your business. You’ve spent many hours crafting elaborate marketing plans to attract your customers’ attention, and convert that interest into action – namely, visiting your website, where they can buy things or learn more about your holiday offerings.

Let’s assume these campaigns work. It’s important to make sure that your website is prepared to handle a sudden influx of traffic, particularly during critical shopping events like Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday.

If your site is slow or fails to load, all of that effort and energy that went into your marketing campaign is wasted. It’s the digital equivalent of hanging sales flyers all over town but leaving the store door locked. Don’t do that!

Slow sites kill sales. It’s that simple. Compuware, a company that tracks site performance issues, has discovered that more than 80% of users who have a poor experience on a website will never return to that site again. Why take chances?

Now is the time to make sure your site is working properly. Run a full speed test. Check your website load speed, on your own computer and mobile device. Ask your friends to do the same. Any problems need to be addressed immediately to ensure you can meet and exceed customer expectations this holiday season. Need help making this happen? Give us a call.