Achieve Ideal Page Load Time This Year – 7 Best Practices for 2023
Updated: Jan 20
If you are reading this line, our page speed is doing good. What about yours?
According to Statista, internet users are only willing to wait 3 seconds and a maximum of 5 seconds for the website page to load.
Result? They end up leaving the site before having even a glimpse of what you have to offer, let alone the conversion.
Undoubtedly, conversions are the lifeblood of any marketing or sales efforts.
But if your page does not meet the ideal page load time it may have a seriously negative impact on your conversion rate optimization since it increases the bounce rate significantly.
Think of it this way, your website is like a virtual salesperson for your brand so how are you going to achieve any sales if your customers don’t even get in touch with the salesperson in the first place?
In this article, we are going to discuss the following areas that will help in scaling conversions of your d2c e-commerce platform:
What is a good average page load time?
Page load time impact on conversion
7 best practices that can help you achieve ideal page load time
Dive in to get all your answers.
What is a good average page load time?
When we speak about page load time, the very first question that arises is what is a good average page load time?
Well, the shortest and simplest answer to this question is - the lesser the better. By saying this we mean being a d2c e-commerce platform, or for that matter any business, you must try to maintain a page load speed time between 0 – 2 seconds which can go up to a maximum of 4 seconds, but remember, NOT MORE THAN 4 SECONDS.
Page load time impact on conversion
If you are trying to increase the conversions from your website (also called conversion rate optimization), you may get shocked to know that your page’s loading speed can be the culprit behind all those missed conversions.
In fact, a survey conducted by Unbounce came to light that the buying decision of 70% of users is directly impacted by the page load time while shopping from an online retailer. More than half of respondents even revealed that they are willing to give up on any video or animation involved in the page for a faster load time.
Even in a different dimension, Google also considers page speed as an important ranking factor.
All these facts directly or indirectly point out the conversion rate optimization of your website.
7 best practices that can help you achieve ideal page load time
Do not let your URLs redirect
URL redirects are a common web technique used to send visitors from one page to another. However, they can be detrimental when not managed properly. Redirects should be avoided whenever possible as they can reduce user experience and diminish conversion rate optimization. Additionally, if the URL is changed during a redirect it may lead to broken links or 404 errors which will damage your website’s reputation and credibility with users.
You may try to do:
To ensure that you maintain optimal performance for your website, opt for direct links instead of using URL redirects wherever possible.
When you build menus and internal links, be sensitive to the number. Don’t make unnecessary of them.
Say no to render-blocking JavaScript
Render-blocking JavaScript is a type of code that can increase your google page load time if ignored. It occurs when external scripts are loaded before the page finishes rendering, causing delays in displaying content to users. Removing render-blocking JavaScript from your website can help improve page load times and provide visitors with an improved user experience.
You can do this by:
Combining multiple files into one file
Deferring or asynchronously loading scripts
Using webpack or other bundling tools to reduce the number of requests made for resources on each page load.
Declutter the media library and database
It is very likely that your media and database library has been bloated and cluttered with all the images and files over time. This clog up your website with data that is of no use.
You must identify and eliminate unused data and content for a cleaner and emptier environment on your website.
Image optimization is as important as conversion rate optimization
Optimizing images for faster page load time is an important step in web development. This helps to speed up your website by decreasing the amount of data that needs to be loaded when a user visits your site.
You can do this by:
By compressing and resizing the image files, you can reduce their size significantly without reducing their quality.
You can install an image optimization plugin to automate the process.
Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Domain Name System (DNS)
Choosing a Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Domain Name System (DNS) is an important decision for any business that is trying to achieve an ideal page load time. CDNs are used to deliver content quickly and reliably, while DNSs help ensures that the right website is displayed when a user types in its domain name.
When selecting these services, it's important to consider factors such as cost, scalability, performance levels across different geographic regions, customer support options available from the provider, and security measures they offer.
Furthermore, you should also check out whether or not they have features like edge-caching that store static files closer to users around the globe so that requests for them don't need to travel far distances every time someone visits your site.
Reduce the involvement of Third-Party Scripts
Third-Party scripts are nothing but external scripts that use third-party code to be embedded in your website. The most common third-party scripts that we have noticed are a Chatbot and YouTube videos.
Though they contribute significantly to adding functionalities to your website and creating a more user-friendly experience, they are also the culprits that are not letting you reach your ideal page load time.
So don’t just jump into the trend. Ask yourself whether your website really needs that Chatbot. Or maybe you can keep it only on the homepage. Just remember, use only the third-party scripts that are really important for your business and limit their involvement as much as you can.
Use Lazy Loadings for displaying Ads
Lazy loading is a great way to optimize the performance of ads on your website. It delays the loading of ad content until it is needed, which increases page load speed and reduces bandwidth usage. Additionally, lazy loading can help improve user experience as users will not be subjected to slow-loading ads that take away from their browsing experience.
To implement lazy loading for ads, you can use a library like IntersectionObserver or LazyLoadJS to detect when an element enters into viewport and then trigger the ad script accordingly. This ensures that only those elements are loaded when they are actually visible in the viewport thus improving the overall performance of your website with minimal effort required from the developers’ side!
Pro Tip
While you are trying to achieve the ideal page load time for your website, do not forget your mobile-users as 63% search engine visits are from mobile devices. Keeping a track of your website’s loading speed on mobile devices is a crucial step in the process that many tend to forget.
Additionally, optimizing your website for mobile is essential to ensure that you are getting the most out of your conversion rate optimization efforts. Mobile users have different needs and expectations than desktop users, so it's important to make sure that they can easily navigate and interact with your website on their devices.
For this, you may have to make sure that your website is properly mobile-optimized.
Optimizing for mobile means:
Making sure content is properly scaled
Images are optimized for quick loading times
Navigation menus are easy to use on a touchscreen device
Page load speeds remain fast even when using cellular connections or slow Wi-Fi networks, and more.
By implementing these changes, you will not only improve user experience but also increase conversions from this increasingly important segment of online traffic.
Final note
So that’s a wrap, we hope we have been able to deliver some significant value for you and that you are able to achieve the ideal page load time very soon. But remember, while you are initiating to optimize your page load speed, do not get impatient with it. It is a continuous process that won’t drive results in a day, but it will bring, sooner or later, for sure.
Also, in case you are feeling overwhelmed with the technical aspects of these practices; you can always choose to reach out to a digital marketing agency that offers d2c solutions.
For a complete guide to outsourcing your e-commerce business services.
You can also read “Does it make sense to outsource your E-commerce business services?”