Your website is crucial to your small business's success. It's your main conduit to the outside world and a key source of sales. That's why ensuring the best user experience should be a central part of your marketing plan.

Speed is a big part of the UX equation. Slow websites lose customers. For that reason, it's critical to understand as much as you can about website speed.

This article will give you the basics. We'll outline how website speed can affect things like brand reputation, conversion rates, and sales. You'll also learn some steps you can take to optimize your speed, allowing your small business or startup to make the best impression possible on your target audience.

What is page loading speed?

You click on a link, excited about some content you've found. You can't wait to dive into the page. But there's a catch: the information is taking a long time to appear. Eventually, you get tired of waiting and move on, searching for some other source for whatever you were looking for.

That's the danger of slow page loading speed. The concept relates to the amount of time it takes for a web page to load. The process involves accessing the elements of the page from the hosting servers.

Why is this so important? Just look at the scenario we outlined at the beginning of this section. A slow load speed could place a point of friction between you and your intended audience. If things take too long to appear, your potential customer might move on to another option.

Reasons for slow websites

It doesn't matter how great your content is. Slow load times could mean no one (or at least a lower number than you want) will get to see your hard work. All the effort you invested to create the perfect website will be wasted, as users abandon your page.

It doesn't matter how great your content is. Slow load times could mean no one (or at least a lower number than you want) will get to see your hard work.

Even if users stick with you through the slow load periods, the delay could create frustration. Meanwhile, fast load times allow the visitors to your website to hurtle through the sales journey. One study conducted on Walmart showed that the retailing giant experienced a 2% increase in conversion rates for every second it improved its load time.

That's why your website speed is so crucial. It provides the foundation for the user experience on your site. If that UX tends to trigger confusion and frustration, your conversion rates will suffer.

So what causes slow website load times? There are several possible suspects. Any one of them can hamper your site's performance. Meanwhile, many can exist at the same time, further undermining your UX.

Here are some of the most common causes of slow website load times:

• Inadequate tech backbone: Outdated technology or a slow connection with servers can impact load times.

• Lots of visitors: If the host servers get overloaded by visitors, everyone’s experience slows down.

• Complex content: Images, videos, and interactive elements can all impair your website’s ability to load quickly.

• Out-of-date code: Best practices for websites change quickly. Falling behind the curve means losing your edge.

• Not enough caching: Caching can help speed the process when you have repeat visitors — encouraging this can keep load times at a minimum.

Getting the optimal loading speed

What is the ideal loading speed for your website? The short answer is "as fast as possible." The more practical view of the problem realizes that the optimal speed requires you to balance conflicting demands.

Customers want pages to load almost instantaneously. A study from Kissmetrics found that four out of 10 consumers would give up on a website that takes longer than three seconds to load. Meanwhile, the same data set indicated that nearly half (47%) of customers expect load times of less than 2 seconds.

Meanwhile, faster loading speeds are associated with better business results. One model projected that Amazon would lose $1.6 billion in sales each year if its load speeds slowed by a single second.

Unfortunately, there is a cost to speeding up your site as well. As we'll see, simpler content loads more quickly. However, that could mean a compromised user experience in a different way.

At the same time, you can speed up your load times with an investment in infrastructure. But that requires valuable cash that might be better spent in other areas. More marketing or faster website? It's sometimes hard to calculate the ROI for various options when weighing these issues.

How to improve website speed

We’ve looked at some of the details surrounding your website’s speed. However, a key question remains: how do you get your site to load as quickly as possible? Here are a few general steps you should consider to keep your online presence accessible and user-friendly:

Test your speed often

To optimize your website, you need to identify problem areas as soon as possible. That way, you can pinpoint the problem early and fix it before it damages your bottom line. To do that, you should create a routine process to test your site regularly and make whatever updates are necessary.

Have the right team in place

As a business owner, you can't expect to be an expert on every subject. If web design and maintenance aren’t core competencies of yours, you need to surround yourself with the right specialists. By getting this help, you can focus on your business while your team keeps your website humming.

If possible, create an in-house staff to oversee your website. However, you might not be at this stage in your startup's development yet. Don't worry. There are plenty of third-party firms that provide the guidance you need. Find the one that best suits you and integrate them into your process.

Optimize your content

As we’ve discussed, you need to strike a balance when creating content. On one hand, you want an engaging, interesting website, with interactive elements and a multimedia approach. However, all those bells and whistles come at a cost — they can slow your load speeds dramatically.

As such, you'll need to discover the ideal compromise. Work with your team to find that happy medium. Keep what you can, but also strive to maintain a streamlined loading environment.

Update your code

Years of ad hoc updates can contribute to hard-to-spot inefficiencies in the operation of your website. Meanwhile, some of your past improvements have likely gone out of date over time and should be replaced by more advanced techniques. Given these factors, it's critical to have a regular process of reviewing and upgrading your underlying code.

Speeding up your business website

How often do you think about your website's speed? If you're like many small business owners, the honest answer might be "never." However, as we’ve seen, a quick-loading site can make a critical first impression on potential clients.

If you've never considered your website's speed, use the information provided in this article to get started. The tips here can help you assess how fast your website is and lay the groundwork for boosting your site's speed if necessary.