Why website speed matters for E-commerce brands
Why is Website Speed Important?
In the realm of digital marketing, continuously enhancing your website's design and development is crucial to ensuring your online presence outshines your competitors and attracts potential customers.
Understanding Website Speed through Speed Tests
Speed tests are an excellent first step to gauge how well your website is meeting its goals. They are a crucial method for understanding your site's performance from a technical SEO (search engine optimisation) standpoint.
Technical SEO: Beyond Content
Technical SEO involves optimising your website to pass technical checks set by major search engines like Google, which assess factors like page load times, responsiveness, and accessibility scores.
The Combined Effect of Technical SEO and Content Strategy
When a website scores high on technical SEO, it's likely to rank higher on search engine results pages. This ranking is further enhanced by a well-thought-out content strategy.
The Impact of Page Speed on Conversion Rates
From a conversion perspective, page speed is vital. A Google study in 2018 found that an additional two-second delay in page loading increased the likelihood of a user leaving the site by 90%. Thus, reducing load times can significantly enhance your site's conversion rate and drive more sales.
Sustainability Benefits of Improved Page Speed
Focusing on page speed also brings sustainability benefits, as faster loading times mean lower energy consumption by both the server and the user's device.
How Speed Testing Works for Shopify Stores
Our team of developers, passionate about creating fast yet environmentally-friendly Shopify stores, constantly seeks to balance technical performance metrics with effective product sales. We improve website speed by optimising scripts, compressing downloads, setting proper caching times, and ensuring all included elements serve a specific purpose and are optimised.
Tools for Speed Testing: Google Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights
Google provides two main tools for performance analysis: Google Lighthouse and PageSpeed Insights. Lighthouse offers a comprehensive analysis, including performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices, while PageSpeed Insights provides detailed, page-specific recommendations for performance improvements.
Shopify’s Theme Speed Score
Shopify includes a speed testing feature that uses Google Lighthouse to evaluate the performance of your store's active theme. It provides context by comparing your speed score to other Shopify stores and tracks performance over time.
The Balance Between Speed and Functionality
It's essential to find a balance between optimal page speed and maintaining necessary functionality. Some elements crucial for your website's success may inherently slow down its speed, such as video content for an animator's portfolio, which should not be removed despite their impact on load times.
Prioritising Improvements
While improving page speed is important, it's also crucial not to over-focus on speed metrics at the expense of other essential aspects like user experience or additional functionality that could facilitate easier purchases for your customers.
Conclusion
Improving website speed is not just about technical enhancements but also about making strategic decisions that align with your business goals and user needs. By using a variety of tools and focusing on both technical and content strategies, you can significantly improve your website's effectiveness and conversion rates.