4-3-2-1-You Lose!
4-3-2-1-You Lose!
Ten years ago, before hi-speed Internet, visitors would wait patiently for a site to load. The average waiting time back then was 20 to 30 seconds. Not any more. If your website loads slower than 4 seconds, 75% of the people who visit your website will not return. That’s a lot of potential business you could be losing. Think about it.
How can you speed it up?
When a website loads tables it waits until all the information in a table is loaded into memory before displaying the contents. This means that if your whole front page is contained in one of more large tables, your site will load slowly. The simple fix is to create smaller tables, and to reduce the number of images. If you want to keep your images, ask your webmaster to reduce the file size to make them load faster.
Do you have a large banner at the top of the page that is slowing down loading? Why not ask your webmaster to put a small table above it containing a brief text introduction to the site. Even if the rest of the page loads slower than 4 seconds, that first table will load immediately, giving the visitor something to read while the rest of the page loads.
If you run a site with an online credit card payment option, have you checked to see how many people have not completed a purchase? You may be surprised to find out how many orders you have lost. Finding out why is even more surprising.
If your payment process is time-consuming, shoppers may well decide to leave. Sometimes, webmasters make visitors enter data twice, wasting the shopper’s time.
If you display a price next to a product but only show the additional shipping costs after the visitor has started the payment process, the surprise additional cost is often enough to make them stop.
Always show the total price a shopper will have to pay right there with the product when they first see it. That way there will be no surprises and they will be more likely to continue shopping right to the payment page. And by being upfront, you will generate a feeling of honesty and trust, ensuring people will return to your site again.
Real Estate Websites
Here’s a tip for realtors: People come to your website to look for properties, not to view your ‘corporate image’. Take a look at www.holt-realty.com to see how a realty website can encourage visitors to inquire about properties. Each listing displays the basic information they need, such as a description, size, price, location, and so on. And there is a built-in Inquiry Form below each listing that automatically sends the Property ID number with the inquiry so that the realtor knows exactly which property a visitor is interested in.
Make your website ‘sticky’ by including lots of informational pages. The more information you have that explains how to buy property, explanations of the law or condominium rules in your area, all help to make people stick to your site.
Check your website statistics to see how long each visitor browses around your site. If they only view the opening page and leave, you are losing valuable potential business.
Cut Your Phone Bills
Skype has taken the world by storm. You can talk absolutely free over the Internet to anyone else who also has Skype installed. The person you want to talk to doesn't have Skype? No problem, for a very low fee you can call their phone direct from Skype.
Getting Listed High in the Search Engine Results (SERs)
It’s not easy these days getting your site listed at or near the top of the search engines. Even if you do get up there, it’s a constant battle to stay there. Your competitors are trying to get there too. So, how to you get up there and stay there?
Hire a company that has a good track record.
4321You Lose - To learn more about this author, visit Marc Holt's Website.
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Four seconds, that’s all the time you have to load your website, get the attention of visitors, and make them want to read on. I always tell my clients that the opening page is just like the headlines in a newspaper.
Ten years ago, before hi-speed Internet, visitors would wait patiently for a site to load. The average waiting time back then was 20 to 30 seconds. Not any more. If your website loads slower than 4 seconds, 75% of the people who visit your website will not return. That’s a lot of potential business you could be losing. Think about it.
How can you speed it up?
When a website loads tables it waits until all the information in a table is loaded into memory before displaying the contents. This means that if your whole front page is contained in one of more large tables, your site will load slowly. The simple fix is to create smaller tables, and to reduce the number of images. If you want to keep your images, ask your webmaster to reduce the file size to make them load faster.
Do you have a large banner at the top of the page that is slowing down loading? Why not ask your webmaster to put a small table above it containing a brief text introduction to the site. Even if the rest of the page loads slower than 4 seconds, that first table will load immediately, giving the visitor something to read while the rest of the page loads.
If you run a site with an online credit card payment option, have you checked to see how many people have not completed a purchase? You may be surprised to find out how many orders you have lost. Finding out why is even more surprising.
If your payment process is time-consuming, shoppers may well decide to leave. Sometimes, webmasters make visitors enter data twice, wasting the shopper’s time.
If you display a price next to a product but only show the additional shipping costs after the visitor has started the payment process, the surprise additional cost is often enough to make them stop.
Always show the total price a shopper will have to pay right there with the product when they first see it. That way there will be no surprises and they will be more likely to continue shopping right to the payment page. And by being upfront, you will generate a feeling of honesty and trust, ensuring people will return to your site again.
Real Estate Websites
Here’s a tip for realtors: People come to your website to look for properties, not to view your ‘corporate image’. Take a look at www.holt-realty.com to see how a realty website can encourage visitors to inquire about properties. Each listing displays the basic information they need, such as a description, size, price, location, and so on. And there is a built-in Inquiry Form below each listing that automatically sends the Property ID number with the inquiry so that the realtor knows exactly which property a visitor is interested in.
Make your website ‘sticky’ by including lots of informational pages. The more information you have that explains how to buy property, explanations of the law or condominium rules in your area, all help to make people stick to your site.
Check your website statistics to see how long each visitor browses around your site. If they only view the opening page and leave, you are losing valuable potential business.
Cut Your Phone Bills
Skype has taken the world by storm. You can talk absolutely free over the Internet to anyone else who also has Skype installed. The person you want to talk to doesn't have Skype? No problem, for a very low fee you can call their phone direct from Skype.
Getting Listed High in the Search Engine Results (SERs)
It’s not easy these days getting your site listed at or near the top of the search engines. Even if you do get up there, it’s a constant battle to stay there. Your competitors are trying to get there too. So, how to you get up there and stay there?
Hire a company that has a good track record.
4321You Lose - To learn more about this author, visit Marc Holt's Website.
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