September 2010 Newsletter

In This Issue:

Random Free Hosting Site

We'd like to congratulate Mendoza Photography for being the winner of this month's free hosting site. At the beginning of each month we will call up our own site's homepage. Whomever's site is the featured site when the page loads will get FREE hosting of one domain for one month. It's just our way of saying thank you.

Web Site Load Times

Equation Research released a report in September 2010. Users were asked about their feelings toward Web site speed and how it affects their online visitation habits. The results are very interesting and point to the critical nature of Web site load time.

Included in their findings:

  • 32 percent of consumers will start abandoning slow sites between one and five seconds.
  • 84 percent are only willing to try a slow performing Web site a few times before giving up.
  • 39 percent say speed is more important than functionality for most Web sites, while only one in five rank greater site functionality as more important.

Speed also makes a difference when it comes to accessing a mobile site.

  • A third of all Web users are also using a mobile device to access the Internet.
  • More than half of mobile users expect Web sites to load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phone, compared to the computer they use at home.

Slow load times are common and users feel frustrated with poor performance.

  • Two thirds (67 percent) of users encounter a slow performing Web site a few times a week or more.
  • More than a third (37 percent) said they would not return to a slow site, and 27 percent would likely jump to a competitor’s site.

For mobile Web users, slow Web site load times and poor formatting are the top two issues encountered on the mobile Web.
Clearly, users are demanding a seamless experience on the Web - your site included. It's interesting to note that speed is considered more important than functionality, according to this survey. Just a few seconds can make the difference between a loyal, repeat visitor and a lost prospect.

The mobile Web also represents a significant challenge. Typically, the mobile device is going to experience a longer load time - meaning that you are already at a disadvantage - even though users expect pages to "load as quickly, almost as quickly or faster on their mobile phone, compared to the computer they use at home." This study presents a solid argument for developing mobile-specific pages of your Web site. Mobile Web usage is rising quickly and does not appear to be slowing.

New Sites Joining Us Or Completed Recently

Help out these folks by visiting their site. All ya'll will remember how hard it is to get those initial "hits" so the search engines notice your site. So take a minute and visit their site.