Why Web Performance Matters [SmashingConf Meets for Speed]

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Why web performance matters (especially now)

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@tameverts

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speedcurve.com/benchmarks/

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“Web performance” Is it loading? Can I use it? How does it feel?

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wsj.com/articles/google-search-ramps-up-penalties-for-slow-annoying-websites-11628614350

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2016 The internet is a basic human right.

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Poor performance hurts a LOT of people.

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People in rural areas People in Indigenous communities People with lower incomes Children Seniors People with accessibility challenges People in developing countries

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“Oh… pity the hyper-impatient web generation. Such busy lives with so many important things to do — like post the latest drivel onto their Facebook pages or download the YouTube viral video of the day. Oops, sorry — of the minute.” Reader comment “For Impatient Web Users, an Eye Blink Is Too Long to Wait” The New York Times

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“Digital privilege” Websites are performant enough because they’re performant for you.

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The internet isn’t fast for everyone.

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@tameverts

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That’s 15,000,000 people in the US alone.

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1 out of 3 homes in the US do not have broadband access. (25 Mbps down and 3 Mbps up) Federal Communications Commission, 2020 @tameverts

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That’s 45,000,000 homes. And 12,000,000 children (many of whom are now learning remotely).

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theverge.com/22177154/us-internet-speed-maps-competition-availability-fcc

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“the homework gap”

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75% of Indigenous communities in Canada do not have access to broadband. @tameverts

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Education Entrepreneurialism Social connection Governance Telemedicine

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“I grew up with our community being under constant boil water advisories, and I wasn’t able to safely drink water out of the tap until just a few years ago. High-speed internet feels equally life changing.” Chief Willie Sellars, 2020

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We can’t fix our networks, but we can fix our pages.

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2198kb HTTP Archive, September 2021 @tameverts

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Big pages cost users.

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Performance isn’t just about speed.

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Page jank affects people with motor skill challenges (esp. on mobile). Assistive technology (e.g., screenreaders) may not work until the DOM fully loads. JavaScript can block assistive tech. @marcysutton

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Users aged 65 and older are 43% slower at using websites than users aged 21-55. nngroup.com/articles/usability-for-senior-citizens/

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business behaviour brain

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Brain

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The average web user believes they waste two days a year waiting for pages to load.

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Stoyan Stefanov, The Psychology of Speed

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Nielsen Norman Group, 1993 & 2010 @tameverts

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“Web stress” When apps or sites are slow, we work 50% harder to stay on task. CA Technologies, 2011 @tameverts

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Radware, 2013 Frustration peaks between 11.5 and 26% during browsing and checkout

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Behaviour

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“Phone rage”: How people react to slow mobile sites Tealeaf/Harris Interactive, 2011 @tameverts

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46 When do we start to interact with a page? Radware, 2014 @tameverts

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nicj.net/measuring-continuity/

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nicj.net/measuring-continuity/

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Business

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❑ bounce rate ❑ cart size ❑ conversions ❑ revenue ❑ time on site ❑ page views ❑ SEO ❑ brand perception ❑ user retention ❑ competitors

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WPOstat s.com

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Bounce rate

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@tameverts

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Conversions

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Every 1 second of load time improvement equaled a 2% conversion rate increase for Walmart Staples shaved 1 second from median load time, improved conversion rate by 10% Fanatics cut median load times by 2 seconds, almost doubled mobile conversions @tameverts

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Retention

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Strangeloop, 2011 @tameverts

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Brand perception

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fast slow @tameverts

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SEO

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wsj.com/articles/google-search-ramps-up-penalties-for-slow-annoying-websites-11628614350

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Good pages rank slightly (1%) better than average. Slow pages rank significantly (3.7%) worse. sistrix.com/blog/core-web-vitals-is-a-measurable-ranking-factor/ @tameverts

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Again… why should you care?

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Between the ages of 25 and 60, our ability to use the web declines by 0.8% a year