What’s quicker – the time it takes for your website to load in China, or the time it takes for Usain Bolt to run 100m? Take our Web Performance Test to find out!
Usain Bolt is legendary across the globe for completing a 100m race in 9.58s, and breaking his own world record. He maintains his place as the Fastest Man in the World, entertaining viewers with his personality and performance, precipitating speed comparisons to a Cheetah.
Over the last week, viewers around the world tuned in to watch the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Championships. White knuckled fans expected to see yet another medal strung on Bolt for the final 100m race of his career. Sadly, he was dethroned and placed third with a time of 9.95s, while Justin Gatlin brought home Gold with 9.92s.
We’ve picked up a few things while watching Bolt’s career over the years.
- Lag Time is Costly – The gap between Gatlin and Bolt at the finish line was so miniscule, but in the end, 3 ms is all the time it took to unseat Bolt in the final race of his career.
Milliseconds also count when it comes to web performance. 78% of the time after a poor online experience, users will navigate to a competitors’ site and 88% were less likely to return. A 1-second delay in site speed can result in a 7% reduction in conversions. Chinese Internet users may be more patient than some, but will only give your site 23.9s to load before giving up. In that time, Usain Bolt could have sprinted 200m with nearly 5 seconds to spare. And how much money would your business lose?
- To Keep your Competitive Edge, Faster is Better – Bolt set at least Olympic and World Records, both of which he beat himself over 4 years. Athletes will always continue to get better at their sport and faster on the track, so perpetual improvement is essential to preserving top rankings.
Since 2000, human attention span has decreased from 12s to 8s, a full second slower than the average goldfish. We are impatient and demanding of all providers and services to become better, cheaper, and faster. People perceive your site to be 15% slower than it is, and remember it as even slower after the event. Businesses that neglect web performance experience a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction every 3s it takes for a page to load.
- Manage User Expectations – Bolt has provided much entertainment to his fans. They expected him to win his final individual race, but when he lost, the crowd booed Gatlin
Chinese netizens expect a site to load in 4.8s, the same time it takes for Bolt to be over halfway to his World Record in the Men’s 100m Sprint.
Don’t come in 3rd place. Leave the competition in a cloud of dust and take home the Gold with improved site performance.
Take our Web Performance test to see how you measure up, and contact us with any questions.
