Today, there?s more to web performance and Internet-connected experiences than page load times, but the consequences of bad performance remain the same in terms of the brand…. and the bottom line
The cornerstone of any thriving business, today, across sectors, is the increasing need to deliver a great consumer experience. From websites to household products, brands across the board are pushing for a more enriching, fulfilling experience.
Since the 90s, few measurements of user experience have stood the test of time as has the ubiquitous ?page load? time; the universal metric used to measure web performance. The concept behind ?page load?remains as relevant as ever, however, in 2012 there are additional metrics used to quantify best-in-class end users experiences on the web.
Response Time is the closest metric to pageload time and it measures the lapsed time between the request for an asset and the delivery of a first byte on a page; this could include the base HTML page and referenced objects, third-party content contained within the page as well as Java script, cookies and other content to complete the interaction.
Availability measures the percentage of successfully completed tests out of a given number of attempts over a fixed period (say, testing site up time every minute for one month).Consistency records the variation of response during a fixed period; literally, how consistent a website is performing over time, between geographies or potentially, between different devices.
Tolerance: Any genuine measure of performance would make little sense out of context; it depends on where you are, what you are downloading and how quickly you need it. Certain mobile applications such as navigational aids are absolutely dependent on a so-called minimal attention user interface, enabling the user to focus on his/her environment rather than the device itself.
Online retailers are particularly impacted by unreliable web performance. According to Kiss Metrics, 40 per cent of online shoppers will abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load, and a 1 second delay decreases customer satisfaction levels by around 16 per cent.
Another prevalent complaint of Internet users is videos or live streams that buffer. A study by TubeMogul found that about 7 per cent of all videos are buffered at least once during playback, and 2.5 per cent rebuffer twice. This is bad news for video content providers as recent statistics by Conviva revealed that viewers who experience a single video start-up failure are 54 per cent less likely to return. Apart from this, just a 1 per cent increase in buffering leads to an average decrease of three minutes in viewing time. Clearly, pausing a video to let it buffer may just serve as a turning point for viewers as to whether to go ahead with the experience, or just move on to something else.
Device Specifications: Directions for an upcoming trip sought from the comfort of your home PC can suddenly assume ?mission critical? status when attempted via your mobile device from behind the wheel of your car.
Mobile web performance is particularly difficult to calibrate and compare to the relatively homogenised PC and laptop environment. There are so many variables at play, ranging from mobile networks and bandwidth to devices and content (whether it is optimised for mobile or not). Users, of course, care little for these intricacies; according to research from Kiss Metrics, 21 per cent of respondents expected a similar level of web performance from their mobile device as their desktop, while 21 per cent actually expect faster download times from their mobiles. According to the research, iPad users are more like desktop users than smartphone users; in fact, while the tablet?s performance lags behind that of a PC, iPad users are prepared to wait for longer to enjoy a desktop-like experience.
From performance to the bottom line
So, delivering consistent performance is increasingly complex and costly if you don?t get it right; the implications for brands, in terms of perception and customer satisfaction levels are evident. According to Harry Shum, a computer scientist at Microsoft, 250 milliseconds can literally mean the difference between a sale and that of a competitor. The Kiss Metrics research states that a one second delay in page response can result in a 7 per cent reduction in conversions; for an e-commerce site generating $100,000 per day that translates into $2.5 million of lost sales annually.
Some answers to these issues lie indelivering content through a content delivery network. Finding a CDN a provider with infrastructure across the globe, and that can deliver rich media to a wide range of devices becomes an imperative in today?s time and agewhen consumers have exacting standards. Tata Communications? CDN is one solution with nodes around the globe, a history of delivering all types of assets and rich media, and the ability to deliver to desktops, tablets, mobile devices, smart TVs, and more.
