According to the latest research, there is a direct relationship between conversion rates and website speed and functionality. While some of these studies primarily revolve around the speed of a website, many also include the functionality of web applications and how their performance directly influences conversion rates. If you’re noticing a steady stream of traffic, but are experiencing a decline or stalling in visitor conversions, perhaps it’s not the functionality of your site, but rather errors in web applications. While there are many reasons why web application errors may result in conversion rate decline, some are more prevalent than others.
Patientce Levels of Users
When an error occurs in a web application, the overall performance and functionality of the app is decreased. Over the past several years, the patience of users has been steadily decreasing. In fact, a study performed in 1999 found that one-third of visitors will abandon a site, even in the middle of purchasing a product/service, if the app takes longer than 8 seconds to download; however, in 2006, the same study found users expect web applications to completely download in less than four seconds. By simulating user behavior using an automation solution like EveryStep’s browser automation solution (which is free), or a paid tool like IEWatch, you can recreate user behavior and test various parts of your application to ensure that there isn’t trouble in areas that might lead to user frustration.
Therefore, to maintain the highest level of visitor retention, and ultimately higher conversion rates, it’s essential that your applications download in less than four seconds. Not striving to meet this goal will result in not only a significant increase in bounce rates, but a simultaneously decrease in conversion rates.
Slow Loading Web Applications
As applications become more advanced so does the strain placed on servers and their response times. While there are many steps you must take to increase the speed and performance of web applications, if any portion of the application takes longer than the aforementioned four second load time, you can expect a significant decrease in conversion rates. In fact, over 40% of online shoppers have stated that if the site and its included web applications don’t match their expected load times, they are likely to not only avoid purchasing from the site, but also avoid visiting the site in the future. It’s essential that every website engage in activities that prevent slow application performance to not only increase conversion rates, but to also safeguard their online reputation. This leads to the next section….
Online Reputation
In the highly competitive online marketplace, your reputation is paramount to current and future success. If you’re searching for ways to maintain a positive experience among all users, which results in a positive reputation, you must strive to prevent application errors. Studies have found that when users experience slow loading applications, they’re not only less-likely to purchase an item from the site, but their likelihood of visiting the site in the future is cut almost in half. Prevent losing customers due to application performance by implementing an effective application monitoring solution capable of monitoring, diagnosing and repairing performance-drowning errors.