The Hidden Costs of a Slow Website: How Page Speed Affects Your Bottom Line

Your website might look fantastic, but if it takes more than a few seconds to load, you're losing money. Let's break down exactly how a slow website hurts your business.

The Three-Second Rule

Research consistently shows that users expect websites to load in under 3 seconds. After that, abandonment rates skyrocket:

• 1-3 seconds: Acceptable—most users will wait
• 3-5 seconds: You're losing 25%+ of visitors
• 5+ seconds: More than half your visitors have already left

The SEO Penalty

Google has confirmed that page speed is a ranking factor. Slow sites get pushed down in search results, meaning fewer people find you in the first place. It's a double hit—fewer visitors, and fewer of those visitors stick around.

The Real Cost in Pounds

Let's do some quick maths. If your site gets 1,000 visitors per month and 3% convert (buy, book, enquire), that's 30 conversions. If your slow site is losing 25% of visitors before they even see your content, you're down to 750 potential customers—and only 22 conversions.

Eight missed conversions every month. Over a year, that adds up to nearly 100 lost customers.

What Slows Websites Down?

Common culprits include:

• Unoptimised images: Photos straight from cameras can be 5MB+ each
• Too many plugins: Especially on WordPress sites
• Poor hosting: Cheap hosting often means slow servers
• Bloated code: DIY builders often create inefficient code

The Good News

Most speed issues are fixable. Image optimisation, code cleanup, and better hosting can dramatically improve load times. A professional audit can identify exactly what's slowing your site down and how to fix it.

Your website is often the first impression potential customers get of your business. Make sure it's a fast one.