How is your hotel website load speed? It may not seem like it, but the answer to this question makes a huge difference.
Not only can your website load speed hurt your bounce rate, but it also has an impact on your direct bookings. In 2018, a study found that most people will leave a mobile page if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load.
That means your website needs to load in less than 3 seconds or you could lose potential bookings.
Read on to learn more about why your hotel website load speed matters so much.
Your SEO Depends On It
Google site speed ranking signal is one of the ways Google determines if your website shows up on a search page.
It measures your website load speed depending on a few factors, including how quickly your website responds to a request.
To determine how your speeds measure up, check your website via the speed test Google provides.
It Can Decrease Your Conversion Rate
Sites that load within 5 seconds see 70% longer sessions, according to a recent DoubleClick by Google survey.
That means potential buyers spend longer viewing your offerings and promotions when your page loads faster.
According to the same study, companies like Pinterest and the BBC saw upwards of 10% more conversion when they reduced load time.
When it comes to selling or sign-ups, you don’t want to lose potential customers because of slow speeds. Especially when it’s something you can fix.
Competitor Advantage
If your site loads slower than your competitors, that’s a problem. Customers have so many options available to them on the web, and you don’t want to give them a reason to look elsewhere.
Be aware of the standard hotel website speed load times and meet it (or do better). If you’re one second behind your competitor, that can mean a 7% loss in conversions.
Now that you know why website load speeds are so important, how can you fix them?
Optimize Website Load Speeds
Here are a few things to look at when you want to optimize your load speeds. You might need the help of a developer, but it’s worth it.
- Enable compression
- Minify CSS, JavaScript, and HTML
- Reduce redirects
- Remove render-blocking JavaScript
- Leverage browser caching
- Improve server response time
- Use a content distribution network
- Optimize images
Keep in mind how long images can take to load. We all want a great looking website, but make sure you’re optimizing your images, so they load faster. Use small, compressed files and keep the image itself on the smaller side.
One last thing, it’s great to be optimized for desktop viewing, but don’t forget about mobile. More customers are browsing via mobile devices than anything else. Your website should be easily viewable on all screens.
There are a few things more frustrating than slow website load speeds on the internet. Especially when it’s your potential customer who is on the line. Keep in mind these steps so you can set your hotel website up for success.
