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Web Page Optimization
Last updated Oct 17, 2003.
By Meryl Evans
In today's fast-paced society where first impressions can make or break a site's success, the site needs a good work out before it meets its audience to ensure it's in tip top shape. Testing does catch the kinks, but there are proactive measures that can prep the Web site before the big show.
Tick... tick... tick... Eight seconds give or take two. That's how fast a page should load or else it loses the user. The content can be marvelous, but what good is it when a user doesn't stick around to see it? More people are getting faster connections to the Web, but even they will click away from your site if it doesn't give them something fast.
The Boston Consulting Group conducted a study on the reasons why online purchases fail and found the most commonly cited problem, 48 percent, was that the pages took too long to load. A touch of graphics optimization can fix the problem. According to Zona Research, marketers lose $25 billion per year because of slow-loading Web sites and customer desertion.
