You’re Not Imagining It; Websites Are Taking Longer To Load

There is some bad news for small business Web design and managed IT services. While it is a pretty well-known fact that consumers expect webpages to load quickly and will abandon them if they don’t, load times are getting markedly slower. “The average time to download a website is up because the average size of a website is nearly double what it was three years ago,” Hawaii News Now reports. “Videos, pictures, embedded tracking tools, and increased website security are partly to blame.”

Here’s What Not To Do

The overwhelming majority of businesses (85%) plan to devote more time and energy to IT professional services, and that’s a very good thing. Web security may increase load time somewhat, but it’s absolutely necessary. Cyber attacks are more rampant than ever and recovering from data theft and security breaches is difficult at best. Don’t skimp on it.

Do This Instead

What can you do? What Web design tools and Web design packages are best — meaning that they are visually compelling, practical, and take relatively little time to load? There isn’t one simple answer to that question. There are several strategies and ways to go about things that will speed up webpages, however. One of the best ways to do it is to practice minimalism. What is minimalism? “The style defines itself by achieving the minimum of essentials through any means,” TNW News writes. Minimalist design looks sleek and professional, and it generally includes fewer elements, which means it takes less time to load. Similarly, experts recommend looking closely at white space or negative space when putting together small business Web design. Embrace negative space; it “forces visitors to focus on each area with a high degree of attention,” TNW continues. Presenting a cohesive homepage (and subsequent pages) is vitally important, too. Up to 75% of consumers say they make judgments about businesses’ credibility based on Web design. Every year, IT services, including Web design services, bring in an impressive $363 billion — and with good reason. Execute IT and design very carefully, prioritizing security and choosing flashy elements sparingly.