Resources

The Coffey Team

If you've ever closed a web page in frustration because it isn't loading fast enough, you're not alone. Google suggests that 53 percent of visitors will leave a mobile site if it takes longer than three seconds to load.

Those people clicking away from your healthcare website could be members, employees, donors or patients. You want them to connect with your website. And you can make that connection more likely if you focus on improving your site's speed.

Here are four more good reasons to focus on speed in your healthcare website:

1. Speed helps engagement.

Getting visitors to engage with your site is important. But what if they're leaving before your content has a chance to load? And imagine if you’ve put time and resources into developing interactive content. What if readers never experience those tools because they have to wait between clicks?

Increasing your site's speed will help readers connect with the information they want—making them more likely to stay.

2. It gives mobile users a better experience.

We've talked about the need for more mobile-friendly healthcare websites many times on this blog—and with good reason. Modern readers are attached to their phones, and many are using them to search for healthcare information.

By improving your site's speed, you can help mobile users find what they want faster, ensuring they have a good experience on your site.

3. It impacts search performance.

Back in 2010, Google announced that site speed would factor into their search ranking algorithms for desktop searches. And in 2018, they expanded that update to include mobile searches. While this is only one of the many signals used by Google's algorithm, it's an important one to take note of.

Some of the other items in the algorithm (links to your site, for example) are mostly out of your hands. But this is something that is 100 percent within your control. So why not check it off?

4. It makes your site more inclusive.

It's easy to assume that everyone has the same web browsing experience, but economic differences and geography can limit access to high-speed internet or new hardware. Making sure your website is performing at its peak can improve user experiences across the board. That could be vital if you're reaching out to disadvantaged readers. By making your site more available to all, you're truly serving them.

Getting up to speed

Not sure whether speed is an issue on your website? You can answer that question with Google's PageSpeed Insights tool. Just enter your URL, and you’'ll get a checklist of things to fix.

If that checklist contains terms you don't quite understand or problems you're not sure how to solve, working with an expert can be a great help. A developer can dig deep into speed issues and correct the problems. We have a team of experienced web developers who can help your site perform at its peak. Call us at 888.805.9101 or email us for help.