How does page load time affect user experience?

Page load for a marketer is the key to make or break their campaigns. Page optimisation and load time is very critical as users don't want to wait for a page to load that too if they clicked an Ad. Also, fast loading actually increase the user experience and have a high chance that a lead will get captured and low drop rates.

A slow-loading page can make a poor first impression and increase the likelihood of the user leaving before they even see the content. Users expect pages to load quickly, and if they don't, their patience quickly wears thin. A slow page can lead to frustration and a negative perception of the site. Slow-loading pages often lead to a higher bounce rate. A bounce occurs when a user visits a page and leaves without interacting with it. This can have a negative impact on the site's performance and goals, such as conversions or ad revenue. Slow-loading pages often lead to a higher bounce rate. A bounce occurs when a user visits a page and leaves without interacting with it and can have a negative impact on the site's performance, and conversions

Users today expect fast and responsive websites, and when a web page takes too long to load, it can lead to a range of negative consequences for both user satisfaction and the website's success User Engagement: Users are more likely to engage with a website's content, such as reading articles, watching videos, or exploring products, when pages load quickly. Slow load times can discourage users from interacting with the site.

The page load time significantly impacts user experience by influencing user satisfaction, engagement, and conversion rates. Faster load times lead to better user experiences, while slower load times can drive users away and reduce website effectiveness.

Page load time significantly impacts user experience by influencing first impressions, user satisfaction, engagement, conversion rates, SEO ranking, accessibility, content consumption, retention, competitive advantage, and more, making fast load times essential for a positive user experience and website success.

I prefer to use tools like lighthouse,dynatrace,gtmetrix but there are other tools you can use. The goal essentially the same - to identify root bottleneck and resolve them

Measuring page load time is essential for understanding and improving the performance of a website.Tools and methods can use to measure page load time 1. Web Browser Developer Tools: Most web browsers offer built-in developer tools that include network performance analysis. Here's how to use them in Google Chrome as an example: Right-click on a web page and select "Inspect" or press F12 or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (macOS) to open the developer tools. Go to the "Network" tab. Reload the page, and you'll see a timeline of network requests with information about their timing.

Optimize Images and Multimedia: Use compressed and appropriately sized images. Use modern image formats like WebP. Lazy load images to load them only when they become visible. Minimize the use of multimedia elements, like videos and large GIFs. Minimize HTTP Requests: Reduce the number of external HTTP requests by combining CSS and JavaScript files. Use CSS sprites for small icons and images. Minimize the use of external scripts and third-party plugins. Leverage Browser Caching: Set appropriate caching headers (e.g., Expires, Cache-Control) to enable browser caching for static assets like images, stylesheets, and scripts. Utilize Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) to cache and serve assets from nearby servers.

There are few caching to consider. Client side, server side, network side caching. In browser side there are caches like browser based, client(js) based caches. Do consider invalidation strategy of caches. Lazy,Progressive , chunk load is very essential as your users doesnt need everything loaded until they reach a particular part of that area. Some other global load strategy are route based loading. Code splitting is one popular way to achieve this here.

at the end of day, how fast and performant a site depends on user feedback. So what if in metrics the site is fast and performant but user feel is very slow and unresponsive? Perception of speed and seamless experience are crucial too.