In my last post I referenced Sean Power's findings that as much as 37-49% of visitors who experience performance issues will either abandon the site or switch to a competitor. As much as 77% will go on to share their experiences with others (slide 15).
I wanted to illustrate this point of sharing bad experiences due to slow websites. Have a go at searching Twitter for 'slow website' and you will be amazed at the number of people who have vented their frustrations within the last few hours.
Here's a few I've seen in recent days.
Trying to book tickets on @SJ_AB, but the site is so slow...
— Thomas Dahlberg (@tdhlbrg) January 20, 2011
the o2.ie website is so slow and frustrating #agghhhhh
— ronan mcloughlin (@jedi_vincent) January 20, 2011
Why is Gap's website slow? Argh.
— Wordy PR Girl (@WordyPRGirl) January 20, 2011
Websites like Twitter and Facebook mean it's so easy these days to have a wee moan about the frustrations caused by an under performing site. We pay good money for a speedy internet connection so when we can't take full advantage of this due to slow websites, the user experience is quickly soured.