So I’ve been playing around with Google Page Speed performance testing tool; already I can feel your interest draining away, where’s the fast, where’s the sexy? I imagine you asking…
Well, number 1: I am a nerd, so tough it out, and number 2: speed is important and yes, some people might have sexier lives but give me a new online tool and I am officially the happiest girl in the world. So when Google released Page Speed from Google Labs and into my bumbling hands, I was very occupied with testing everything in sight for days. Much to the amusement of my web developer of course who ended up with an itemised list of need-to-haves and nice-to-haves (we’re friends, honest).
Now there are numerous development-based reasons for a website loading slowly. However, during particularly ‘load-heavy’ periods a site often slows down quite substantially. Excellent coding can create a robust site that will withstand heavy traffic surges and ensure you maximize revenue in the boom, BUT a solid infrastructure behind it is equally important.
Like Yin & Yang, having both can enable a ‘perfect’ (or close to) web experience for each web user. Working at a managed hosting company but in marketing I get to see how both contribute. Why is this important?
Well according to the Kissmetrics:
47% of consumers expect a web page to load in 2 seconds or less.
40% abandon a website that takes more than 30 seconds to load.
44% of online shoppers will tell their friends about a bad experience online.
*For the full infographic please visit the Kissmetrics blog.
So basically, not only are people impatient, but they will then go on to tell their friends how irritating your website is because it was *gasp* “like SO long to go through checkout!?”
This shock-horror reaction costs you money, and this is where investing initially on proper infrastructure and coding really pays off.
So a marketer’s checklist:
1. Do you know the numbers? Have you shared them with your team?
There’s a reason for the saying: ‘Poor planning leads to piss poor performance’ (pardon mon francais) – basically, you need to make sure you have an idea of what kind of load to expect: are you launching a campaign? When are you emailing people? Do you want them to access loads of video? If your systems engineer and website developer know this then they can plan and develop accordingly!
2. Start from the back:
Is the server environment flexible? Can you scale up and down quickly and in the event of an emergency is it quickly recoverable?
Is it secure? Does it follow all the data protection and privacy laws needed to ensure your clients can transact safely and securely?
3. Get a coding ninja:
Love these guys. I come in and say I want it purple and sparkly and they build me something purple and sparkly (unfortunately). So make sure that they’re up to par with what you need and they don’t code things to be large and unwieldy. Steer clear of Flash champions (that is so 90′s) – it’s all about the HTML5 people!
4. Test, test, test: Google Page Speed performance testing is awesome for the front end.
Additionally, make sure your engineers are load testing the environment (and this needs to occur WELL in advance of any super-important campaign that’s going to make you loads of money – because it will make you nothing if it fails testing and can’t be launched in time).
Happy Testing! I know it’s not the most scintillating part of campaign management but it’s the part that will save you from launching an amazing creative campaign that bombs due to operational problems.
As for the Sexy part of ‘Fast and Sexy Online Campaigns’. Well that’s all on you isn’t it? I’ve put the word sexy in a blog post. That’s all the sexy sorted for the month…
